It
really came as no surprise when the live action SCOOBY-DOO ($27)
proved to be critic proof and did a rather brisk business at the box
office. Let’s face it; SCOOBY-DOO the movie was made for the
diehard fans of the three decade old Saturday morning cartoon show- and
not the critics. By no stretch of the imagination is SCOOBY-DOO
good cinema, which is probably what perturbed the movie critics, but the
movie is amusing and seems to push all the right buttons for the TV show’s
fan base. If nothing else, the movie version of SCOOBY-DOO
confirmed something that I’ve suspected since my teen years. Underneath
those nerdy glasses and turtleneck sweater, Velma is a babe with a real
nice rack…
The
live action version of SCOOBY-DOO doesn’t stray too far from the
formula of the animated TV show, but it does put a new spin on things and
isn’t afraid to poke fun at the repetitive nature of the characters and
situations. SCOOBY-DOO opens with the members of Mystery Inc.
solving another one of their typical cases. However, a number of
longstanding personal resentments cause the members of the Scooby Gang to
go their separate ways. After two years apart, they are reunited by
separate invitations to the Spooky Island theme park, where they are
requested to solve a mystery involving ancient island spirits that has
been transforming the resort’s college age guests into seemingly
brainwashed zombies.
All
of the TV show's animated characters have been brought to life by some
good to great casting choices. With his hair died blonde, Freddie Prinze
Jr. is well suited to the role of Fred Jones, the self-absorbed leader of
Mystery Inc. Sarah Michelle Gellar is perfect as the shallow and danger
prone Daphne Blake, who tries in this movie to reinvent herself in the
mold of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I don’t think there is
any other actor that could have brought Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers to life
as well as Matthew Lillard. Not only does Lillard look and sound like
Shaggy- he is Shaggy. As good as Lillard is, I have to say that I love
Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley. Not only does Cardellini nail the
character as portrayed in the cartoon show, she brings a new dimension to
the role… and confirms my long held suspicions about the character.
Finally, we come to the title character- the cowardly canine detective
that has been entertaining us for more than three decades. The CGI version
of SCOOBY-DOO offers just the right mixture of real dog and cartoon
canine, so he fits into real life settings, while still being recognizable
as the character that we have all grown to love. The cast of SCOOBY-DOO
also features Rowan Atkinson, Isla Fisher, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Charles
Cousins, Steven Grives, Sam Greco, Nicholas Hope, as well as the vocal
talents of Neil Fanning and Scott Innes.
Warner
Home Video has made SCOOBY-DOO available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. Warner is also releasing a separate full screen version for
those individuals who could care less about seeing the movie as it should
be seen. Warner’s wide screen transfer looks great- boasting an image
that is sharp, bright and very nicely detailed. Colors are quite vivid,
and the deep saturation produces a nice cartoon like palette. No matter
the intensity, all of the hues are reproduced cleanly and without
smearing. Blacks appear nice and deep, plus the whites always appear
stable. Shadow detail is very good, although the film is lit in such a way
that the darkest sequences never become too dark and shadowy. The film
element used for the transfer is virtually blemish free and rarely
displays any kind of noticeable grain structure. Digital compression
artifacts have been well concealed on the cleanly authored DVD.
SCOOBY-DOO
features a good sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While not
the most aggressively mixed soundtrack on the market, the sound designers
do a good job of invigorating the films action oriented moments. Even the
cartoony comedic moments get sound effects play, which certainly add to
the movie’s fun. However, the mix tends to favor the forward soundstage
more than I liked, leaving the rear channels underutilized, except for
ambience and musical fill. Dialogue is always clean and crisp sounding, as
well as being reproduced with complete intelligibility. The bass channel
is very solid, adding a full-bodied whomp to the film's sound effects. A
Spanish 5.1 channel soundtrack has also been encoded onto the DVD, along
with English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s amusingly designed interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as some supplemental materials. Two
commentary tracks are featured on the DVD; the first includes director
Raja Gosnell, producers Richard Suckle and Charles Roven, while the second
features cast members Freddie Prince Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew
Lillard and Linda Cardellini. As you might have guessed the filmmakers'
commentary cover the technical end of the production, while the cast
commentary is more laid back and fun.
