SUBMITTED BY Toad

July 9, 2002 —

CountingDown Editor Jason reflects on what was June 14th, the weekend "Scooby-Doo" hit theaters. Below you'll find his thoughts on the wacky comedy:

Jason’s Review of Scooby-Doo

I don’t think that there is a person today who grew up in the late sixties up to the late eighties without watching Scooby-Doo. I have fond memories of sitting in front of the TV on a rainy summer day or in the mornings before school and watching the show. I was intrigued when they said they were doing a live action movie (especially since my fave actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar, was to play Daphne).

The film succeeds in its desired effects, mainly appealing to kids and entertaining us for an hour and a half. Any attempts to take it seriously will cause you to be extremely disappointed.

The movie, updated to fit the time in which we live, opens with the Scooby, Shaggy and the gang solving another mystery. Velma is the brains, Fred takes all of the credit, while Daphne is yet again in need of rescuing, and Scooby and Shaggy, are, well, Scooby and Shaggy. Soon after, they all quit and go their separate ways. Fred becomes a star, Velma works for NASA, Daphne learns the martial arts, and Scooby and Shaggy, uh, er, eat.

About a year or so later, they all receive an invitation to Spooky Island, which is run by Mr. Mondavarious (played by Rowan Atkinson, who I love as Mr. Bean!) who is worried about the guests at his park. All of the kids are coming to the island as regular kids on Spring Break, but leaving as mellow, ebonics-talking hip hop wannabes who go on a meant streak when crossed. The gang decides to come together and solve the case. Scrappy Doo also makes an appearance, and I like the way the screenwriters handled him, because he is treated the way I wish they had on the cartoon (I HATED him! What an annoying pest!).

There are some cool moments in the film, with Daphne looking eerily similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer on wires. There is a lot of humor for us adults, including a “showdown” between Scooby and Shaggy that is just a gas! Daphne looks hot throughout, and Velma (who I must say is one fine-looking nerd!) even sports some cleavage at one point. There are also a couple of moments when the filmmakers play on the notorious drug references from the cartoon.

If you take this film seriously you will hate it, and yourself. Too many critics do this and spoil what could be a fun experience at the multiplex. This film brought me back to my youth and reminded me of how much fun this canine caper team really was. Take your children, younger siblings, nephews or cousins to the film, and be prepared to have a good time.