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| March 26th 2004, Rating: PG, 88mins, Warner Bros. |
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Cast: Matthew Lillard, Neil Fanning, Linda Cardellini, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seth Green, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Alicia Silverstone, Peter Boyle, Tim Blake Nelson |
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Plot: In "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed," Scooby and the gang lose their cool - and their stellar reputation - when an anonymous masked villain wreaks mayhem on the city of Coolsville with a monster machine that re-creates classic Mystery Inc. foes like The Pterodactyl Ghost, The Black Knight and The 10,000 Volt Ghost. Under pressure from relentless reporter Heather Jasper-Howe (Silverstone) and the terrified citizens of Coolsville, the gang launches an investigation into the mysterious monster outbreak that leaves Shaggy and Scooby questioning their roles in Mystery Inc. The ever-ravenous duo, determined to prove they're great detectives, don a series of far-out disguises in their search for clues. Meanwhile, brainy Velma (Cardellini) becomes smitten with a key suspect, Coolsville Museum curator Patrick Wisely (Green), as macho leader Fred (Prinze Jr.) and image-conscious Daphne (Gellar) attempt to determine the identity of the Evil Masked Figure who is unleashing the monsters in an attempt to take over Coolsville
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Film Review: A little ambition can be a dangerous thing. The first "Scooby-Doo" was a bit of a freak accident - certainly not a good film but shot as a teen comedy and then cut down to a kiddie flick, it still managed to keep the odd adult joke intermixed with a decent family film. The sequel goes for a far more ambitious story about a mysterious individual bringing back all their CG ghostly past enemies. Whilst there's some novelty for fans seeing such classics as Captain Cutler and the Black Knight reinvented for the live-action big screen, this second go around seems quite inferior to its predecessor.
A disorganised mess of a mystery, the film treats its audience with contempt by writing
for pre-schoolers or younger basically - think "The Cat in the Hat" but cloyingly unoffensive. Gone is the somewhat oddball charm, replaced by an empty CG loud attempt at a film with odd moments of flat character introspection mixed in with lame gags even toddlers will have a hard time laughing at. The cast do their jobs like last time but even they seem tired with the material, yet Lillard and Cardinelli again steal the show. Newcomers Green, Silverstone and Boyle aren't given enough scenes to do much of anything sadly.
The production design proves better than the script at least with the costumes, far more elaborate sets and more effects make this look far more expensive than the original and add a high gloss to proceedings. At 88 minutes though the pacing is surprisingly limp with some long quiet moments, mixed in with CG surfing sequences and fart gags the next. Odd sequences such as Velma's leather cat suit makeover to the musical dance finale feel like another movie. It all adds up to some rather mundane hijinks. This is one dog that should be put down. -
Garth Franklin
 DVD Review: Despite a lavish looking set of extras, the second "Scooby Doo" DVD is rather quiet on the supplementals. First up the anamorphic widescreen transfer is spectacular, the bright gharish colours of the costumes and sets look glorious, blacks are rock solid, detail level is high and contrast excellent.
It's a reference quality video print, shame the sound is not as strong - but still a solid Dolby Digital 5.1 audio print which mages aggressive use of surround, clever sound effects and sadly all too faint dialogue.
Extras kick off with seven minutes of deleted scenes which don't contain much, three short featurettes about the film's making and the old villains come to life, music videos for Big Brouaz's "Thank You," and Simple Plan's "Don't Wanna Think About You", and two interactive games.
As the films for kids, the extras seem designed for kids too and I think they'll probably enjoy it, but definitely nothing much of note here movie or disc wise.
- Garth Franklin
"Scooby-Doo 2" hits stores on September 14th, 2004
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