Scooby-Doo (2002)
Beyond being fun to imitate, I never saw the appeal of Scooby-Doo but if you grew up with the original series or one of the numerous follow-ups, this 2002 live-action adaptation will satisfy. There are enough gags to keep adults entertained while the kids sit through (essentially) what they've seen before but done bigger.
After solving yet another case whose monster is actually an old man in a mask, Mystery, Inc. – Fred Jones (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Daphne Blake (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma Dinkley (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy Rogers (Matthew Lillard), and his dog Scooby-Doo (voiced by Neil Fanning) - go their separate ways. Two years later, they are called to investigate strange happenings on Spooky Island, a horror-themed resort/amusement park owned by Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson). As they attempt to get over the issues which drove them apart, they come face-to-face with a mystery unlike any they’ve tackled before.
Written by James Gunn, this translation of the Hanna-Barbera property is a bit more hard-edged and self-aware than the cartoons. It acknowledges how annoying Scrappy-Doo was, for instance. There are stoner jokes for the adults who always joked about what made Scooby and Shaggy so hungry and the mildest or racy gags. Things never go too far (it's still rated PG) and its appeal is ultimately limited to those who will find a loud fart contest between Shaggy and his dog hilarious but it's appreciated. Speaking of Matthew Lillard, he’s perfect. The voice, the mannerisms, the enthusiasm, the look make you wonder if he wasn’t genetically engineered for this role. You never get tired of him.
In several ways, this is a dated aimed-at-kids creation. I don’t only mean the special effects. The seams are visible but this came out in 2002 and it’s Scooby-Doo; they weren’t going to get Star Wars-level money into it. For what it is, the effects look fine. What I mean are the guest star cameos (we get an "adult" one right at the beginning) and the music. I don’t know how many Scooby Snacks they dumped on the lawns of Sugar Ray, Shaggy, and MxPx but it had to be a lot. They’re just some of the names that either appear in the film or contribute to the soundtrack.
Numerous jokes land, and to its credit, this does properly feel like “a movie”. The puzzle the gang is trying to solve is slightly more difficult to decipher than you’d expect and the stakes are higher than in any 22-minute cartoon. Before you get too excited, keep in mind that for every pair of proper gaga you get a bad one and another that's juvenile. I praised the self-aware humor but much more could've been done to give it wider appeal. Having actual scares, for instance. To me, this seemed fine, even fun at times. The more invested you are in the property, the better it’ll seem. Then again, as a non-fan, I may not know what I’m talking about. (August 2, 2020)
