Scooby-Doo

Starring: Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardelini, Rowan Atkinson
Directed by: Raja Gosnell
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy 2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The gang of Mystery, Inc. decides to call it quits and pursue their individual dreams. However, all are summoned mysteriously to solve a mystery on Spooky Island. The gang reluctantly reunites, including Fred (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardelini), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard), and of course, Scooby-Doo. As Mystery Inc. works to discover who is behind a brainwashing plot, they discover how important they are to each other... but will their discovery come too late?

Review:

Tim: This movie was ripped to pieces by critics. But, as I've long believed, critics normally don't know what the hell they're talking about. Scooby-Doo succeeds because it proves that it is smarter than the original cartoon. It handles its source material brilliantly, paying homage to the favorite and funny cartoon series, while poking fun at it at the same time. The absolute best scenes in the movie are the ones where they make fun or joke about something related to the cartoon.

The film has a pretty good cast to go with it. Sarah Michelle Gellar gives a good performance, although not quite loyal to the character of Daphne. Prinze, Jr. also doesn't follow too closely to Fred, although his performance doesn't completely ruin the movie. (and at several moments is actually quite good). The acting awards have to go to Linda Cardelini and Matthew Lillard, however. Cardelini is so good as Velma that you actually feel like you are watching the cartoon character come alive. Matthew Lillard.... what can you say about him? He is so realistically Shaggy that its actually scary. He is the star of the film because he truly transforms himself into Shaggy. He makes this movie worth seeing. The final star of the movie, Scooby himself, is decent enough. The computer animation is not up to par with the available technology, but then again, he's a talking dog!!!! So who really cares if its life-like or not?

The film itself is oftentimes ridiculous and corny. But then again, so was the cartoon. There is something about a cheesy film that knows how cheesy it is an simply embraces it. That's what happens here. Scooby-Doo is in my mind a good movie because it not only respects the cartoon, but in many ways improves on it. If you loved the original, I'd recommend seeing this movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Summer Catch, Thirteen Ghosts