Pathé Distribution Announce the UK Release Date for

THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT
February 11 2005

DOUGAL - ROBBIE WILLIAMS
FLORENCE - KYLIE MINOGUE
ERMINTRUDE - JOANNA LUMLEY
BRIAN - JIM BROADBENT
DYLAN - BILL NIGHY
ZEBEDEE - IAN McKELLAN
SOLDIER SAM - RAY WINSTONE
ZEEBAD - TOM BAKER

Pathe UK, the distribution company behind the monumental animation hit Chicken Run have resurrected the 1960’s cult TV show ‘The Magic Roundabout’ for the big screen. With an incredible all star British line up including Robbie Williams, Joanna Lumley, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Ian McKellen , Ray Winstone, Tom Baker and pop sensation Kylie Minogue, this all time children’s classic, is due for national release as a full length, CGI animated feature on February 11th 2005.

Last week came the announcement that that Miramax Films have acquired North and South American distribution rights to the movie, marking the third recent deal between the two companies. Francois Invernel , managing director of Pathe UK said ‘ Harvey Weinstein has the right vision and marketing acumen to bring The Magic Roundabout to the largest audience in American theatres’ Agnes Mentre, executive vice president of acquisitions and co productions at Miramax claimed ‘ The quality of the story and the animation is second to none.’

Based on the much loved original TV series, The Magic Roundabout sees the return of popular favourites DOUGAL, FLORENCE, ERMINTRUDE, DYLAN, ZEBEDEE and BRIAN plus two new characters SOLDIER SAM and ZEEBAD.

The Magic Roundabout lies in ruin: the evil ice sorcerer ZEEBAD is on the loose and the fate of the Enchanted Land hangs in the balance. As a frosty mist sweeps across the earth, four unlikely heroes, BRIAN, ERMINTRUDE, DYLAN, and DOUGAL step forward to challenge the chill. They must recover three magic diamonds to reverse the onset of winter and return ZEEBAD to his prison beneath the ground; easy you may say...if you're not a snail, a cow, a rabbit or a dog.

Across the furnaces of a fiery volcano, through the hidden dangers of a jungle temple, over the snow-capped mountains of the icy wilderness,

our sub-zero heroes must voyage and survive. The destiny of the world rests on their shoulders. Only through teamwork, friendship and exceptional bravery will they deliver the Enchanted Land from a frozen fate…

The Magic Roundabout is produced by Pascal and Laurent Rodon, executive produced by Jake Eberts, Francois Ivernel, Cameron McCracken and Jill Sinclair, and written by Raolf Sanoussi, Stephane Sanoussi and Paul Bassett Davies with additional dialogue by Ted Safran. The Magic Roundabout is directed by Dave Borthwick, Frank Passingham and Jean Duval and is based on the original characters created by Serge Danot. The Magic Roundabout is a Pathé Pictures presentation of a Films Action/BolexBrothers SPZ production.

The Magic Roundabout is distributed in the UK and Ireland by Pathe UK and opens nationwide on February 11th 2005.
Running time: tbc Certificate: tbc