This is a Resurfaced review written in 2002 or earlier. For more information, please visit this link: Resurfaced Reviews.

Scooby-Doo

Rating

Director

Raja Gosnell

Screenplay

James Gunn, Craig Titley

Length

1h 29m

Starring

Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Rowan Atkinson, Isla Fisher, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Steven Grives

MPAA Rating

PG

Review

The cult cartoon series of the 1970s has been transformed into a live-action film featuring a youthful cast and a modern update. “Scooby Doo” is an appropriate, if not unlikely choice for modern audiences.

The entire Mystery, Inc. crew is back for the motion picture. Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Fred Jones, the self-proclaimed leader of the group; Sarah Michelle Gellar appears as Daphne Blake, the rich socialite who ends up in the most precarious situations; Linda Cardellini is Velma Dinkley, the super-intelligent backbone of the group; Matthew Lillard plays Norville ‘Shaggy’ Rogers, the beatnik pal of the title character; and Scott Innes voices the computer generated star of the film Scooby Doo.

The film opens as the group is concocting a plan to capture a ghost that’s terrorizing a toy factory owned by Pamela Anderson. The plan predictably goes awry and ends with the group accidentally capturing the terror. When the television crews arrive to cover the story, the group falls into their typical roles with Fred taking all of the credit and Velma, whose theories didn’t fail to solve the crime, sitting on the sidelines causes the group to reevaluate their lives and go their separate ways.

When, individually, the group is invited to solve a mystery on Spooky Island by a rich codger they embark on separate plans to solve the crime before the others do. Daphne’s tired of being the damsel in distress, Fred wants to prove he doesn’t need Velma’s help and Velma wants to get the glory. Shaggy and Scooby merely want to be together with their friends and don’t really care about their careers.

The performances in “Scooby Doo” are not award-caliber, but are fun nonetheless. Prinze, Gellar and Cardellini are each good in their roles, but never fully envelop the characters of the original TV series. Lillard, who takes on the role made famous by disk jockey Casey Kasem, does a startling job capturing all of the mannerisms and vocal stylings of Shaggy. Rowan Atkinson, who plays the island’s owner Mondavarious, has never lived down his Mr. Bean character and brings too much of it to his performance.

The graphics used to keep Scooby Doo moving are fluffy and unrealistic at times. The visual effects were obviously completed on a rough budget. The sets, on the other hand, were just what the voodoo witch doctor ordered.

The “Scooby Doo” TV show was relatively cheesy, but for its time period and audience it was perfect. It is considered one of history’s best animated series and with this new movie, new audiences are sure to get involved. Discussions have arisen about the subtle drug and lesbianism references in the old show. While lesbians are certainly not approached in the film version, there a couple of hilarious marijuana jokes, including the name of character Shaggy falls in love with.

With so few successful animated/live-action film conversions, “Josie and the Pussycats” being one of them, there were a lot of expectations to meet. Director Raja Gosnell has addressed the concerns and turned out an enjoyable foray into the mystery-solving teenagers’ saga.

With a new generation of audiences sure to attend “Scooby Doo” with their parents who watched the show on television, it is certain to be a success and is sure to spawn sequels.

Awards Prospects

Lillard is the only cast member with a prospect of achievement, but with the lack of consideration given to impersonations and especially a lack of attention to light, mass-audience fare, he is sure to be ignored.

Review Written

June 19, 2002