Scooby-Doo (film)

Scooby-Doo
File:Scooby-Doo Poster.png Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Raja Gosnell
Screenplay by	James Gunn
Story by	James Gunn Craig Titley
Produced by	Charles Roven Richard Suckle
Starring	Freddie Prinze Jr. Sarah Michelle Gellar Matthew Lillard Linda Cardellini Rowan Atkinson Isla Fisher Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. Neil Fanning
Cinematography	David Eggby
Edited by	Kent Beyda
Music by	David Newman
Production company	Mosaic Media Group
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	June 14, 2002 (2002-06-14)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$84 million
Box office	$275,650,703

Scooby-Doo is a 2002 American comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell, produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, and scripted by James Gunn. A live action adaptation of the Hanna-Barbera television cartoon series Scooby-Doo, the film stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, and Neil Fanning in the title role with supporting roles played by Scott Innes, Rowan Atkinson and Isla Fisher. It is the first (chronologically, the third and penultimate) installment in the Scooby-Doo live-action film series. Scooby-Doo and the other nonhuman characters were created on-screen using computer-generated imagery. Filming took place in and around Queensland on an estimated budget of $84,000,000. The film was released on June 14, 2002, and though it received generally negative reviews, it grossed $275 million worldwide against a $84 million budget.

Reggae artist Shaggy and rock group MXPX perform different versions of the theme song. Shaggy got his stage name from a previous hairstyle of his he says, not from the character. In 2004, this film was followed by a sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

A television film, Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, aired on September 13, 2009 on Cartoon Network. A sequel, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster aired one year later. These film serve as a prequel to the first two films in this film series. The Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster, a ride based on the film, was built in Warner Bros. Movie World in Gold Coast, Australia in 2002.

Plot

After solving the Luna Ghost mystery, constant arguments among the members of Mystery, Inc. cause the gang to go their separate ways. Two years later, Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo are approached to solve the mystery of the popular horror restor Spooky Island, reuniting with Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley and Daphne Blake at the airport, although none of the latter are thrilled to see each other. On the island, the gang meet Emile Mondavarious, the park's owner, who explains his theory that visitors are being cursed. Shaggy falls in love with a girl named Mary Jane who is allergic to dogs, while Scooby is mysteriously targeted by demonic creatures. Velma meets a man named N'Goo Tuana, and his minion, the famous luchador Zarkos, who explains that demons rule the island and seek revenge against Mondavarious for building his park.

Ignoring advice from shadow man Voodoo Maestro, the gang visit the island's ghost castle and split up to search for clues. Daphne finds a tetrahedron-shaped artefact called the Daemon Ritus, while Velma and Fred find a strange classroom with videos designed to address non-humans. The gang flee to the hotel whe N'Goo's minions appear. N'Goo plays a piano to summon the island demons, who kidnap numerous tourists including Fred, Velma and Mondavarious. Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby and Mary Jane hide out over night but the next day find everything oddly normal. Daphne is captured by Zarkos, while Shaggy and Scooby discover Fred, Velma and the tourists are now occupied by the demons. The two flee with Mary Jane, until Scooby realises she is possessed as well. Shaggy and Scooby fight, until Scooby falls down a hole and is chased by Shaggy. Shaggy comes across a vat containing the protoplasmic souls of the rest of the gang, releasing them to their bodies. Velma discovers the demons die in sunlight, while Daphne and Fred's souls end up in the wrong bodies.

Shaggy steals the Daemon Ritus and reunites with the gang after their souls correct themselves. Coming across Voodoo Maestro, the gang learns that if the leader of the demons absorbs a pure soul through the Daemon Ritus, then the demons shall rule the world for the next 10,000 years. The pure soul belongs to Scooby, while the demons' leader is Mondavarious. The gang put their differences aside to save Scooby, planning to use a reflective skull-shaped crystal ball to destroy the demons, although the plan fails. Scooby's soul is extracted, but saved by Shaggy, wounding Mondavarious during his attempt to absorb it. Fred and Velma discover he is a robot, controlled by noneother than Scrappy Doo, who the gang abandoned years ago due to his egotism. Scrappy now is vengeful and transforms into a demon to destroy the gang and rule the world using the absorbed tourists' souls.

