Review
SCOOBY DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard and some animated dog
Directed by Raja Gosnell
Opens Friday, March 26
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Zoinks! I’m sitting in a theatre full of rugrats watching the highly anticipated (or not) Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. The movie starts with some funky 3-D simulation footage, which would have been pretty cool if I wasn’t sitting three feet from the screen.
The cast from the first movie is all back for more caper-solving and monster catching in this sequel, and it pretty much follows the tried—and-true Scooby formula – those meddling teenagers unmask the villain. Beware however – if you hated the first movie, you’re going to hate this one too. It has the same rather irritating computer-generated Scooby, and it’s chock full of fromage. Take Scooby wearing an afro while doing a disco-dancing routine or a rather Buffy-like Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar) battling ghosts in purple stiletto heels. There’s a duelling sequence with musical accompaniment by Bon Jovi, some standard farting scenes and, to top it all off, a cameo singing performance by the velvet teddy bear himself, American Idol’s Ruben Studdard. (Help me!)
This time, the Mystery Inc. crew has to defend their reps in Coolsville as they battle against their classic cartoon foes like the Pterodactyl Ghost, the Black Knight Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost. After a number of hijinks and missteps, the gang exposes the villain, deals with each of their own insecurities and come out as heroes.
The movie does have some funny moments – it uses similar sound effects to the cartoon, Matthew Lillard does make a good Shaggy and the Mystery Machine is still as cool as ever. And the kids do like it – there was many a giggle throughout the film, and it wasn’t too scary for even an especially young crew. However, the film overall can be summed up in the words of Shaggy himself: "Lametastic, sucktacular and loserrific." Oh well, better luck next time, cuz you know there’s probably going to be another. |
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