johnlink ranks SCOOBY-DOO (2002)
Got home from work and needed to unwind. I was thinking about going with an animated film, and went for a film which may as well have been animated instead. And to answer your question: Yes, I own SCOOBY-DOO on DVD.
I watched SCOOBY-DOO (2002) on 2.7.10. It was my third viewing of the film. TRAILER HERE
The first act of SCOOBY-DOO is actually quite good. The opening case plays on all the cliches from the show, and assumes you know what is going on. The action is mindlessly silly, and doesn’t pretend to be set in reality. The drug jokes (smoke billowing from the van) and the sex jokes (saying Fred is the ‘banana’ in the banana split) are more prevalent then you’d expect from a PG movie.
The reason this movie works at all, is because it embraces what it is. There is plenty of silly fun to go around, and all the actors do a good job of bringing their character into a live-action world. Freddie Prinze is perfectly suited to play Fred, both female leads (Sarah Michelle Gellar and Linda Cardellini) make use of their characters’ well-known quirks, and Matthew Lillard IS Shaggy. In fact, the worst part of SCOOBY-DOO is Scooby Doo. The computer animation doesn’t quite feel like it exists cohesively with the rest of the world. I wonder how this would have been had they used a real dog.
Once the characters get to Spooky Island, the action becomes somewhat tedious. I much prefer the fun comedy stuff to the moments of action. Of course, I could have done without the burping and farting scene, but I guess there has to be some of that in there for the kiddies (or do I just tell myself that).
I haven’t seen the second movie, and don’t intend to any time soon. But the first one is a fun enough distraction, especially for those who grew up watching the cartoon. I just wish they had done a better job with the title character.
SCORES
FILM: 4; MOVIE: 7; ACTING: 5; WRITING: 3
4+7+5+3+0=19
FINAL SCORE: 4.75
johnlinkmovies 