Review: 'Scooby-Doo' Doesn't Bite

CGI Scooby Is Spectacular Achievement

Tim Lammers, Staff Writer

'Scooby-Doo' (PG)

Making its live-action debut on the big screen, "Scooby-Doo" translates much of the atmosphere that makes the cartoon version so fun -- sure, it doesn't seem to pick up on all the clues that make a good movie great, but it's hardly a movie for the dogs, either.

For the most part, "Scooby-Doo" is fun, colorful and lighthearted, and the computer-generated animation of Scooby is a spectacular achievement. But as a whole, the movie seems to lack the spark that pole-vaulted that other animated character from earlier this summer, "Spider-Man," to cinematic greatness. Even at a brief running time of 86 minutes, "Scooby" seems to lag in spots.

"Scooby Doo" starts in the middle of one of Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby's crime-solving adventures. But even after another job well-done, ego problems lead to an unamicable split of their company, Mystery Inc.

Picking up two years later, the gang is tricked into being reunited for a trip to Spooky Island Amusement, where college visitors are being turned into zombies as part of a sinister plan involving world domination. Putting aside their differences, Mystery Inc. is back in business, but can they get the villain before he makes them zombies, too?

Average moviegoers not familiar with "Scooby-Doo" cartoon and the nuances of its characters might leave the theater wondering what the fuss is all about. But if you're a die-hard fan of the cartoon series, you can probably already sense from the plot description that "Scooby-Doo" manages to maintain the spirit of the cartoon.

That's not to say that director Raja Gosnell ("Big Mama's House") doesn't take liberties. Gosnell clearly added elements to please his PG theater crowd. The most obvious instance is how he sexes up Daphne and Velma by drawing attention to their bustlines; and the addition of a dreadfully juvenile flatulence scene (more risque moves like a reported same-sex kiss between Daphne and Velma, and Shaggy marijuana references hit the cutting room floor).

But for what's there, neither instance is hardly offensive enough for parents to keep their young kids away from the movie. In fact, the flatulence scene was clearly designed to get the kids rolling in the aisles, and it does. So what if we've seen it in umpteen movies -- it's hilarious.

Appropriately, Prinze, Gellar, Lillard, and Cardellini come off as caricatures in "Scooby-Doo." Prinze and Gellar have fun with the vain demeanors of Fred and Daphne, but as plastic characters, they're not nearly as memorable as Lillard's excitable Shaggy or Cardenilli's brain-wracking Velma.

Lillard probably gives the best performance, mainly because he fulfills the film's biggest responsibility. Some of his most pivotal scenes, after all, are with the CGI Scooby, and he has to make it seem believable for the movie to work. Thankfully, the blend between them is almost seamless, and he and Scooby really do come off as true friends. Between Neil Fanning's convincing voice work and the CGI, Scooby is easily the most lovable character in the movie, and he should be.

Die-hard fans of the cartoon may take exception to the fact that Scooby is voiced by Fanning and not Scott Innes. Innes is the voice actor who took over for the original Scooby voice, Don Messick, after he died in 1997. Innes does shine however, in the smaller, but pivotal role of Scrappy-Doo. One can hope he gets his "Doo" with a meatier part if a sequel comes to pass.

Copyright 2002 by WLKY.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.