IT seems strange to come away from a production which boasts a stage-filling, giant pink snail, a magnificent flying moth and plethora of magical creatures feeling somewhat underwhelmed.

But sadly Doctor Dolittle the Musical didn't really offer the prescription for a fun-packed thoroughly entertaining night out I'd hoped for.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the celebrated film starring Rex Harrison, it had seemed like an ideal festive treat, but perhaps I was just expecting too much.

Leslie Bricusse devised a story all those years ago which has as much if not more relevance today. It is a show with a message - that we are all creatures sharing a planet and should all be respected.

Mark Williams, of Harry Potter and Fast Show fame, was Doctor Dolittle. Looking like Boris Johnson with a doctor's bag, his portrayal was all just a bit understated. Of course I wasn't expecting him to come out and do a Jesse the Gardener - "This season I will be mostly talking to the animals" - but I had hoped he would be more eccentric. Rather than like a lot of the production, it was all just a bit flat.

Certainly the show is too long. For all the great puppet work - and the animals are fabulous - younger attention spans will wander as what is a very old fashioned musical at heart takes more time than needed to develop a very simple plot.

Vicky Entwistle has possibly the hardest role in the show as the voice of Polynesia the parrot, the doctor's companion and conscience. She has to help operate the puppet, flanked by two other puppeteers and yet fade into the background. Vocally she's opted for a 200 year old who has spent far more time in Clayton-le-Moors than the Amazon rain forest which has a quirky novelty to it. As Janice Battersby in Coronation Street she was always a gobby bird - good practice for this then!

Patrick Sullivan was engaging as Matthew Mugg, one of the doctor's few human friends, and another Coronation Street exile, Brian Capron clearly had fun as the circus owner Albert Blossom and explorer Straight Arrow.

This is a big show. At times the stage was full of cast, puppeteers and creatures. The staging made it look at times like a giant pop up book sprung to life. There were some delightful touches, a dance routine with the Push Me Pull You was great fun.

But for all the colourful creatures and big ensemble numbers I came away thinking it was somehow lacking in oomph. It's not a bad show, it's just not as compelling as I'd hoped.