Review of Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Introduction

Now that`s more like it.

The original Scooby Doo movie was hampered by two things - having to set up the whole live-action version of a cartoon thing, and being downsized from a knowing spoof for baby-boomers to a kid-friendly adventure piece. A lot of Luddite anti-CGI naysayers hated the movie, but I really enjoyed it and I was looking forward to the sequel.

I couldn`t be happier with the sequel unless I woke up tied to Sarah Michelle Gellar or Linda Cardellini. Monsters Unleashed, as it says on the can, is full of the sorts of monsters the original 1969 cartoon series was full of . Everybody from the original movie came back for the sequel. Sarah Michelle Gellar and hubby Freddie Prinze Jr are back as Daphne and Fred respectively, Linda Cardellini reprises her role as Velma (again having a vamping-it-up moment in a tight, red, leather catsuit), and Matthew Lillard turns in another spot-on performance as perpetual stoner Shaggy. In spite of threats against his well-being by the original cartoons in Looney Tunes: Back In Action. Scooby himself is magnificently rendered by Rhythm and Hues and takes a couple of steps forward in seamless integration of CGI elements. The gang are joined on the adventure by Sarah Michelle Gellar`s fellow Buffy alumnus Seth Green as Velma`s romantic interest, and Clueless` Alicia Silverstone as a newshound out for the dirt about Mystery Inc. I`d say considering her female status and attitude to our heroes, newsbitch might be more appropriate. Former Young Frankenstein`s Monster Peter Boyle features as the crotchety owner of the mine museum where the action takes place.

The film`s a happier mixture of dumb gags and action than the first picture, and the ghosts and monsters are a much more satisfying threat than that of the first picture.

Video

A beautiful, artefact-free, colourful, anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1 transfer of the movie. The contrast range shows off the delightful photography by Oliver Wood and the production design by Bill Boes - right down to little set details like the fact Daphne`s workstation in the old Mystery Inc hut sports a darts trophy.

Audio

This is one thing the movie excels at - there is a full-blooded Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack with a very lively soundstage. Frequently you`ll be startled by sound effects coming in on the rear speakers. David Newman`s score echoes the first movie but thankfully isn`t dominated by an annoying tune like the original`s use of Outkast`s Land Of A Million Drums.

Features

Sadly there are no commentaries on the movie (possibly because the cast were a bit rowdy on the first movie). There are some additional scenes, presented in non anamorphic 1.85:1. There are two music videos, one of Big Brovaz`s Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again), and Simple Plan`s Don`t Wanna Think About You. Not that they`re any great addition to the disc. There are two set-top box interactive games to play - The Scooby Doo Monsters Unleashed Challenge and The Mystery Of The Missing Pants. There are also two short featurettes - Scooby Doo`s Scoobycam behind the scenes featurette called Triple Threat, and Dancing Dog which goes behind the scenes of the extremely disturbing Disco Dancing Scooby sequence. There is also a very short True Ghoul Hollywood Story promo piece, and weblinks DVD-ROM content. The movie and some extras include English and English HOH subtitles.

Watch the film right through to the end and there`s an onscreen cheat for the Game Boy Scooby Doo 2 game.

Conclusion

You`ll either love this film or hate it. I fall into the former category. I remember Hanna-Barbera`s original Scooby Doo - Where Are You, and this film manages to evoke the old series although in many ways it bears no resemblance to it. Freddie Prinze Jr as Fred is like the cartoon Fred, a cypher - simply the jock boyfriend of Daphne who automatically takes the lead. He has a couple of character scenes with Sarah Michelle Gellar, who has developed characterless ingenue Daphne into a Buffy-clone. The real characters are visually-impaired Velma (played as adorably gauche by Linda Cardellini) whose myopia would in reality earn her her own canine companion, perpetual stoner Shaggy (Matthew Lillard nailing the character again) and his ever faithful great dane Scooby Doo. They chase ghosts and monsters and at the end, they pull the monster`s mask off and the person behind the whole mystery gets carted off to jail with the parting words "I`d have got away with it if it wasn`t for those meddling kids and their dumb dog!".

What more do you want?