Also
included on the DVD is about thirteen minutes worth of deleted scenes,
which can be viewed with or without director's commentary. For the most
part, deleted scenes usually belong on the cutting room floor, but some of
the material here I wish had been included back into the body of the film.
I am particularly partial to the alternate opening credit sequence, which
featured the animated versions of the characters. Unmasking The
Mystery behind Scooby-Doo is a twenty-plus minute featurette that
takes a look behind-the-scenes at the making of the movie with a CGI
Scooby-Doo, as well as offering interviews with the creators of the
original Saturday morning cartoon show and the cast members, who talk
about bringing these classic animated characters to life.
Scary
Places runs under five minutes
and focuses on the production design and sets that bring this creepy
Scooby-Doo mystery to life. The Mystery Van looks at the
final design of The Mystery Machine in the movie, as well as glimpsing
more than fifty optional versions that the production designer came up
with. Daphne Fight Scene is a two-minute program that
focuses on Sarah Michelle Gellar being strapped into a harness on wires
for her Hong Kong style martial arts sequence. The Outkast music video for
the song Land Of A Million Drums is also provided on the
DVD. Finally on the video side, there is the Spooky Island Arcade
Challenge, which is a one or two player interactive game that has
the players answer questions about certain details of the movie. SCOOBY-DOO
is also DVD-ROM enabled, offering access to other on-line content.
If
you are like me and are a longtime fan of the Saturday morning cartoon, I
think you will enjoy SCOOBY-DOO. Sure, its not great cinema, but it
is amusing fun. Warner's wide screen DVD looks and sounds terrific, plus
it offers a good supplemental section. If you missed it in the theater and
want to see SCOOBY-DOO at home, don't wait for pay-per-view; the
wide screen DVD is going to be a whole lot better.
It
really came as no surprise when the live action SCOOBY-DOO ($27)
proved to be critic proof and did a rather brisk business at the box
office. Let’s face it; SCOOBY-DOO the movie was made for the
diehard fans of the three decade old Saturday morning cartoon show- and
not the critics. By no stretch of the imagination is SCOOBY-DOO
good cinema, which is probably what perturbed the movie critics, but the
movie is amusing and seems to push all the right buttons for the TV show’s
fan base. If nothing else, the movie version of SCOOBY-DOO
confirmed something that I’ve suspected since my teen years. Underneath
those nerdy glasses and turtleneck sweater, Velma is a babe with a real
nice rack…
The
live action version of SCOOBY-DOO doesn’t stray too far from the
formula of the animated TV show, but it does put a new spin on things and
isn’t afraid to poke fun at the repetitive nature of the characters and
situations. SCOOBY-DOO opens with the members of Mystery Inc.
solving another one of their typical cases. However, a number of
longstanding personal resentments cause the members of the Scooby Gang to
go their separate ways. After two years apart, they are reunited by
separate invitations to the Spooky Island theme park, where they are
requested to solve a mystery involving ancient island spirits that has
been transforming the resort’s college age guests into seemingly
brainwashed zombies.
All
of the TV show's animated characters have been brought to life by some
good to great casting choices. With his hair died blonde, Freddie Prinze
Jr. is well suited to the role of Fred Jones, the self-absorbed leader of
Mystery Inc. Sarah Michelle Gellar is perfect as the shallow and danger
prone Daphne Blake, who tries in this movie to reinvent herself in the
mold of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I don’t think there is
any other actor that could have brought Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers to life
as well as Matthew Lillard. Not only does Lillard look and sound like
Shaggy- he is Shaggy. As good as Lillard is, I have to say that I love
Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley. Not only does Cardellini nail the
character as portrayed in the cartoon show, she brings a new dimension to
the role… and confirms my long held suspicions about the character.
