Tagline: They came. They saw. They ran.
In Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Scooby and the gang confront an anonymous masked villain who is plotting to take over the city of Coolsville by wreaking mayhem with a monster machine that creates Mystery Inc.’s classic foes like The Pterodactyl Ghost, The Black Knight Ghost and The 10,000 Volt Ghost. Meanwhile, the gang’s detecting abilities are scrutinized by relentless reporter Heather Jasper-Howe (Alicia Silverstone), aided by museum curator Patrick Wisely (Seth Green) and thwarted by nasty Jeremiah Wickles (Peter Boyle).
Jinkies! In Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Scooby and the gang lose their cool ‘ and their stellar reputation ‘ when an anonymous masked villain wreaks mayhem on the city of Coolsville with a monster machine that re-creates classic Mystery Inc. foes like The Pterodactyl Ghost, The Black Knight Ghost, Captain Cutler’s Ghost and The 10,000 Volt Ghost.
The ever-ravenous duo, determined to prove they’re great detectives, don a series of far-out disguises in their search for clues. All signs point to Jeremiah ‘Old Man’ Wickles (Peter Boyle), the former Black Knight Ghost who was once unmasked by the gang and thrown in jail. Did the creepy wannabe launch the monstrous attack on Coolsville in a diabolical quest for revenge’ Meanwhile, brainy Velma (Linda Cardellini) becomes smitten with another key suspect, Coolsonian Criminology Museum curator Patrick Wisely (Seth Green), as macho leader Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and image-conscious Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar) attempt to determine the identity of the Evil Masked Figure whose monster army is wreaking havoc on Coolsville.
Film Review for Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
“I know it’s April Fools Day today, but I’m being serious here. It’s really not that bad. I guess it’s April Fools on me for thinking otherwise.”
I went to see the first Scooby Doo movie 2 years ago, because I was bored, and when I got out of the theater I was somehow bored even more. I went to see Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed by accident. I looked at the wrong time for Jersey Girl, and my friend and I decided to see something else. Scooby Doo 2 was the only viable option. It was that, or Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, so I chose the lesser of two evils and off to Scooby Doo 2 we went. Sure, it’s pretty corny at times and the acting won’t win any awards, but this is a pretty damn entertaining movie.
The movie starts out in Coolville. Yeah, I know that is a really dumb name for a town,but lets move on. So yeah, we’re in Coolville, at this gala event celebrating Mystery Inc, where all the costumes of the “monsters” they’ve unmasked over the years are unveiled. But, alas, a bad guy shows up and all heck breaks loose. The bad guy steals one of the costumes and Fred (Prinze), Daphne (Gellar), Thelma (Cardellini), Shaggy (Lillard) and, of course, Scooby Doo have to search for clues and track down the dastardly villains.
The thing that I really liked about this movie, is that they went back to the old-school. They brought back a lot of the villains from the original cartoon, and I thought that was a really cool move. If you remember the cartoon, you’ll see new creations of the 10,000-Volt Monster, the Tar Monster, Miner 49er and, I can’t remember his name, but the monster that came out of the sea with that big moss-covered scuba helmet that you always saw on the opening credits of the cartoon.
I can’t remember his damn name, (and IMDB didnt list it) but he was there too, and that just rocked, I thought. Along with the monsters, you’ll see a lot of the old-school “techniques” that Shaggy and Scooby used, like one part where they follow someone under the guise of bushes. This part gives us one of the best lines in the movie, from the man they’re following, “Darn bushes howling at me again.”
The acting, overall, isn’t too bad, because there are a few good performances that cancel out the bad performances. Freddy Prinze Jr. is pretty bad as Fred, but Seth Green turns in a nice performances as a museum curator. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s performance isn’t nearly as hot as she is, but Linda Cardellini is great as Thelma, and you do get to see how hot she really is under the orange sweater and glasses. And Matthew Lillard is solid once again as Shaggy, and Alicia Silverstone, in her first major movie since 1999, turns in a decent smaller performance as a conniving TV reporter.
The script is the most surprising part of the movie, because it is pretty damn good. James Gunn, who wrote the first movie as well as the wonderful zombie remake Dawn of the Dead, has written a solid, succinct script here. The movie is only 88 minutes long, which is just perfect for something like this. This type of movie shouldn’t be long and drawn out, and Gunn had just enough of everything to make this movie good, while not making it excessive.
Sure, some of the dialogue is pretty corny and there is one scene at this ex-monster bar where Scooby and Shaggy go “incognito” that is just plain dumb. But these parts are cancelled out because of the wonderful ending. It is actually a surprise! Seriously. Gunn has some of the subtle M. Night Shyamalan touch where he gives you certain elements, but makes you forget about them until the end. Wow, I just compared Scooby-Doo to Shyamalan. What’s scary is that the comparison is valid. Overall, the script, with subtle themes of dating and being yourself, was very nicely done.
Director Raja Gosnell is pretty good at the helm of this movie. He handles the action nicely and I just loved what he did with the old-school monsters. They all looked just great. My only beef with his direction is he added this really stupid dance thing at the very end of the movie, with a singing performance from the American Idol winner Ruben Studdard. Let’s just say this movie could’ve easily been 85 minutes instead of 88 minutes… But other than that, Gosnell does some very nice work here.
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is a movie about, well, monsters, umm, being unleashed. There are some nice bits of actual substance here, which was nice, but the movie is basically just a big goof-fest that will have you laughing a lot more than you probably planned. I know it’s April Fools Day today, but I’m being serious here. It’s really not that bad. I guess it’s April Fools on me for thinking otherwise.
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
Directed by: Raja Gosnell
Starring: Matthew Lillard, Neil Fanning, Linda Cardellini, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze. Jr., Alicia Silverstone, Neil Fanning, Seth Green, Peter Boyle, Tim Blake Nelson
Screenplay by: James Gunn
Production Design by: Bill Boes
Cinematography by: Oliver Wood
Film Editing by: Kent Beyda
Costume Design by: Leesa Evans
Set Decoration by: Tedd Kuchera
Art Direction by: Shepherd Frankel, Don Macaulay, Michael N. Wong
Music by: David Newman
MPAA Rating: PG for scary action, rude humor, language.
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: March 26, 2004
Views: 104
