Scooby-Doo is mercifully short - at only 83 minutes - which is probably the best thing that can be said about it. Whatever the director and producers were trying to achieve by bringing Hanna-Barbera's classic cartoon to life, it's fairly safe to say they failed. Despite excellent character interpretations by Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini as Shaggy and Velma, the fleshing out of the Mystery Inc. team is disappointingly shallow. As is the irritating mission of self-discovery and angst each character goes through before discovering that (surprise, surprise) teamwork is best.
The film could be forgiven many of its foibles if only it was rib-ticklingly hilarious. Unfortunately it suffers from trying to cater both to a young audience, and also to adults who fondly remember the cartoon from their childhood days. Rowan Atkinson is cringingly unfunny as the strange proprietor of Spooky Island amusement park, and surely even kids are by now impervious to fart and snot jokes. However, the sequence inside the spooky abandoned castle raises a few hearty chuckles.
The trademark unlikeliness of the situations Mystery Inc. got themselves into in the cartoon doesn't transfer well into realism. The plot, which has a number of large holes, concerns the mysterious change in behaviour of college students who are holidaying at the resort of Spooky Island. And, it has to be admitted, that thanks to some great sets and the wonders of CGI, the resort looks like a pretty cool place to spend a vacation. The construction of the theme park has awakened some ancient (and quite scary, considering the PG-rating) monsters, so it's up to the team to unmask the villain and save the world. But the best way of saving yourself is to avoid watching this movie.
The film could be forgiven many of its foibles if only it was rib-ticklingly hilarious. Unfortunately it suffers from trying to cater both to a young audience, and also to adults who fondly remember the cartoon from their childhood days. Rowan Atkinson is cringingly unfunny as the strange proprietor of Spooky Island amusement park, and surely even kids are by now impervious to fart and snot jokes. However, the sequence inside the spooky abandoned castle raises a few hearty chuckles.
The trademark unlikeliness of the situations Mystery Inc. got themselves into in the cartoon doesn't transfer well into realism. The plot, which has a number of large holes, concerns the mysterious change in behaviour of college students who are holidaying at the resort of Spooky Island. And, it has to be admitted, that thanks to some great sets and the wonders of CGI, the resort looks like a pretty cool place to spend a vacation. The construction of the theme park has awakened some ancient (and quite scary, considering the PG-rating) monsters, so it's up to the team to unmask the villain and save the world. But the best way of saving yourself is to avoid watching this movie.