With the success animated movies like Shrek and any given Pixar film, who wouldn't want to get in on the action? Most of the major studios have opened animated divisions in order to stake their claim, small though it may be. Unfortunately, with a rise in quantity comes a fall in quality. About a month ago, we reviewed Hoodwinked, a first time entry from directors Corey and Todd Edwards and Kanbar Entertainment. Though we found the animation to be just average, the humor and pacing were spot on enough to earn it 4 out of 5. So when a new movie "from the people that brought you Hoodwinked" was announced, I was anxious to see how much they had improved with the experiences learned from Hoodwinked. What I got instead was a mess of one-liners, a nonsensical plot and timing fit for an A.D.D. patient on speed.

Doogal is the story of a dog living in a utopian villiage of animals and humans living in harmony and looked over by the good wizard Zebedee. Doogal's apparent candy addiction causes a candy cart to crash into the carousel at the center of town releasing the evil wizard Zeebad and trapping Doogal's best friend in a block of ice surrounding the carousel. The good wizard descends from on high to tell Doogal, Dylan the rabbit, Ermintrude the cow and Brian the snail to find 3 magic diamonds before the evil wizard does in order to prevent him from freezing the son and ruling the world. Confused yet? The snail is in love with the cow, the train they travel the world on can talk and why in the world would you banish an evil wizard into a carousel that children play on?

The film suffers from any real originality. Even though the characters and their surroundings are whimsical, the animation doesn't compliment them and the story does nothing to get you to feel for their plight. Worse though is that instead of actual dialogue, the script borrows heavily from dozens of other movies. The Matrix, Pulp Fiction, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Indiana Jones barely scratch the surface. Add to that a bombardment of one lined cliches and you begin to feel like you're hearing fingernails on a chalkboard.

The film moves faster than most Saturday morning cartoons. Doogal's screenwriter, Butch Hartman, is responsible for some of the best animated series on Nickelodeon including the award winning Fairly Odd Parents, but he fails to adapt his writing and pacing to a film audience. Attached by their vocal cords are big names: Chevy Chase, Judi Dench, William H Macy, Ian McKellen and indie film maverick Kevin Smith. Even their star power can't help to keep a cohesive experience.

The visuals are colorful and imaginitive, but hard to watch. Though kids will likely be entertained on those alone, anyone requiring more than pretty lights will find it boring and uninspired. Save your $9.75 for Cars later this summer.