Scooby Doo (2002)
Be afraid. Be kind of afraid.
Blast from the past time, because we like doing that as old people. Who am I calling old? Me and this movie really, but how bad is that really? The cartoon a bunch of us grew up, turned into a live action movie that was good enough to get some sequel action. In a funny twist, it’s one of the few things that came back and tried to “grow with it’s original audience” that still felt largely like what it was - but was that a good or bad thing? Grab your snacks and hide from ghosts, tonight we visit Scooby-Doo.
The Mystery Inc is at it again, solving mysteries and catching crooks. After things get a bit tense at the end of their most recent capture however, the mood of the gang seems to hit a breaking point and they all split up - much to the sadness of Shaggy and Scoob. Years later, they all mysteriously get invitations to a island retreat to solve another mystery. See, guests are coming in normal, but leaving real weird - and it’s rumored that some kind of spell is being cast. Most the gang - still a bit at odds with each other - are intent on solving the mystery first, whilst the main comedic duo are out for food - when Shag isn’t getting distracted by a lovely lady that’s caught his eye. They are all a bit more out of their depths then they realize, as this time around, it’s not just a guy in a mask - no, these monsters are real. It’s a straight forward plot that fits it’s family-focused credentials fine, while also bring up some things that I’m sure some people thought about at some point or another.
The actors do a good job here. They play their roles quite well, including the antics between the bunch of them. They all look the part pretty well also - maybe not spitting images at all times, but for trying to make a drawn character be a real person with a physical costumes - well, except the CG dog and monsters at least. There’s a time or two where it might feel like there’s some sight line issues going on a little with interactions with Scooby, but for the most part everyone is playing their part to a T - even if that part is a little bit more jaded the what you grew up with. Admittedly, perhaps sometimes it comes off a bit dumb - but then again so did the old cartoon, so I would hardly hold that against the actors for keeping in the mood of what came before.
The characters are mostly recognizable here. Yeah, it feels a little weird to see them with conflict amongst themselves, and at times it doesn’t feel like in most situations a character has really changed any in their time apart, but it’s not bad. They set up plenty of suspects, they throw in some twists that aren’t huge surprises if you follow along, and they still crack plenty of jokes and get the feeling right. That said, there are some of the “adult-ifying” moments that can feel a little out of place (like a certain “I can look at myself naked” joke), but beyond that it feels relatively on point for an overly-long episode of the old show, if one of the twists were the monsters and ghouls were real.
Some of the effects are a bit dated
The antics are mostly live action, but as mentioned we get both our main dog and the monsters all in CG. This is early 2000’s CG - so it’s not the best - but it is suitably goofy for a cartoon to real transition. Really, you don’t even mind the effects that much - it just feels campy and goofy in the right ways - but that doesn’t mean it’s all glorious. In the first scene, we get a good looking ghost-man, but we also get some rather subpar editing of Shaggy’s head in a barrel that stands out pretty bad. It’s not really to dunk on the artists or anything that did it - sometimes effects just don’t come out as good as they could for various reasons. Considering most the effects works fine, even if the CG is a bit dated, I don’t really thing there’s a ton I personally would complain about here with full recognition that it was earlier on and not a visual masterpiece in intention. Most of the designs do feel intentional though.
Costumes are on point - especially in that you know exactly who is who just by sight alone. Later on things get a bit more fun - when we start getting into creepy park workers and the likes - but mostly its all just that sort of modern attire slightly amped for fun beach theme parks. That said, there is also a luchadore in there, so it is at least some stuff outside the normal. Set stuff gets to be somewhat varied as well - featuring the classic spooky castle ride attraction with booby traps, the beach, some spooky caves, and a factory at the front end of it. It all fits well with whats going on in the story, and the first villains outfit even has some pretty neat little thought put into it - as happens with Scooby villains. Humor is here, and it’s going to be subjective as always. You might get some “appropriate” whiplash when you go from a massive fart-battle scene to that earlier mentioned “i can look at myself naked” - but beyond that and some better or less veiled quips aimed at the adults it’s usually a “good time” kind of humor rather than bust out laughing on the floor - at least for me. Still, I laughed at the fart scene, full welling knowing it was coming because I remember it from the first time I watched it, so my humor isn’t perhaps the most complex.
Audio is balanced well. You hear lines as they are said despite background noises, and you’ll usually always know whose saying them. It gets the attitude of the characters pretty good through those deliveries, as they also do help to flesh out the character interactions with the already decent body language the actors are putting on. The soundtrack carries with it plenty of little callbacks to things like the original Scooby theme, although a large amount of it is your generic radio play and some techno. It’s also got Sugar Ray - to date myself by saying that I recognize them. It’s a pretty fine audio collection. When it comes to the thinking types, there’s a bunch of family-level stuff you could get here. One could argue that seeing one family movie means you’ve seen them all, but they all do tend to tackle their topics in a slightly different way. The value of friendship, teamwork, recognizing each others worth and also improving oneself - it’s all there in a Scooby Doo package.
Another man in a mask.
It’s still fun all these years later if you ask me. Yeah, some of the effects be tripping and I notice it way more easily now than I remember - although I don’t ever remembering thinking it was amazing in that regard, but it’s still fun and that’s the important part. It’s not massacring the characters you know and love just because someone wants it to fit a completely different look, which makes it far more approachable from a generic footing - although how appropriate it is for your specific family would probably require a bit of a pre-watch. It’s nothing horrific by any means, but people have different tolerances of what they deem inappropriate, just like some folks won’t consider fart jokes as funny as I do. Overall far worse times you could waste a to-the-point hour and a half.