Scooby-Doo: The Movie

There is objectively nothing wrong with this film. The casting couldn’t have been better. Everyone acted their roles to an absolute tee. I’m fairly sure that Matthew Lillard is just Shaggy in real life.  

The plot is everything you would expect from a Scooby-Doo romp, but with enough actual plot to keep it going for an hour and a half. There are several jokes for the grown-ups snuck in, such as the smoke pouring out of the Mystery Machine which turns out to be Scooby and Shaggy making hamburgers or that Shaggy’s love interest’s name is Mary Jane (a joke that had already been used in Half-Baked by this point, but whatever).

I won’t belabor the plot, as it’s fairly straightforward. An island resort is returning people in a rather soulless state and Scooby-Doo and The Crew are hired to investigate. They uncover some weird characters, an ancient artifact, and eventually discover the Man in the Mask behind it all.

The plot isn't what carried this movie and makes it so beautiful. It’s the rather deep character interactions shining through the rather juvenile patina. There is a heart-to-heart scene where Velma reveals to Freddy that she’s always been uneasy being paired up with him for investigations, because he preferred Daphne and was only interested in swimsuit models. Fred replies with a well-intentioned, “Nerdy girls like you turn me on too!”

                                           Nerdy girls everywhere appreciate that, Freddy.

On a similar note, there is a scene in which the souls of the four main characters are switching about willy-nilly, thanks to the Daemon Ritus. Shaggy, after having already been in the others’ bodies, lands in Daphne’s. He’s so distracted by how hungry she is that he completely ignores the conversation going on to lament that she never eats.

Aside from touching on such a universal topic as low self-esteem, Scooby-Doo: The Movie canvasses the important aspects of friendship, from overcoming conflicts to trusting each other. The movie begins with Mystery Inc. having had a falling out and refusing to work with each other. They seem to grate on each other at several points during the movie, alternating between the love that comes so naturally between them and reliving the pain of their separation. The scene that brings them together, finally and completely, is a speech
that Shaggy delivers after Scooby leaves the group. The others are afraid to go rescue him because these monsters are real and they aren’t prepared for that.

Shaggy tells them that that’s his best friend in there and he doesn’t care what stands between them. He’s going to do what he always does and eat a Scooby Snack and save his friend. Fred calls Velma “the Velmster”, prompting her to tearfully reply that he can’t just win her over by giving her her own nickname. Daphne says that all she’s good at is being captured; Fred smiles and says that’s never stopped her before. With their confidence in themselves (and each other) restored, they head in to rescue Scooby.



                             Sacririce?

The movie, from that point, is more or less a mock-up of Temple of Doom, complete with a well of souls. Mondavarious, played by Rowan Atkinson, has captured the Daemon Ritus and is going to use Scooby’s pure soul to become all-powerful and destroy humanity.

Then comes the best twist in any movie, ever. (Suck it, M. Night.)

The villain was Scrappy-Doo the whole time. Scrappy-Doo in a Mr. Bean mech.


                         PUPPY POWER!

He is defeated by the combined efforts of Mystery Inc. and Shaggy delivers the line, “Geez Scrappy, you didn’t have to freak out like a jerk and try to destroy humanity” with the perfect amount of seriousness and disappointment.

I know that Scooby-Doo: The Movie met with mediocre critical reviews but frankly, I don’t care. This movie is uplifting and touching, it hits every beat flawlessly, and the casting and direction are perfect. Also, I can’t help but grin like an idiot when Shaggy grabs Daphne’s purse to retrieve a Scooby Snack and save his best friend.