Scooby Doo

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Dan Owen reviews

Scooby Doo
Distributed by
Warner Brothers

    Cover

  • Cert: PG
  • Running time: 86 minutes
  • Year: 2002
  • Pressing: 2002
  • Region(s): 1, NTSC
  • Chapters: 12
  • Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Languages: English, French
  • Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
  • Widescreen: 1.85:1
  • 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
  • Macrovision: Yes
  • Disc Format: DVD 9
  • Price: $14.99
  • Extras:Filmmaker’s Commentary, Cast Commentary, Spooky Island ArcadeGame, ‘Scooby Doo: Unmasking The Mystery’ featurette, Mini-Featurettes,Additional Scenes (with optional commentary), ‘Outkast’ Music Video:’Land Of A Million Drums’, DVD-ROM Links & Games

    Director:

      Raja Gosnell

Screenplay:

    James Gunn

Cast:

    Daphne: Sarah Michelle Gellar
    Fred: Freddie Prinze Jr
    Shaggy: Matthew Lillard
    Velma: Linda Cardellini
    Mondavarious: Rowan Atkinson
    Mary Jane: Isla Fisher
    Scooby Doo, voice: Neil Fanning

“Scooby Doo, where are you?”On Region 1 DVD, of course! After hundredsof cartoons adventures since the 70’s, the world’s most famousghost-busting mutt finally gets his chance to shine on the big-screen in21st-Century CGI-guise. The results are cruelly mixed.

Adapting cartoons for the big-screen is never easy (just look at TheFlintstones) but thankfully Scooby Doo doesn’t have to rely soheavily on its environment to make an impact. No, there are just somekey ingredients to get right in order to have a successful Scooby Doomovie: on-target casting, a good screenplay, excellent special-effectsand above-average directing. But Scooby Doo underperforms on all fourcounts.

The casting of the movie ranges from the impressive (Matthew Lillard isquite simply a revelation as Shaggy), to the shaky (a passable LindaCardellini is sadly cursed with overly-annoying vocals as Velma), downto the incredulous (Sarah Michelle Gellar reprises her Buffy role with apurple wardrobe as Daphne) and on to the pathetic (a monotone FreddiePrinze Jr as an oafish Fred).

The screenplay is weak, but does manage to pack in some greatpop-culture references to the hidden “drugs underbelly” of Scooby Doo’sworld: are Shaggy and Scooby smoking pot in the ‘Mystery Machine’,Fred’s insistence that Shaggy “talk him down” from anout-of-body-experience, and many more. There is also the expectedre-enactment of the cartoon’s signature cliches (the unmasking of fakespooks, the “meddling kids” line, Velma losing her glasses, Daphnegetting kidnapped…)

Of course, the plot for the film is simple. The ‘Scooby Gang’, who splitup 2 years previously, reunite to solve a mystery at “Spooky Island” – atheme park run by Mondavarious (an entertaining yet underutilized RowanAtkinson) where the teenaged holidaymakers return home as zombies aftertheir stay.

The film’s running time is slight, so the pace is brisk and the storyrattles along with gusto. But the story fails to engage because themystery is just not that involving – with audiences constantlydistracted by some hideously bad special-effects that seem to lurkaround every corner.

Scooby Doo himself is now a curious mix of CGI pooch (a crossbreed ofcartoon and reality that ultimately detracts from believability). It’s abad sign indeed when the quality of effects for the film’s mainattraction is cruelly lacking throughout – resulting in a weaklyportrayed irritant that “sounds” sort of like Scooby… but just neveris the canine coward kids know and love from the cartoon adventures.

Still, the film is certainly lively and colourful – with its tonguefirmly rooted in its cheek throughout. The sets are absolutely fantasticinterpretations of the cartoon’s style and colouring, but it’s MatthewLillard who is the movie’s saving grace, as he gives a spendingperformance as stoner Shaggy; all gangly charm and wobbly-chinnedcowardice. His interactions with the CGI Scooby are really the onlytimes the computer creation begins to convince – as the rest of the casttend to ignore the Great Dane’s antics!

Overall, Scooby Doo is a predictable disappointment but not a totalfailure. There are moments of good-natured fun, the eye-candy shouldplease its target audience of small children, Lillard gives amagnificent performance, and the cameo appearance by Scrappy Doo isinspired, but… the magic’s not quite there.

Scooby Doo is the kind of movie that just isn’t bad enough to even getangry about. Instead it will just frustrate you because some of theingredients were there to be taken advantage of – but director RajaGosnell, and particularly screenwriter James Gunn, just weren’t thechefs to make this particular Scooby Snack.

“Scooby Doo” Region 1 arrives in a clip-case from ‘Warner Brothers’,which are the least favoured style of DVD case available. However, theartwork on the case and DVD is funky and parallels the style of themovie assuredly. Good.

The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture is fantastic, managing tovividly bring Raja Gosnell’s bright and luscious movie to life. The darkscenes are also well handled by the transfer, but it’s the gorgeous useof primary colours and cartoon-style visuals that will keep you hooked.Not a hint of grain, artefacts or smearing anywhere. Excellent!

The film is hardly going to set the world alight with its Dolby Digital5.1 audio mix, but dialogue is sharp and the film’s music score is wellrepresented. True surround sound effects that dazzle are very sparse,and the ambience is often missing. Quite a disappointment.

  • Filmmaker’s Commentary: Director Raja Gosnell does his best to providean entertaining commentary on the making of the film, but too oftenlapses into “dead air.” Producers Richard Suckle and Charles Rovenoccasionally butt into the commentary to provide more enlighteninginsights – but their input it rare.
  • Cast Commentary: Actors Lillard, Prinze Jr, Gellar and Cardellinireunite for a commentary track, but seem far too interested in the moviethemselves. There’s nothing worse than listening to actors watch a moviethey’re in!
  • Spooky Island Arcade Game: A diverting multiple-choice quiz thateveryone should pass – taking the form of the arcade game Shaggy playswith MJ in the film. Success results in a short featurette about PamelaAnderson’s cameo in the movie.
  • ‘Scooby Doo: Unmasking The Mystery’: A surprisingly informativefeaturette on the making of the film, packed full of behind-the-scenesfootage and interviews. The majority of the extra concerns the extensiveuse of CGI, including many scenes of actors performing with people ingreen masks, dwarfs dressed as dogs, or nothing at all! Veryentertaining.
  • Additional Scenes (with optional commentary): Raja Gosnell explains thepro’s and con’s of scenes deleted from the finished film. Surprisingly,most are very good – particularly various flashbacks Daphne’s kung-futraining, Velma dancing in a bikini and Velma singing on a piano “TheFabulous Baker Boys”-style. But the infamous lesbian kiss between Velmaand Daphne has not been resurrected for the DVD’s release!
  • ‘Outkast’ Music Video: ‘Land Of A Million Drums’: Quite a good musicvideo from “Outkast”, which is played seemingly ad nauseum throughoutthe film!
  • ‘Featurettes: “Scary Places”, “The Mystery Van”, “Daphne Fight Scene”‘:some very short but intriguing mini-featurettes, explaining thechoreography of Gellar’s martial-arts sequences, the various binneddesigns for the Mystery Machine and a look at the production’s sets withBill Boes. Good stuff.
  • DVD-ROM Links: Various hyperlinks and mini-games for under-10’s. Averagestuff.

Overall the DVD release of “Scooby Doo” is pretty good and should pleasethe juvenile crowd it’s clearly aimed at. Of course, nothing here isgoing to blow you away with its originality but everything remainsentertaining and worthy of viewing during the next rainy day stuckindoors.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALL
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2002.

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