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This article is about the first live-action film. For the Home Media releases of the film, see Scooby-Doo: The Movie (Home Media). For other uses, see Scooby-Doo (disambiguation).

Scooby-Doo, also known as Scooby-Doo: The Movie, is a 2002 live-action film based on the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon of the same name, and was the first of the Scooby-Doo live-action films. Scooby-Doo was created on screen using computer generated imagery (CGI). The film was directed by Raja Gosnell, and written by James Gunn, based on a story by Craig Titley and Gunn. It was produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle for Warner Bros. Pictures.

The film was followed by a sequel in 2004, entitled Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

Premise[]

Having been broken up for a couple of years, the gang are brought back together to solve the strange going-ons at a scary-themed resort, occupied by college students on spring break, and the eerie demonic monsters possessing them.

Synopsis[]

After solving the case of the Luna Ghost (which was the factory janitor getting back at a girl he liked for not asking him out), Mystery Inc. argue over Fred taking credit for Velma's plan and Daphne always getting captured in every mystery, and the group breaks up, leaving Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, to take care of the Mystery Machine. Fred becomes a celebrity autobiographer, Daphne a martial arts expert, and Velma a NASA employee, while Shaggy and Scooby remain beach bums.

Two years later, the gang are reunited (against their wishes) as each is individually invited to Spooky Island, a "frightfully" popular theme park owned by Emile Mondavarious. Mondavarious tells the gang that students are mysteriously becoming mindless zombies and only utter pop phrases. Of course, Fred, Velma and Daphne do not agree to team up and so they go in different directions, despite Shaggy hoping it will be like old times.

Shaggy falls for a girl named Mary Jane, while Velma discovers a group of so-called demons that inhabit the island and seek revenge. A man named N' Goo Tuana and a masked wrestler try to spook Velma, but she ignores them. Daphne finds a voodoo man who tells her not to go the Spooky Island castle, but she goes anyway. Scooby gets attacked by a demon, but escapes him. The gang investigate the castle and Fred and Velma discover an odd kind of "training" video, as if there were real monsters living on the island involved in brainwashing. Daphne discovers an odd item called the Daemon Ritus. The bad guys nearly track them down, but they get away.

Unfortunately, the demons attack and kidnap a bunch of tourists including Fred and Velma. Daphne learns that Fred and Velma have always been there for her whenever she got kidnapped and they never gave up on her, now she's not giving up on them. The following morning, everything seems to be normal, until Fred appears to be a mindless zombie, Daphne gets captured by the wrestler and becomes a zombie as well. Shaggy, Scooby and Mary Jane flee from the chasing zombies, but Scooby discovers that Mary Jane is a monster in disguise. When he tries to tell Shaggy that she's a monster, Shaggy ignores him, believing that he's just jealous. After a pursuit with the monsters, Scooby falls down a hole and Shaggy follows. He discovers a pool full of protoplasmic heads. He rescues Fred, Velma and Daphne from the pool and then steals the Daemon Ritus. Velma is the first to return to her body and then discovers that the demons were inside their bodies and died when they were exposed to sunlight. Velma also discovers that Fred and Daphne are in each other's bodies.

The gang is reunited, except for Scooby, and randomly switch bodies until they return to their own. They then encounter the voodoo man who explains that the demons will rule the world for 10,000 years if they get their hands on the Daemon Ritus and complete their ritual (the "Darkopolypse Ritual", as said by the voodoo man). But they also need a purely good soul as well: Scooby-Doo. The gang finally learn to appreciate each other and put their differences aside.

They set up a trap to save the world and destroy the demons, but it messes up and Fred and Velma discover that Mondavarious is the main villain. Shaggy tries in vain to convince Scooby to run before his soul is pulled from his body. Shaggy knocks Mondavarious out and rescues Scooby. Velma and Fred find that Mondavarious is a robot and the one controlling him is Scooby's nephew, Scrappy-Doo who wanted revenge on Mystery Inc., for abandoning him years ago.

Scrappy morphs into a giant monster named Scrappy Rex who he chases Scooby and Shaggy about. Fred and Velma flee from his minions while Daphne fights the wrestler on top of the island. Eventually, the gang's plan succeeds; everyone's souls are freed and returned to their rightful bodies and Scrappy Doo reverts to his true form. Shaggy finds the real Mondavarious in a hole and the police arrest Scrappy and his minions, and Fred decides to give Velma the credit she deserves. But before the gang can even relax, the news of another case for them arrives.

In the meantime, Scooby and Shaggy finally get their free all-you-can-eat meal, which includes very hot chili peppers.

