Scooby-Doo (film)

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Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRaja Gosnell
Screenplay byJames Gunn
Story by
Based on
Scooby-Doo
by
Produced by
  • Charles Roven
  • Richard Suckle
Starring
  • Freddie Prinze Jr.
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar
  • Matthew Lillard
  • Linda Cardellini
  • Rowan Atkinson
CinematographyDavid Eggby
Edited byKent Beyda
Music byDavid Newman
Production
companies
  • Mosaic Media Group
  • Stillking Pictures
  • Propaganda Films
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • June 14, 2002 (2002-06-14) (United States)
  • June 20, 2002 (2002-06-20) (Australia)
Running time
86 minutes[1]
CountriesUnited States
Australia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$84 million[2]
Box office$275.7 million[2]

Scooby-Doo (also known as Scooby-Doo: The Movie) is a 2002 American live-action/computer-animated fantasy adventure-horror comedy film[3] based on the long-running Hanna-Barbera animated television franchise of the same name. The first installment in the Scooby-Doo live-action film series, the film was directed by Raja Gosnell from a screenplay by James Gunn, and stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Isla Fisher and Rowan Atkinson. The plot revolves around Mystery Incorporated, a group of four young adults and a talking dog who solve mysteries, who reunite after a two-year disbandment to investigate a mystery at a popular horror-themed tropical island resort.

Filming took place in and around Queensland, Australia on a budget of $84 million.[4]

The film was released on June 17, 2002 and grossed $275 million worldwide. Reggae artist Shaggy and rock group MxPx performed different versions of the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! theme song. The Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster, a ride based on the film, was built at Warner Bros. Movie World in Gold Coast, Australia in 2003. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized its script, humor and visual effects; however, Lillard's performance received praise. This is the last time William Hanna served as an executive producer before his death on March 22, 2001. A sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, was released on March 26, 2004.

Plot[]

Two years after disbanding, Mystery, Inc., consisting of Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma, reforms after being invited to solve a mystery on Spooky Island, a horror-themed tropical resort owned by Emile Mondavarious. Upon arriving, the gang meets Mondavarious, who claims the visiting tourists have been brainwashed. Velma attends a ritualistic performance hosted by actor N'Goo Tuana and his henchman, Zarkos, a famous luchador. N'Goo claims the island was once ruled by ancient demons that have been plotting their revenge ever since they were displaced by the resort.

In the resort's haunted house ride, the gang splits up to look for clues. Fred and Velma come across a school that educates inhuman creatures about human culture, while Daphne discovers a pyramid-shaped artifact called the Daemon Ritus. The island's demons kidnap and possess Fred, Velma, Mondavarious and other tourists, and Daphne is possessed when Zarkos captures her and steals the Daemon Ritus. Shaggy, in an underground chamber, finds a vat of protoplasm containing the souls of those possessed, and he frees those of his friends. Velma discovers that sunlight destroys the demons. The gang then encounters a voodoo priest, who explains that the demons, led by Mondavarious, will rule the world for the next ten thousand years if a pure soul is sacrificed during their ritual. Shaggy realizes that the pure soul is Scooby, who unwittingly agrees to be the sacrifice.

The gang plots to trap the demon cult, but it fails and only Daphne escapes capture. Mondavarious extracts Scooby's soul using the Daemon Ritus, but Shaggy breaks free and pushes Mondavarious aside, causing Scooby's soul to be released. Fred and Velma discover Mondavarious is actually a robot controlled by Scooby's estranged nephew Scrappy-Doo, who was abandoned by the gang years ago after his power-hungry nature got out of control.

Using the tourists' souls, Scrappy transforms into a monster and tries to kill the gang. Daphne is attacked and captured by Zarkos again, but defeats him by kicking him into the ritual chamber, where he knocks over the vat and sets the souls free to return to their bodies. Daphne kills the demons by reflecting sunlight via a skull-shaped disco ball. Shaggy rips the Daemon Ritus from Scrappy's body to free the souls and finds the real Mondavarious imprisoned in a small underground cell, having been captured by Scrappy so he could pose as his double. Scrappy, N'Goo, Zarkos, and their minions are arrested while the reunited gang promises to continue solving mysteries together.

