Scooby-Doo Review

by Laura Clifford (laura AT reelingreviews DOT com)
June 13th, 2002

SCOOBY-DOO
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After the case of the Luna ghost is solved, TV cameras once again point towards Mystery Inc.'s Fred Jones (Freddie Prinze Jr., "Summer Catch"). When he fails to credit Velma's (Linda Cardellini, TV's "Freaks and Geeks") plan for the umpteenth time, she quits in disgust, followed by flustered Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar, TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). Two years later, a summons from Spooky Island theme park owner Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson, "Bean") will reunite the trio along with the never split team of Shaggy (Matthew Lillard, "Summer Catch") and "Scooby-Doo."

Raja Gosnell ("Never Been Kissed") directs a perfectly cast group of young actors and brings Hanna Barbera's long-running cartoon to loopy life. James Gunn's ("Tromeo and Juliet") story and screenplay feature all the elements of a Scooby episode and introduce just enough differences for the film's feature length.

Vapidly handsome Freddie Prinze Jr. is just right for egotistical Teen Beat cover boy Fred. While his bleached blonde do gets updated after the film's first scene, his ascot remains. Cardellini, who looks like Janeanne Garofalo's
little sister, is Velma personified, although a brief bout with possession uncovers the sexpot within. Prinze's real-life squeeze Sarah Michelle Gellar also gets a dye-job and plays against type as the red-headed dimwit Daphne who's used the two year downtime to 'turn her body into a dangerous weapon.' Matthew Lillard not only gets the voice and body language of Shaggy, he does terrific work acting with his best pal Scooby, a CGI creation not present on the set.

Scooby Doo himself is a wonderful blend of real looking Great Dane motion and cartoonish anthropomorphism, including a disguise as a Mrs. Doubtfire-like granny. The visual effects team, supervised by Peter Crosman ("Monkeybone"), perfectly incorporate the creature into the action. Additional effects, including ghosts, a couple of Gremlin-like monsters and protoplasmic floating heads, are also beautifully rendered. Bill Boes' ("Monkeybone") production design is both bright and dark, featuring both a fine eye for detail and a tinge of Tim Burton. Costume design is terrific, from Daphne's ever changing lilac wardrobe to the spooky staff of Spooky Island. Cinematographer David Eggby ("Pitch Black") does an expert job blending all the elements with a seamless look.

"Scooby-Doo," though, is definitely for the kids. While some implied pot humor
(Shaggy's given a love interest - Mary Jane (Ilsa Fisher) - his favorite name, and smoke bellows out of the Mystery Machine) will amuse the adults while flying over the tyke's heads, eventually "Scooby-Doo" loses steam with a bloated climax that matches its bloated bad guy. Still, there's fun to be had with some personality switching and a comically exaggerated martial arts fight that for once doesn't parody "The Matrix."

"Scooby-Doo" may be the first summer movie to be enjoyed not with popcorn, but with Rooby Racks.

B-

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