Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009) Reviews

• Coming from a big Scooby Doo fan, I enjoyed this movie

  TheLittleSongbird2011-07-24

  Although I did read a few negative reviews beforehand, that didn't stop me from having high hopes for Scooby Doo! The Mystery Begins I am a big Scooby Doo fan, and have been for a long time, so naturally I wanted to see this. Although it is not a perfect film, and I wasn't expecting it to be, I enjoyed it. I can understand it when people say the basic story line of Scooby Doo! The Mystery Begins is predictable. In a way it is predictable, and some of the middle could have been better paced. In all fairness though, I found the original cartoons, which I adored for its strong characters and funny writing, on the predictable side, likewise with a few other Hanna/Barbera shows, Yogi Bear for instance. In regards to the story, I liked the ideas the movie brought forward, and the ending was cool. The writing was funny and a tad cheesy, in short quite like the writing of the original cartoons in the jokes and snappy lines. Some can have a tendency to be a little too silly, but I can sort of forgive that. The costume and set design are spot on, very colourful and the photography and editing manage to be several notches above slapdash straight to video fare. The effects are above average too, not award-worthy but there are far worse out there. The characters are still likable, and the acting is good enough. Scooby is very sweet and funny, exactly as he should be. The actors of Shaggy and Velma nail their roles, and Fred(his hair didn't bother me really seeing as this is a movie of how Mystery Inc. came about) is decent as well. The weak link is Daphne, she looks right for the part but overdoes it sometimes. All in all, I liked it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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• Stays true to the cartoon.

  sheer642009-09-18

  If you liked the cartoons you will like this movie. It is enjoyable and will keep the kids entertained. The story is simple the characters stay true to the cartoon ones and the best part is everybody loves Scooby Doo. This takes us back to when they first combine as an investigative group, having to defend their names at high school after some strange mishaps. I am not sure what the budget was on the film some simple effects have been used to keep production costs down. I give it a 6 out of 10 as it is lacking some substance, but still puts allot of bigger budget movies to shame. Overall worth watching with the kids and I hope they continue on and make more of this series.

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• Wow, Amazing compared to others

  legomyegorawr2009-09-15

  I grew up watching scooby doo I watched every single episode that I can get my hands on to, hell I got 7 DVD volumes as birthday presents, X-mas presents, and easter. As a 7 year old I knew ever episode by heart then I moved onto watching Pup Named Scooby what a good show it was I use to play sick just to watch it then I heard about the real time movies the first one I loved it even though it's cheesy that's what Scooby Doo was based on honestly. The second one had nothing really special about it that gave it that Scooby feeling. Then I watched the animated movies I felt they where all that was really needed to keep it alive I was sad when they stopped then I heard about this. What can I say I knew it was a TV and there wasn't going to be top class actors but something urged me to watch it something like a mystery. I watched it just a while go I fell in love with it they could have had room for improvements but you know I soon realised it's supposed to have that cheesy feeling. I was particularly impressed with how Shaggy acted and Velma I thought they're going to mess up on them but they did good specially towards the end. The cgi really out-stood me I thought that this Scooby was going to look to CGI affected but it was the perfect mixture not to much nor to less. You know I liked how everyone got angry that they're throwing away some of the key elements like the blonde affect but now adays who has blonde hair like that in high school? I know damn well no one does at my school it's a modern day version not supposed to be in the 60's. I really liked the story they built a good enough background story for me and they developed the plot just like any classic SD cartoon. It might just be the perfect revival in a way. I hope that these actors get respect and more chances on CN's network if they have another movie.

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• Enjoyable

  toribabori9132009-09-13

  I heard of this movie through my 12 year old cousin who knew I was a Scooby Doo fan and mentioned this movie when I visited her. I must say I was apprehensive of the movie as I felt it wouldn't live up to the original 'Scooby Doo' movie and its sequel. I also was a little nervous as it didn't have any of the original cast in the movie. When I watched this movie, I was prepared for poor acting and unreal special effects. However, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed myself throughout it. 1. Frank Welker brings Scooby to life in this movie and I am happy that brought in an original 'Scooby Doo' cast member from the TV show. 2. Robbie Amell, Hayley Kiyoko and Kate Melton as Fred, Velma and Daphne fill the roles of these characters and their performances should make even the original cast of the movie proud. 3. Nick Palatas as Shaggy was the star of the show and had Shaggy's voice down to a T. Palatas and 'Scooby' steal the show as the always-in-trouble duo and Palatas' performance by far surpassed the rest. All in all, this was a very enjoyable movie and if you are a Scooby Doo fan, as I am, I am sure you will enjoy this. It's great for the kids and adults, as well. My grandparents, parents and a few friends that were over, all enjoyed this movie and we are definitely going to add this to our movie collection when it becomes available.

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• Breakout Vehicle

  nevadaluke2009-09-26

  And it's not the Mystery Van.... The star of this movie is the scene-stealing Hayley Kiyoko, who has that sure-fire combo of a pretty face that's rubbery enough for broad comedy. There's no doubt that this DVD is her calling card to Big Things. I like this iteration of the series despite its creaky gags, thin plot and underwhelming visual effects. The four human characters imbue the film with an infectious, bubbly chemistry. The plot unfolds so rapidly you won't have time to fret over its flaws. Many of the gags, for instance, were old when they were done in Mack Sennett comedies. And some of the details may irk "Scooby" purists, such as Fred's dark hair this time around. On the other hand, there are a number of amusing back-story gags -- for instance, three of the characters are too young to drive. So guess which one has his license because he's been held back a couple of grades. As for the special effects, the rendering of the title character puts him in the Salem the cat league ("Sabrina the Teenage Witch") -- cheesiness is part of the fun. When I caught this movie, I happened to be watching ABC's "Kingdom Hospital" miniseries, which features a remarkably lifelike anteater character. It crossed my mind that the money that went into creating that anteater was probably four or five times the budget for this entire motion picture. "Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins" also provides a lot of material for drinking games here. Take a gulp every time you see Velma's knees, every time Shaggy says "Zoinks," every time you understand one of Scooby's lines -- you get the idea.

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