Cast[]

  • Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred Jones
  • Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake
  • Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers
  • Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley
  • Rowan Atkinson as Emile Mondavarious
  • Isla Fisher as Mary Jane
  • Miguel A. Núñez Jr. as Voodoo Maestro
  • Sam Greco as Zarkos
  • Steven Grieves as N'Goo Tuana
  • Neil Fanning as the Voice of Scooby-Doo
  • Scott Innes as the Voice of Scrappy-Doo
    • J.P. Manoux as the voice of Scrappy Rex
  • Holly Brisley as Training Video Woman
  • Kristian Schmid as Brad
  • Michala Banas as Carol
  • Jess Harnell and Frank Welker as the voice of creatures

Sugar Ray, Pamela Anderson, and Nicholas Hope appeared in cameo roles.

Production[]

Development[]

The Mystery Machine from the film at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2013

Producer Charles Roven began developing a live-action treatment of Scooby-Doo in 1994. By the end of the decade, the combined popularity of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, along with the addition of the script and updated digital animation led Warner Bros. to fast track production of the film.[5] Mike Myers was reported to be co-writing the screenplay with Jay Kogan in July 1998, and was later on board to play Shaggy as well.[6][7] In October 2000, the film was officially given the green light. Variety reported that Raja Gosnell had been hired to direct the film.[8]

The movie references several pop-culture fads, particularly the scene in the Mystery Machine. Scooby has a Heinz Kickr's Bottle, there are some mouths-with-eyes toys. A Jack of Spades, etc. [9]

The film was shot on location in and around Queensland, Australia. Production was started on February 12, 2001 at the Warner Bros. Movie World theme park,[5][10] with over 400 cast and crew also taking over Tangalooma Island Resort for six weeks to film all the scenes set on Spooky Island.[11] Production wrapped in June 2001. The film was originally set to have a much darker tone, essentially poking fun at the original series, much like The Brady Bunch Movie, and was set for a PG-13 rating. Shaggy was set to be a stoner, and there were many marijuana references.[12]

Several rumors about these aspects in the original cartoon series were passed around by fans of the original and were to be incorporated into the live action film.[13] In March 2001, one month into filming, the first official cast picture was released.[14]

According to Gellar, after the cast had signed on there was a change, and the film became more family friendly, though some of the original adult jokes are still in the film. They are also included in deleted scenes on the home media releases.[15]

Gellar also said her character and Cardellini's shared an onscreen kiss that did not make the final film. "It wasn't just, like, for fun," she said, explaining it took place in the body-switching scene. "Initially in the soul-swapping scene Velma and Daphne couldn't seem to get their souls back together in the woods. And so the way they found was to kiss and the souls went back into proper alignment."[16]

In 2017, the 15th anniversary of the release of the film, James Gunn, the screenwriter, revealed in a Facebook post that there was an R-rated cut of Scooby-Doo and that CGI was used to remove cleavage of the female cast members.[17][18][19][20]

Casting[]

Actors Prinze Jr. and Gellar, who both previously worked in I Know What You Did Last Summer and portray Fred and Daphne, are romantically involved in both the film and reality. This film marks the first time in the franchise's history where the characters are portrayed as a couple. The pair married shortly after the film was released. Prinze said of his character, "[He] always showed more arrogance than everyone else. So in the movie, I took the opportunity to make him as narcissistic and self-loving as possible."[21]

Jim Carrey was originally attached to play Shaggy, while Mike Myers also expressed interest in the role.[5][22][23] The role was eventually given to Matthew Lillard. When asked about watching several cartoons before playing Shaggy, Lillard responded, "Everything I could get my hands on. If I ever have to see another episode of Scooby-Doo, it will be way too soon."[24] Lillard would continue voicing Shaggy in the rest of the Scooby-Doo media.[needs update]

Fisher grew up watching Scooby-Doo in Australia, and said that the "best part of making this movie was being part of an institution, something that has been in people's childhoods and is something that means a lot to a lot of people."[24] Cardellini was also a fan of the Scooby-Doo series.[25]

Filming[]