Characters[]

Main characters:

Supporting characters:

Villains:

  • Demons (unnamed)(only appearance)(no lines)(miscellaneous speaking)(dies)
  • College students and other victims (possessed)(redeemed)
  • Scrappy Rex (only appearance)(Scrappy's transformation)
  • Emile Mondavarious (only appearance)(robot)(Scrappy-Doo's disguise) (destroyed)
  • Scrappy-Doo (only appearance)(main story and flashback)
  • N' Goo Tuana (only appearance)
  • Zarkos (only appearance)
  • Tiny henchman (only appearance)(no lines)
  • Luna Ghost (only appearance)(no lines)(Old Man Smithers' disguise)
  • Old Man Smithers (only appearance)

Other characters:

Locations[]

Objects[]

Vehicles[]

Suspects[]

Suspect Motive/reason
Emile Mondavarious As the owner of the island, he had the best opportunity to manipulate the students.
N' Goo Tuana He thinks that the Spooky Island theme park was built on enchanted ground.
Voodoo Maestro He warned Daphne not to go into the Spooky Island Castle.

Culprits[]

Culprit Motive/reason
Beginning
Old Man Smithers as the Luna Ghost To get revenge after Pamela refused to go on a date with him.
Two Years Later
Scrappy Doo disguised as Emile Mondavarious To take over the world & get revenge against Mystery Inc. for abandoning him.
N' Goo Tuana and Zarkos Scrappy-Doo's henchmen.

Cast[]

Neil Fanning (voice) Scooby-Doo
Matthew Lillard Shaggy Rogers
Freddie Prinze Jr. Fred Jones
Sarah Michelle Gellar Daphne Blake
Linda Cardellini Velma Dinkley
Isla Fisher Mary Jane
Rowan Atkinson Emile Mondavarious
Robot Emile Mondavarious (Scrappy-Doo)
Scott Innes (voice) Scrappy-Doo
J.P. Manoux (voice) Scrappy Rex
Steven Grives N' Goo Tuana
Cheung Man Gay Moreau
Michala Banas Carol
Kristian Schmid Brad
Nicholas Hope Old Man Smithers
Miguel A. Núñez, Jr. Voodoo Maestro
Sam Greco Zarkos
Holly Brisley Training video woman
Sugar Ray Themselves
Charles Cosins Velma's friend
Chris Cruickshanks Tiny henchman
Martin Broome Melvin Doo
Jonaton Coffey Fitzgibbon
Pamela Anderson Herself
Jess Harnell
Frank Welker
Demons

Songs[]

Main article(s): Scooby-Doo: The Movie (soundtrack)
Song Credits Performed by Character performance by
"Land of a Million Drums" Written by André Benjamin, Patrick Brown, Antwan Patton, Michael Render, and David Sheats OutKast N/A
"Man With the Hex" Written by John Bunkley The Atomic Fireballs N/A

Production[]

There were originally intended to be more overt adult references that were cut out of the final film. These include: Velma ogling Daphne while she was bent over, Fred trying to seduce Daphne under the pretext of protecting her, and some explicit references to Shaggy & Scooby being stoners. These were removed from the final film, partly out of concern that the movie would garner a R rating with these scenes included.[1] Cleavage was even CGI'd away. A scene was filmed where Velma seductively serenades Fred and Daphne on top a piano while wearing a bra, embroidered with Rosie the Riveter, instead of her usual sweater. A cleaner version of this scene appears on the VHS.[2]

According to the director's commentary, the line about Scrappy being corrupted by Daemon Ritus was added to assuage the concerns of parents who thought that Scrappy being the villain was confusing for children. From that same commentary, an alternate ending was filmed and test-screened where Old Man Smithers was revealed to be the villain. This explains his "I'll get you for this!" line at the beginning of the movie. It's unknown where the idea of adding Scrappy specifically came about, but Gunn believed the mythology dictated that his inclusion was a must, but turned him into a villain because he hated Scrappy, as he has gone one record multiple times.

Over 400 cast and crew took over one of Australia's largest resorts (Tangalooma Island Resort) for 6 weeks, where the legendary Spooky Island film set was created.[3]

Notes/Trivia[]