Daphne escapes and fights Zarkos above the island's caves, knocking him through the roof which exposes the demons to sunlight and kills them. Shaggy attacks Scrappy and rips the Daemon Ritus from his chest, freeing the souls and reverting Scrappy to his original self. Shaggy finds the real Mondavarious trapped in a hole. Scrappy and his minions are arrested, while Mystery, Inc. is reunited to continue solving mysteries.

Cast

• Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Fred
• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne
• Matthew Lillard as Shaggy
• Linda Cardellini as Velma
• Rowan Atkinson as Mondavarious
• Isla Fisher as Mary Jane
• Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. as Voodoo Maestro
• Steven Grives as N'Goo Tuanna
• Sugar Ray as themselves
• Sam Greco as Zarkos
• Kristian Schmid as Brad
• Nicholas Hope as Old Man Smithers
• Michala Banas as Carol
• Martin Broome as Melvin Doo
• Jonathan Coffey as Fitzgibbon

Voice Cast

• Neil Fanning as Scooby
• Scott Innes as Scrappy, the main antagonist of the film.
• J.P. Manoux as Scrappy Rex

Development

Producer Charles Roven began developing a live-action treatment of Scooby-Doo in 1994. Actor Mike Myers also expressed interest in playing Shaggy. However, 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.

Scooby-Doo was filmed on location in and around Queensland, Australia. Production of the film commenced February 12, 2001 at the Warner Bros. Movie World theme park.

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, Velma and Daphne had a side relationship, and there were many marijuana references. 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. One marijuana reference that was retained was the use of "Mary Jane" as the name of Shaggy's love interest. Especially noteworthy was the scene where they met on the plane. After learning her name was "Mary Jane" Shaggy states that that is his favorite name, a not-so-subtle reference to his other love.

According to Sarah Michelle Gellar, after the cast had signed on there was a change and the film became more family-friendly. Some of the original adult jokes are still in the film. They are also included in deleted scenes on the home media releases. Gellar also said her character and Linda 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."

Reception

Scooby Doo received generally negative reviews from film critics. On the film-critics aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a 30% positive rating, with an average score of 4.4 out of 10. On Metacritic, the film has a 35 out of 100 rating.

The film made $19,204,859 on its opening day and $54,155,312 over the weekend from 3,447 theaters, averaging about $15,711 per venue and ranked #1 at the box office. The film closed on October 31, 2002, with a final gross of $153 in the United States. It made an additional $122 in other territories, bringing the total worldwide gross to $275,650,703, making it the 15th most successful film worldwide of 2002.

Gellar won Choice Movie Actress: Comedy at The Teen Choice Awards. Prinze Jr. was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor.

Home media

The film was released on DVD in late 2002. The release included deleted scenes, among them an alternate opening animated in the style of the original TV series. On 18 August 2010, it was announced by Warner Bros. that the film and its sequel would be released as a double feature on Blu-ray in November 2010.

Soundtrack

Main article: Scooby-Doo (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop, reggae and alternative rock was released on June 4, 2002, by Atlantic Records. It peaked at #24 on the Billboard 200 and #49 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums as singer, Shaggy performs the theme song of Scooby-Doo, Where are You? but instead was entitled, "Shaggy, Where are You?"

In other media

Video games

A video game based upon the film was released for Game Boy Advance shortly before the film was released. The game is played in 3rd person point-of-view and has multiple puzzle games and mini-games. The game's structure was similar to a board game. The game was panned by critics and was a poor seller.

Novelization

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.

Sequel and prequel

The sequel to this film is called Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. A prequel, Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, was released on September 22, 2009, telling was how the gang meet and become Mystery Inc. A sequel to that film, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, aired on Cartoon Network on October 16, 2010.

External links

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• Scooby-Doo at IMDb
• Template:Amg movie
• Scooby-Doo at Box Office Mojo
• Scooby-Doo at Rotten Tomatoes
• Scooby-Doo at Metacritic