Principal photography began on February 13, 2001, and wrapped on June 1, 2001.[26] Filming took place throughout Queensland, Australia.[26]

Soundtrack[]

Main article: Scooby-Doo (soundtrack)

The film's score was composed by David Newman. A soundtrack was released on June 4, 2002, by Atlantic Records. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard 200 and 49 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. Shaggy performs the theme song from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, which was retitled "Shaggy, Where Are You?".[citation needed]

Distribution[]

Merchandise[]

A video game based upon the film was released for Game Boy Advance shortly before the film was released.[27] The game is played in third-person point of view and has multiple puzzle games and mini-games. The game's structure was similar to a board game. Metacritic rated it 64/100 based on five reviews, which they labeled as "mixed or average reviews".[28]

Scholastic Inc. released a novelization of the story in conjunction with the film. The novel was written by American fantasy and science fiction author Suzanne Weyn.[citation needed]

Home media[]

The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 11, 2002. The release included deleted scenes, among them an alternate opening animated in the style of the original television series.[citation needed] It was later released on Blu-ray on January 16, 2007.[29] Said Blu-ray was given a double feature pack with its sequel, Monsters Unleased, on November 9, 2010.[30]

Reception[]

Box office[]

Scooby-Doo debuted with $19.2 million on its opening day and $54.1 million over the weekend from 3,447 theaters, averaging about $15,711 per venue and ranking No. 1 at the box office.[31] The film closed on October 31, 2002, with a final gross of $153 million in the United States and Canada. It made an additional $122 million in other territories, bringing the total worldwide gross to $275.7 million, making it the fifteenth most successful film worldwide of 2002.[32] The film was released in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2002, and topped the country's box office for the next two weekends, before being dethroned by Austin Powers in Goldmember.[33][34][35]

Critical response[]

Actor Matthew Lillard was praised by critics and fans for his performance as Shaggy in the film and went on to voice the character in various animated Scooby-Doo media

On Rotten Tomatoes, Scooby-Doo has an approval rating of 30% based on 144 reviews and an average rating of 4.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though Lillard is uncannily spot-on as Shaggy, Scooby-Doo is a tired live-action update, filled with lame jokes."[36] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 35 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[37] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[38]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one out of four stars, stating that the film "exists in a closed universe, and the rest of us are aliens. The Internet was invented so that you can find someone else's review of Scooby-Doo. Start surfing."[39] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "Get out your pooper-scoopers. Doo happens June 14th, warn the ads for Scooby-Doo. And they say there's no truth in Hollywood."[40] Chris Hewitt of Empire Magazine gave the film two out of five stars.[41]

Robin Rauzi of the Los Angeles Times called the film "entertainment more disposable than Hanna-Barbera's half-hour cartoons ever were."[42] Although Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel said that children who liked the animated version of Scooby-Doo will "probably like" the film, he urged parents to "know that the violence is a bit harder-edged than in the cartoon version". He would later go on to say that adults who remember the cartoon version "may get caught up in what Scooby would call the 'rostalgia'", but said that "adults who do not fondly recall the Scooby-Doo cartoons are strongly advised to steer clear."[43]

Conversely, Hank Struever of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review, stating that "You don't want to love this, but you will. Although Scooby-Doo falls far short of becoming the Blazing Saddles of Generations X, Y and Z, it is hard to resist in its charms."[44]

Accolades[]

Gellar won Choice Movie Actress – Comedy at the Teen Choice Awards.[45] Prinze was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award (Razzie) for Worst Supporting Actor, but he lost to Hayden Christensen for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.[citation needed] It was also nominated for another Razzie, Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie, but lost against Jackass: The Movie. It won the Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Fart in a Movie.

Other media[]

Sequel and Prequels[]

A sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, was released in 2004. A third film was planned, but cancelled after the poor critical and financial results of the second.[46] In 2009 and 2010, two telefilm prequels, Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, aired on Cartoon Network.

Spin-off film[]

A spin-off film, Daphne & Velma, was released on May 22, 2018.

Animated reboot[]

An animated film, Scoob!, was released on May 15, 2020.[47]

References[]

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External links[]

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