The Magic Roundabout 2004

In this animated adventure, Dougal is a well-meaning, but ultimately greedy Skye Terrier who hatches a plan to pop a sweet cart’s tyre by placing a nail in the road, intending to devour the treats once the driver leaves for help. The scheme backfires in a spectacular way: the cart crashes into the roof of the Magic Roundabout in the village, and the resulting explosion sends the roundabout spinning. A frosty ice wizard bursts forth, freezing the whole circuit and trapping repairman Mr Rusty, Dougal’s young owner Florence, and two other children, Coral and Basil, inside an icy cell.

Shaken but determined, Dougal and his companions — Brian, the cynical snail; Ermintrude, the opera-singing cow; and Dylan, the laid-back rabbit — summon the magical zebedee to seek help. The wise jack-in-the-box-like figure, Zebedee, explains the dire predicament: the roundabout once kept Zeebad imprisoned, and with Zeebad released, his icy ambitions threaten the world once more. The plan hinges on retrieving three enchanted diamonds and slotting them into the roundabout to restore the prison that can reverse Zeebad’s power. Zebedee warns that one diamond is rumored to be hidden on the roundabout itself, while the other two lie at distant locations beyond the village, setting our heroes on a perilous journey.

To begin the quest, the group boards the magical locomotive known as Train, accelerating toward faraway places in pursuit of the diamonds. Meanwhile, Zeebad awakens and discovers a Foot guard animatronic named Soldier Sam, who has been catapulted from the roundabout during the freeze and is brought to life to assist in locating the diamonds. The troupe camps high in the mountains for the night, but Dougal strays outside and is soon abducted by Zeebad, sending the friends into a race against time to rescue him.

A European moose leads the way to Zeebad’s lair, where Ermintrude orchestrates a daring rescue of Dougal from captivity. Zeebad presses the chase, and a duel with Zebedee is summoned to prevent the evil wizard’s advance. The duel ends in tragedy for Zebedee as Zeebad defeats him, freezing him on a cliff and causing the cliff to crumble into an abyss. The heroes press onward, undeterred, pursuing diamonds from perilous locations — a volcano ringed with lava and an ancient temple defended by skeletal guardians — while Zeebad closes in, seizing the diamonds as they emerge.

Believing there may be a chance to stop Zeebad, the group decides to risk returning to the roundabout before Zeebad can claim all three. Their journey aboard Train is fraught with danger as Zeebad chases them aboard a drill-like locomotive, and he overhears that their destination is the roundabout. A high-stakes crash ensues when they collide with a buffer stop, catapulting them into the snow. The impact injures Train, forcing the team to abandon the vehicle and trek back to the village through a bleak, frozen landscape that now girds the world.

Zeebad makes a ruthless move, abandoning [Soldier Sam] in the snow and racing ahead to the now-frozen village, desperate to locate the third diamond. [Soldier Sam], having discovered his true duty to guard the roundabout, arrives on a moose to confront Zeebad, but is overwhelmed and fatally wounded. In a heartbreaking twist, Zeebad discovers the diamond lies within [Soldier Sam] and extracts it, ending Sam’s life. With the sun at stake, Zeebad begins to freeze it using the three diamonds, threatening the entire world.

The others return to the village to reclaim the diamonds and slot them into the roundabout, keeping the process alive until only the final diamond remains unplaced. Zeebad seizes it again, seeming to secure victory, until a healed [Train] returns and knocks the diamond free from Zeebad’s grip. This moment gives Dougal a chance to prove his growth and redeem himself by inserting the last diamond into the roundabout. The diamonds unleash their power, re-imprison Zeebad, thaw the world, and restore the Magic Roundabout to life. Zebedee is revealed to have survived and rejoins the group.

As the rescued riders find themselves free again, Florence appears to be comatose, but is revived by Dougal’s efforts. The villagers celebrate by taking a ride on the roundabout, only to discover it remains non-functional for the moment because [Soldier Sam] is lifeless. In a final act of mercy, Zebedee restores Sam to life and places him back on the roundabout, where the mechanism hums back to life. With their friendship strengthened, Dougal recognizes the true value of his friends and learns the lasting lessons of selflessness, courage, and humility.