Scooby-Doo: Beginning After the failure of the second part – “Monsters at Large”, the adaptation of the adventures of the company “Mystery” ended. But comics and cartoons kept coming out and going, and while the product is in demand, new offers are needed. Brian Levant, in charge of the third film, decided to go down the beaten path and show how it all began. This is even smart, given that the cast does not intend to return to roles, at least because of age.
The mystery begins. The prequel was shot for TV, bypassing theaters in 2009, when box office success helped lift the mood of actors and filmmakers. Having lost the feeder and advertising of Disney, the director decided to collect castes of not the first magnitude, and now we have school years. The reduced budget is reflected in everything: Scooby-Doo’s graphics refer the viewer to the games on “Playstation”, and the ghost effects deserved proper treatment. But how will Brian Levant present and unite the key characters?
Oh, of course, copying a scene from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Seriously, Shaggy's one-on-one scene on the bus mirrors Peter Parker. But instead of a quick look at Mary Jane, the cameraman captured Daphne, Wilma and Fred, who already in school years stood out for their image. It is possible that young viewers immediately recognize the key characters among the passengers.
After the dating scene, it was the dog’s turn. A rusty-eyed animation and a pet in the frame. Of course, the picture was limping, but this is the Scooby-Doo that was in the cartoon. The same habits, sudden jokes and too quick actions (for epilepticians please do not watch the film). Funny that it is the dog that promotes the plot, presenting mystical ghosts in the cemetery (pets). Now we have the key points.
The return to school years and attempts to unite the heroes are very predictable. (At the end of the day, the team will be in charge.) Suck it, "Mighty Rangers (2017)" and "Jumanji: The Call of the Jungle," you got a bad animation back in 2009. Of course, the acquaintance Shaggy and Scooby left for a separate stage. To show that they will become best friends? Or focus on Shaggy the loser who has no friends but a dog? Or show a new form of schizophrenia? I don’t know the motive, but Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are a well-established tandem over the years, don’t look for logical threads in a dating scene knowing that they will be inseparable friends.
The team is formed exactly when ghosts appear after lessons (how polite) to present the audience with a product called "cliché." Of course, no one believes, and Velma, Shaggy, Fred and Daphne are fools. The plot then tries to stretch acquaintance, then too hasty with solving the mystery. The presentation of the dog to the rest of the command staff did not cause surprise (that is, they are all satisfied with animation), so we are already rushing forward with full compositions solving the mystery.
Who are the ghosts? Big, big secret! Because the detective here mixes with stupidity and childish perception, but we have the main villain - in a cloak and mask you need to appear, throwing banal phrases and disappear in smoke clubs or in shaky special effects, I am already confused. It doesn’t matter, because after 1 hour of timekeeping, we are only now shown the mystery that begins (!). No, you wouldn't think Scooby-Doo wandered into the cemetery in the beginning, but where's the intrigue? Hell, yes, in a project like “Scooby-Doo” from any cracks blows mysterious characters and the supernatural. There was no intrigue, only the presentation of the main characters, but in the end we will use deduction to unravel the true appearance of ghosts in the cemetery.
Suspicions on this score do not last very long, because the audience at the beginning of the film showed the main villain with his true face. Yes, that character all the points of the “typical hidden under the mask of a villain” were marked with a tick. But in order to amuse the small audience or show the level of degradation of the main characters, the exposure was left to the end. It's a mystery! The following are template frames that are the same for all similar projects.
What did the prequel give us? It's pretty fun. No, I'm serious. Find out how the key characters met, where the animated dog came from, is a good step, only the implementation of the answers does not meet expectations, giving a good idea in a bad package. Should I watch this movie? Only if you're an avid dog fan.
P.S. Who am I kidding? Don't watch this movie, save the image that the 2002 film gave.