High jinks and hilarity follow the Chuckle Brothers wherever they go, and in this brand new adventure Paul and Barry find themselves in Morocco in search of an old treasure map. But true to form, nothing runs smoothly and our hapless heroes discover that the map is currently being used as a table cloth in a restaurant. Undeterred the Chuckles get the job of running the restaurant where the map is thought to be, and much more merriment, mayhem and madness ensues. Eventually our daring duo seize the map and set off on a mission to find the treasure, whilst being pursued by mummies, a gorilla and an incontinent elephant...

'Ello! Indiana Chuckle & the Kingdom of the Mythical Sulk really surprised me, as it's actually a kids show that doesn't patronise its young audience and is made up of corny gags and pantomime style set pieces that will appeal to adults just as much as children. There are plenty of jokes that had me groaning and laughing out loud (although I'll deny it if you tell anyone).

This DVD is basically a recording of the Chuckle Brothers 2008 touring show - a pantomime / theatre style production that sees the Chuckle Brothers on a wild adventure to track down the treasure from a mummy's tomb. However, unlike your usual pantomime, there's hardly any singing and dancing and the Chuckle Brothers are on stage for over 90% of the show. The story is pretty straight forward and the jokes are as old as the mummies the Chuckle Brothers encounter - but that doesn't matter as jokes like these will always be funny to children... er... and me.

Now, it could be because I grew in Rotherham, where the Chuckle Brothers hail from, but I surprised myself and really got into this. I can imagine, as a kid, that this show would have been great if you were actually in the audience. Both Barry and Paul really seem to be having a great time. Also, while watching this release, I began to see where one of those Internet rumours comes from. Is Barry really Paul's dad and not his brother? I have to say that I always thought that particular rumour was nonsense... but I'm beginning to suspect he just might be - especially after seeing his Egyptian dancing.

The only extra is Safire Magic (7 min, 37) which is the show's supporting magic act. It's a shame that the puppet show wasn't included as an extra, but then I'm not entirely sure that these weren't just quick linking acts that wouldn't have worked on their own.

There are audio options too. Believe it or not you can either play this in stereo or surround sound. I didn't realise this until after I'd watched it in stereo, but I'm wondering now what the benefits of surround sound are of a theatre based production. Will I be able to hear noisy kids sitting behind me?

On the negative side, the camera work on this recording is a little poor in places and I was left wondering, on a number of occasions, whether Liberation hadn't made a mess of the aspect ratio when mastering the disc. There are a few too many instances when the framing is totally off, with half of the actors faces off screen - making it look as though this should have been a widescreen release, but someone had accidentally panned and scanned it for the DVD.

One thing is for certain, there's a lot more laughs and quality entertainment here than there is in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And Barry and Paul have aged a lot better than Harrison Ford. If your kids love the Chuckle Brothers then you'll need to buy this for them. And if they don't, make them sit and watch this - you'll be glad you did.

8

Darren Rea