DVD Review - DangerMouse: Mission Improbable

I'm one of those people who cringes when I hear the word reboot uttered from TV and movie geeks but when I heard that DangerMouse was making a return to TV even I couldn't resist tuning in to CBBC with my youngest son.

The new series is bursting at the seams with terrific tales of derring-do and random ridiculousness that DM is famous for but with a 21st Century twist that sees our hero venturing even further afield to save the world with a dazzling array of high tech gadgetry and transportation that only the greatest secret agent could ever dream of owning.

Of course, every top agent needs a tip top team to support him and DM’s return sees him joined by some familiar faces as well as some new ones. DM is reunited with his right-hand hamster, Penfold and Colonel K is back to keep a watchful eye over every mission. A modern day secret agent needs state of the art gadgets and luckily for DM, the ingenious Professor Squawkencluck has joined the team and has a gadget for every occasion, although how long they’ll stay in one piece in DM’s hands is another question.

The classic voices of David Jason and Terry Scott as DangerMouse and Penfold have made way for Alexander Armstrong and Kevin Eldon, but the pair along with the voice talents of Stephen Fry, Ed Gaughan, Shauna MacDonald, Dave Lamb and Richard Osman have ensured the spirit and fun of the original shows is still there.

If you missed all the fuss when the show returned in October you can now catch up with the first seven episodes (including the feature length first episode DangerMouse Begins Again) on DangerMouse Mission Improbable.

Compared to some DVD's this is one of the more enjoyable cartoon series that even some of the grown ups can enjoy. As well as DM's classic arch nemesis Baron Greenback and his henchman Stilletto there are also a host of other villains for our hero to fight including a psychotic computerised toilet and a gigantic Welsh space plant with ideas of world domination (and he really sings in Welsh too, because my son, a fluent Welsh speaker, told me!)

• Dangermouse: Mission Improbable is available now from Freemantle Media.
• A version of this review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus entertainment supplement The Guide during November 2015.