Doogal (2006)

PAINFULLY BAD!

If I could give this movie less than 1 star, I would.

I saw this movie a few summers ago as part of a free summer screening series at a local theater. I thought it would be fun to take my two youngsters out to a wholesome G-rated movie...I'm STILL regretting the time spent there that I'll never get back.

I could not remember the name of this film and spent the last 20 minutes searching for it just so I could warn others to turn away...don't look directly at it! I am not a vindictive person and don't enjoy tearing apart the work of others. However, it is beyond me how so many talented, well-known actors found themselves doing the voices for this movie. Did they not read the script? I really wonder how far they got into making this movie before they realized - WITH HORROR - that they were contractually obligated to see it through to the end. A week? A day?

There is soooo much wrong with this movie and I don't remember the plot (even though I just read the synopsis of the film!) Perhaps it is because there IS NO PLOT. It is just one bad moment after another and the one part about it that I do remember involves the characters coming into a town. No one seems to be bothered by or even notice the absence of any other living thing in this otherwise cheery town. There is an amusement park or carousel or something like that in the center of town - no one running it and no inhabitants - yet there it is.

It's awful. And just to be clear, it's not the kind of awful that is so bad that it's good in a different way. No. This is a time waster with absolutely NOTHING redeeming about it. I saw it for FREE and still remember it as the worst movie I've ever seen. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I paid any money to see it.

Yes, the dog looking creature thing in the photo looks cute. That's what hooked me into seeing it. But there is a reason why you only see part of this creature called "Doogal." The rest of its head and body are just as incompletely visualized and realized as the rest of the movie. I don't know if it's a dog or a bear or an old skein of yarn and neither did my children who are pretty forgiving and easy going about these sorts of things.

Please don't let your curiosity get the best of you and buy it just for kicks...you'll be kicking yourself if you do! June 10, 2008

Great Kids Movie

My 3 year old and I watched Doogal for the first time about 6 months ago and we loved it. It was a really good movie with a great cast. You can't go wrong with characters with a name of ZeeBad (Jon Stewart) and Zippity. It was on Demand (Comcast cable) and my son watched it more than 10 times. He has not seen the movie for about 3 months now, but he keeps asking me about it and that is why I am buying it today. I am actually shocked about the bad reviews. May 19, 2008

Please do not buy this for your children

It is awful.
Pay no attention to the actors giving voices to this movie.
It doesn't make this movie worth your time, much less your money.
April 28, 2008

Give the poor thing a break.

The movie Doogal is an entertaining, unfailingly cute movie on the dichotomy of good and evil. Quite frankly, Doogal is the single "Best movie in the whole wide world!" If you happen to be three.

The problem, I think, with those who give this movie a poor rating are that they are basing it off of animations which are essentially aimed at older children and teenagers. If you are basing your recomendation off of Seseme Street, Dora the Explorer, Blues Clues and Mr. Rogers, Doogal ranks quite high in intellect, method and style. Compare it to the Care Bears, Smurfs or Strawberry Shortcake of my toddler years, and Doogal makes leaps toward Shakespeare.

It's adorable stop-motionesqe style and series of easily understood and realistically flawed characters is beneficial to a developing child's sense of normality. With enough action to grab attention and an easily understandable plot, Doogal has the ability to keep a child entertained, and teach them about social dynamics: forgivness, redemption, hope and deterimation are all touted without undue preachyness.

In addition, there are enough references and adult jokes to keep a parent entertained. (Lord of the Rings, Matrix, and Harry Potter, for example.)I very much doubt it was very enjoyable to watch as an older person alone. However, through the medium of a young child's vision, Doogal takes on truely a fantastic and enjoyable golden glow. All of this with the benefits of an all-star, very talented voice cast. As the mother of a young girl, I cannot recomend this movie highly enough.

I highly recomend this DVD for anyone who's watched a hundred hours of any given video. When my daughter insists, Again, on watching Doogal, I can be reasonably assured she will remain involved; and I, around my book, or in between my bouts of housekeeping, or over my sewing, am frequently smileing and laughing myself. Her grammer, understanding and compassion, and well as her personal sense of well being, are all enhanced by this movie. And, unlike almost any other given "young child" aimed program, I can swallow it without any kind of grimace. February 6, 2008

77 Minutes of My life I'll never get back

I had really high hopes for this movie, as it has an all-star cast doing the voices, but it was so lame that I had to turn it off before it even ended. So, technically, I didn't waste all 77 minutes of my life. I haven't showed it to my daughter as I don't want to have to suffer hearing it again. The main character, Doogal, was boring, the story was everywhere and the plot seemed to be very lacking. None of the cool animation or all-star cast could redeem this movie. January 22, 2008

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