  • Matthew Lillard and Freddie Prinze Jr., both co-starred in She's All That, Summer Catch, and Wing Commander. Prinze, Jr. also co-starred with Sarah Michelle Gellar in I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Gellar also made a cameo appearance in She's All That. Lillard and Gellar were also part of the Scream franchise, whilst Lillard played the antagonist in the first film, Gellar played the victim in the second film. In addition, Lillard had also acted with Gellar in the second Scream film, but as a different character in a minor cameo. He had also previously played a hippie in 1995's Hackers, setting the tone for how he'd portray Shaggy.
  • The Jim Henson Company constructed a life sized puppet of Scooby for the film but it was replaced with a CGI render.
  • There are some mature references, albeit mild, for the older audience, some of which poke fun at the "realities" of the characters:
    • The Luna Ghost is heavily implied to have groped Daphne.
    • Shaggy and Scooby are implied to be stoners, with smoke coming from the top the Mystery Machine and the song "Pass the Dutchie" playing, only to reveal that they're cooking from a mini-grill; "Mary Jane", which happens to be Shaggy's favorite name, is a drug euphemism; Shaggy isn't knocked out by the mist from the possessed Mary Jane, but instead delighted by it.
    • Velma says "Crap", after first seeing Daphne at the airport.
    • Daphne wants to open a can of Chinese "whoopass". Coincidentally, the original name for Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls was The Whoopass Girls.
    • During the possessed Fred's conversation with other college students, he uses the term "biatch".
    • Velma consumes alcohol, getting drunk. It's also implied she's never had it before.
    • After Scooby sees a creature out the window, he makes a commotion about it, and Fred reacts by telling him he hasn't been this embarrassed since the former cleaned his "beans" at Don Knotts's Christmas party.
    • After Fred is initially freaked out by being in Daphne's body, he realizes the benefits, which irks Velma.
    • Shaggy's comparison of each member in the gang to banana split toppings can be interpreted in a variety of ways.
    • This film marks the first onscreen "death" of Scooby-Doo. A skeleton resembling Scooby appears in the Velma episode A Velma in the Woods.
    • After his arrest, Scrappy says "I would've gotten away with it too, if not for you meddling sons of-" before being cut off.
  • At the time of the film's release, Scott Innes, who was the voice of Scrappy-Doo in this film, was also the voice of Scooby and Shaggy in the direct-to-video films and other miscellaneous appearances.
  • Frank Welker, who performs the voice of Fred in the cartoons (and at that point soon to be Scooby-Doo), provides the vocal effects for the creatures who possess the tourists along with Jess Harnell .
  • Voodoo Maestro isn't named within the film, with only the end credits identifying him.
  • The film marks Scrappy's first appearance since the 1988 telefilm Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf.
  • Voodoo Maestro mentions that it is May.
  • Both Mystery Inc. breaking up and the real Mondavarious disappearing happened two years ago, meaning that when the gang out kicked out Scrappy-Doo, it must've happened not long before the Luna Ghost case.
  • According to James Gunn, Shaggy is a vegan in this film in compliance to Casey Kasem's wishes.[4] Although, the next film forgets this, as Shaggy eats and references Burger King and/or KFC, fast food restaurants.
  • In an interview with Daily Radar, Gunn confirmed that events similar to the first two seasons of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and both seasons of The New Scooby-Doo Movies took place in the movie's alternate continuity.[5]
  • In the British TV Show Primeval the character of Connor Temple mentioned that he had a crush on Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who was played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. He then concluded the sentence by saying that he stopped liking her because she started hanging out with "badly animated dogs".
  • Old Man Smithers may be a reference to a Wayne's World scene where they parody a Scooby-Doo episode and unmask Old Man Withers.
  • The DVD release of the film included a variety of printables accessible by inserting the disc into a PC.
  • Linda Cardellini would later return to the franchise to play Hot Dog Water in Mystery Incorporated.
  • The original '90s script, written by Craig Titley, was a story about Shaggy going off to college at Kingston University. Interestingly, it included a line with Scooby swearing at an evil dognapper which segues right into James Gunn's take on the franchise. Jon Colton Barry, writer of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! confirmed that his use of Kingston University was not inspired by Craig Titley's script.
  • A long running rumor stated that Tim Curry (a long time Scooby-Doo fan) was originally going to star as Emile Mondavarious. However, he turned down the role because he found out that Scrappy was in the movie and like many fans he hated Scrappy. However, this rumor is completely false.[6]

Animation (CGI) mistakes and/or technical glitches[]

  • None known.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]

  • The demons that take over the humans, aren't given a specific name, they're just generalized as "Creatures."
  • Scooby rather irresponsibly leaves his nephew out in the desert to fend for himself, such an action could lead to more serious consequences. But then again in this timeline he wasn't a puppy, he just had a gland disorder.
  • During the scene when the monsters attacked the hotel, Daphne runs up the stairs wearing sneakers, instead of her pink go-go boots.
  • Shaggy wanting to leave the island and being fine with the monsters "eating Fred and Velma" seems very mean and cowardly even for Shaggy, considering Fred and Velma are two of his best friends.
  • How N' Goo Tuana's is allowed to live on the island, which is owned by Mondavarious, is unexplained.
  • How the creatures are connected to the Daemon Ritus and how Scrappy learned about either is also left unexplained.
  • The gang didn't get the monsters that left the island, and one of them could have been spared from the sun if they were inside.
  • When Shaggy found the real Mondavarious, he had long, scraggly hair and a beard, but a few minutes later when he walks to the reporters, his hair is cut and is clean shaven.
  • The tiny henchman wasn't detained on the helicopter with the rest of the culprits. He was either overlooked or had also been possessed by a demon.
  • The film doesn't explain how and when Mary Jane got captured and possessed by the "Creatures".
  • It was never explained if Fitzgibbon and his friend at the Coast Guard tower were involved. From their reactions, they must have been involved. However, according to editor Kent Beyda, Fitzgibbon and his friend were possessed by demons.

In other languages[]

Language Name Meaning
Greek Scooby-Doo!: Ένας Τετράποδος Ήρωας Scooby-Doo!: A Four-Legged Hero

Home media[]

Quotes[]

Fred: How many times do I have to tell you? There are no such things as ghouls, ghosts, goblins or monsters. Now listen up. There is absolutely, absolutely no such thing as... Monster!


Scrappy Doo: Yeah, and I would've got away with it, If it weren't for those meddling sons of a--

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Posters[]

Press Artwork[]

Merchandise[]

References[]

External links[]

  • Buy from Amazon Video (US)
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