Finally, we come to the title character- the cowardly canine detective
that has been entertaining us for more than three decades. The CGI version
of SCOOBY-DOO offers just the right mixture of real dog and cartoon
canine, so he fits into real life settings, while still being recognizable
as the character that we have all grown to love. The cast of SCOOBY-DOO
also features Rowan Atkinson, Isla Fisher, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Charles
Cousins, Steven Grives, Sam Greco, Nicholas Hope, as well as the vocal
talents of Neil Fanning and Scott Innes.
Warner
Home Video has made SCOOBY-DOO available on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide
screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9
displays. Warner is also releasing a separate full screen version for
those individuals who could care less about seeing the movie as it should
be seen. Warner’s wide screen transfer looks great- boasting an image
that is sharp, bright and very nicely detailed. Colors are quite vivid,
and the deep saturation produces a nice cartoon like palette. No matter
the intensity, all of the hues are reproduced cleanly and without
smearing. Blacks appear nice and deep, plus the whites always appear
stable. Shadow detail is very good, although the film is lit in such a way
that the darkest sequences never become too dark and shadowy. The film
element used for the transfer is virtually blemish free and rarely
displays any kind of noticeable grain structure. Digital compression
artifacts have been well concealed on the cleanly authored DVD.
SCOOBY-DOO
features a good sounding Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack. While not
the most aggressively mixed soundtrack on the market, the sound designers
do a good job of invigorating the films action oriented moments. Even the
cartoony comedic moments get sound effects play, which certainly add to
the movie’s fun. However, the mix tends to favor the forward soundstage
more than I liked, leaving the rear channels underutilized, except for
ambience and musical fill. Dialogue is always clean and crisp sounding, as
well as being reproduced with complete intelligibility. The bass channel
is very solid, adding a full-bodied whomp to the film's sound effects. A
Spanish 5.1 channel soundtrack has also been encoded onto the DVD, along
with English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Animation
and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s amusingly designed interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as some supplemental materials. Two
commentary tracks are featured on the DVD; the first includes director
Raja Gosnell, producers Richard Suckle and Charles Roven, while the second
features cast members Freddie Prince Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew
Lillard and Linda Cardellini. As you might have guessed the filmmakers'
commentary cover the technical end of the production, while the cast
commentary is more laid back and fun.
Also
included on the DVD is about thirteen minutes worth of deleted scenes,
which can be viewed with or without director's commentary. For the most
part, deleted scenes usually belong on the cutting room floor, but some of
the material here I wish had been included back into the body of the film.
I am particularly partial to the alternate opening credit sequence, which
featured the animated versions of the characters. Unmasking The
Mystery behind Scooby-Doo is a twenty-plus minute featurette that
takes a look behind-the-scenes at the making of the movie with a CGI
Scooby-Doo, as well as offering interviews with the creators of the
original Saturday morning cartoon show and the cast members, who talk
about bringing these classic animated characters to life.
Scary
Places runs under five minutes
and focuses on the production design and sets that bring this creepy
Scooby-Doo mystery to life. The Mystery Van looks at the
final design of The Mystery Machine in the movie, as well as glimpsing
more than fifty optional versions that the production designer came up
with. Daphne Fight Scene is a two-minute program that
focuses on Sarah Michelle Gellar being strapped into a harness on wires
for her Hong Kong style martial arts sequence. The Outkast music video for
the song Land Of A Million Drums is also provided on the
DVD. Finally on the video side, there is the Spooky Island Arcade
Challenge, which is a one or two player interactive game that has
the players answer questions about certain details of the movie. SCOOBY-DOO
is also DVD-ROM enabled, offering access to other on-line content.
If
you are like me and are a longtime fan of the Saturday morning cartoon, I
think you will enjoy SCOOBY-DOO. Sure, its not great cinema, but it
is amusing fun. Warner's wide screen DVD looks and sounds terrific, plus
it offers a good supplemental section. If you missed it in the theater and
want to see SCOOBY-DOO at home, don't wait for pay-per-view; the
wide screen DVD is going to be a whole lot better.
