The Scooby-Doo gang are now veteran mystery solvers. Fame, if not fortune, has hit the group. However, things aren't going so well for our heroes. Fred has become egotistical and takes credit for the group's success. Velma feels under appreciated. Daphne resents being the one that is always the damsel in distress. They decide to split up leaving Shaggy and Scooby all alone.
Two years later Shaggy and Scooby receive a mysterious invitation to Spooky Island, a scary amusement park. The park's creator, Mondavarious, requests their aid in solving a mystery. It turns out that all the college students coming to the island leave as brainwashed zombies. Shaggy and Scooby initially turn the invitation down, but relent with the promise of all the food they can eat (of course). At the airport they discover that the rest of the group has been invited, too. Thus Mystery Inc. tentatively reunites to solve the puzzle of Spooky Island.
I went into this movie very skeptical. In fact, after watching the first 10 minutes I thought, "This is really going to suck." However, the movie picked up and by the end I really enjoyed it. I thought it was about as close as you could get to putting a live action version of the cartoon on screen. For the most part, it is faithful to its origins. Characters try to run away and spin out in mid air. Scooby and Shaggy beg for Scooby Snacks. A villain complains about "meddling kids". It's pretty much everything you'd expect.
While most of the cast is mediocre, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and the CGI Scooby-Doo really make the movie. Lillard nails the Shaggy character so perfectly that you'd think the cartoon was based on HIM. His voice and mannerisms are dead on. He also works perfectly with the CGI Scooby-Doo. Scooby is cartoony yet hilarious. He's just like the cartoon character as well. While acting rather human-like, he's still not above chasing the occasional cat. He's also guided by his stomach rather than his brain. One funny scene features Scooby getting a phone call. A creepy voice says, "If you want all the hamburgers you can eat, go into the dark and scary woods where nobody can see you and meet me there." "OK!!" he enthusiastically responds.
The movie had my attention most of the way through, and that's a major feat. Luckily being kid friendly didn't mean they had to compromise on humor. There are some humorous references to rumors of Shaggy being a stoner and such that pass totally over kid's heads but the adults catch. Jokes about Scooby drinking out of the toilet, cleaning himself at Don Knott's party, and other such dog-related humor bring a lot of laughs, too.
Besides that, this film had great sets and a fun soundtrack.
I don't know which Scooby-Doo cartoons these writers saw, but they must have seen something different than I did. I never remembered Freddie being an egotistical chauvinist. I didn't remember Daphne being the constant damsel in distress. I didn't remember Velma being ignored in credit for the captures. And I certainly didn't remember Scrappy Doo being an evil little pip squeak that everyone hated. Annoying? Yes. Misguided? Yes. Hated? Maybe only by the adult fans of the series, and that really shows up in this film. The characterizations of these characters are the only parts of the film that are unfaithful to the cartoon. This ties into the ending as well which I don't want to spoil here. I'll just say I found it a little disappointing.
Most of the cast is pretty mediocre. Freddie Prinze Jr. stands out as the most miscast of the group. I could never get over him being blonde. It just didn't look right. Sarah Michelle Gellar was a lot of fun in the movie, but I never thought of her as the definitive Daphne. Lillard was just so perfect that he made the rest of the cast seem out of place.
In the end Scooby-Doo could have been a total disaster, but winds up being some fun summer entertainment. Scooby-Doo has its problems, but it is still probably one of the better live action cartoon adaptations to come along.
Two years later Shaggy and Scooby receive a mysterious invitation to Spooky Island, a scary amusement park. The park's creator, Mondavarious, requests their aid in solving a mystery. It turns out that all the college students coming to the island leave as brainwashed zombies. Shaggy and Scooby initially turn the invitation down, but relent with the promise of all the food they can eat (of course). At the airport they discover that the rest of the group has been invited, too. Thus Mystery Inc. tentatively reunites to solve the puzzle of Spooky Island.
I went into this movie very skeptical. In fact, after watching the first 10 minutes I thought, "This is really going to suck." However, the movie picked up and by the end I really enjoyed it. I thought it was about as close as you could get to putting a live action version of the cartoon on screen. For the most part, it is faithful to its origins. Characters try to run away and spin out in mid air. Scooby and Shaggy beg for Scooby Snacks. A villain complains about "meddling kids". It's pretty much everything you'd expect.
While most of the cast is mediocre, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and the CGI Scooby-Doo really make the movie. Lillard nails the Shaggy character so perfectly that you'd think the cartoon was based on HIM. His voice and mannerisms are dead on. He also works perfectly with the CGI Scooby-Doo. Scooby is cartoony yet hilarious. He's just like the cartoon character as well. While acting rather human-like, he's still not above chasing the occasional cat. He's also guided by his stomach rather than his brain. One funny scene features Scooby getting a phone call. A creepy voice says, "If you want all the hamburgers you can eat, go into the dark and scary woods where nobody can see you and meet me there." "OK!!" he enthusiastically responds.
The movie had my attention most of the way through, and that's a major feat. Luckily being kid friendly didn't mean they had to compromise on humor. There are some humorous references to rumors of Shaggy being a stoner and such that pass totally over kid's heads but the adults catch. Jokes about Scooby drinking out of the toilet, cleaning himself at Don Knott's party, and other such dog-related humor bring a lot of laughs, too.
Besides that, this film had great sets and a fun soundtrack.
I don't know which Scooby-Doo cartoons these writers saw, but they must have seen something different than I did. I never remembered Freddie being an egotistical chauvinist. I didn't remember Daphne being the constant damsel in distress. I didn't remember Velma being ignored in credit for the captures. And I certainly didn't remember Scrappy Doo being an evil little pip squeak that everyone hated. Annoying? Yes. Misguided? Yes. Hated? Maybe only by the adult fans of the series, and that really shows up in this film. The characterizations of these characters are the only parts of the film that are unfaithful to the cartoon. This ties into the ending as well which I don't want to spoil here. I'll just say I found it a little disappointing.
Most of the cast is pretty mediocre. Freddie Prinze Jr. stands out as the most miscast of the group. I could never get over him being blonde. It just didn't look right. Sarah Michelle Gellar was a lot of fun in the movie, but I never thought of her as the definitive Daphne. Lillard was just so perfect that he made the rest of the cast seem out of place.
In the end Scooby-Doo could have been a total disaster, but winds up being some fun summer entertainment. Scooby-Doo has its problems, but it is still probably one of the better live action cartoon adaptations to come along.