SCOOBY-DOO

Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and Rowan Atkinson
Director: Raja Gosnell
Running Time: 93 mins
Certificate: PG

Out to buy on DVD November 25th

After two years apart, Mystery Inc is tricked into reforming by theme park owner Mondavarius (Atkinson) to solve the reasons behind the strange changes in his guests on Spooky Island. Fred (Prinze Jr), Daphne (Gellar), Velma (Cardellini), Shaggy (Lillard) and Scooby-Doo have to get over their differences and do what they do best, follow the clues and solve the mystery.

With its tongue planted firmly in its cheek, this is a fun family movie that will have the kids laughing and the adults smiling with nostalgia.

Bringing the much loved Hanna-Barbara cartoon to the big screen as a live action feature would have always been a gamble but the producers have done a far better job with this than either of the two Flintstones movies. The film captures the essence of the cartoon and lampoons it at the same time with many in-gags and subtle references to Shaggy and Scooby's never mentioned hippy lifestyles, if you know what I mean.

Matthew Lillard is excellent as Shaggy. He has the voice and mannerisms of the character absolutely spot on and his interactions with Scooby are the highlights of the movie. The same can be said of Linda Cardellini's Velma, even though she does look too attractive to be the bespectacled geek in certain parts of the film, she really captures the character.

Freddie Prinze Jr's Fred and Sarah Michelle Gellar's Daphne on the other hand, are not so good. Fred is now a cocky attention seeker who loves himself more than the thrill of the mystery and Daphne is just the girl who always gets captured, has an obsession with purple but becomes Buffy by the end of the movie. Mocking the characters could have worked, as it did with The Brady Bunch, if their parts had been written better.

Which leads us to the star of the show, Scooby himself. The characterisation is spot on but it's just a shame that he looks so obviously computer generated. The problem with CG characters is that if they are done cheaply they look too shiny and standout from the their live action surroundings and this is the chase with most of the close up shots of Scooby. Whilst it doesn't really ruin the film for its intended young audience, the special effects will spoil the longevity of the movie from a technically aspect as it will look even more fake in years to come.

Fans will laugh at Shaggy and Scooby's exploits and rejoice at the way the movie's surprise villain makes fun at the later run of the cartoon series. At the end of the day the movie is harmless fun and enjoyable family entertainment, which is really all the makers set out to do in the first place. Now where are those Scooby snacks?

Film maker audio commentary
Cast audio commentary
Featurette "Unmasking the Mystery Behind Scooby Doo" English subtitles only
Never before seen footage Music video "Land of a Million Drums" by Outkast
Featurettes: Scary Places about movie set and design
The Mystery Van showing inside of Van
Daphne Fight Scene showing Sarah Michelle Gellar rehearsing fight scene
Hidden feature "Rain on Set" English subtitles only

DVD-ROM

One Voice Technology (nagivate through the ROM and complete interactive challenges)
6 ROM "Groovy Fun" Challenges Scooby Snack Match (classic concentration of matching pairs)
Belch In Tune! (place burps on the musical scale to match the melody)
Nobin' Nabber (Shaggy's carnie game where you position the arm and grab prizes)
DooTown (make it through the obstacle course, duck and jump, and avoid blades and other dangers)
Spooky Smorgasbord (help Scooby build a sandwich from ingredients that are sliding down the counter)
Spooky Groove-A-Doo (match the sequence of plasma dance steps so Fred and Velma aren't discovered)
Downloadables: screensavers, wallpaper, icons, system sounds Printables: Make your own "Scooby Snacks" box, playing cards, 3-D Mystery Machine model

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

The Usher 2002