hammondjh-00479 Review of Dougal and the Blue Cat

Dougal and the Blue Cat (1970)

A Children's Film with Subtle Adult Messages

[8/10 · 25 July 2022]

I was 17 when I was fascinated how a children's favourite cartoon could make it on to the big screen so had to go and see why. What I did not expect was to have to queue up to get in! This was in 1972, in Romford, Essex. Plenty of other entertainment other than the cinema. After only ten minutes, I was taken the same way as adults are with Disney cartoons. I wanted to see what happened next. We were finally introduced to 'Buxton', a blue cat with a facial expression which could easily have killed rodents with a glance, behind which lay an evil any Bond villain would be honoured to bestow. As the story unfolds, Buxton's evil gets worse and whenever a villain such as he stalks the screen, there's always a hero to save the day - enter Dougal, every child's favourite screen dog! He not only makes sure of a happy ending, but an ending showing Buxton's true, contrite self. He even changes colour to show how sorry he is. Pass the paper hankies, please!