Scooby-Doo in film

Background

Development for a live-action treatment of Scooby-Doo began in 1994 by producer Charles Roven. Originally the idea was to make a film with a much darker tone, essentially poking fun at the original cartoon series, much like The Brady Bunch Movie and was set for a PG-13 rating. Shaggy was set to be a stoner, Velma and Daphne had a side relationship, and there were many marijuana references.

Several rumors about these aspects in the original cartoon series were passed around by fans of Scooby-Doo, and were to be incorporated into the live action film.

Live-action theatrical films

''Scooby-Doo'' (2002)

Main article: Scooby-Doo (film)

Scooby-Doo was released on June 14, 2002. Directed by Raja Gosnell, the film starred Freddie Prinze Jr., as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Scooby-Doo was created on-screen by computer-generated special effects and his voice was provided by Neil Fanning.

The plot shows the Mystery, Inc. gang coming back together after two years of separation, to investigate an amusement park called "Spooky Island", where they deal with real demons.

The film was a financially successful release, with a domestic box office gross of over $130 million. However, the film was not well reviewed, but was a great hit with young audiences and fans of the show.

''Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'' (2004)

Main article: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was released on March 26, 2004, with the same cast and director from the first film.

The plot shows the Mystery Inc. investigating the plans of a masked villain who wants to control the city of Coolsville using a machine to create monsters. Unlike the first film, Scooby-Doo 2 featured several of the monsters from the television series, including the Black Knight, the 10,000-Volt Ghost, the Pterodactyl Ghost, the Miner 49er, Captain Cutler and the Tar Monster.

The film had a poor performance at the box office, grossing $80 million in the US. Scooby-Doo 2 won the Razzie Award for "Worst Remake or Sequel".

Live-action TV films

''Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins'' (2009)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins was aired by Cartoon Network on September 13, 2009, the 40th anniversary of Scooby-Doo. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 22. Directed by Brian Levant, the plot is an origin story for the Mystery, Inc. gang, portraying the beginning of everything: how the gang met, their first mystery, their lives at school and how they got the Mystery Machine.

''Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster'' (2010)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster was aired by Cartoon Network on October 16, 2010, with the same director and cast from the previous film. In this film, the Mystery, Inc. gang is heading towards a beach club owned by Daphne's uncle, for temporary summer jobs. While involved with their tasks, they stumble on a new mystery.

Live-action direct-to-video film

''Daphne & Velma'' (2018)

Main article: Daphne & Velma

Daphne & Velma was released on DVD on May 22, 2018. Directed by Suzi Yoonessi, it features the title characters Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley. The plot shows Daphne and Velma investigating mysteries in their high school. Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman portray Daphne and Velma, respectively.

Animated theatrical films

''Scoob!'' (2020)

Main article: Scoob!

Scooby-Doo is the hero of his own story in Scoob!, the first full-length, animated film, which reveals how he and his best friend Shaggy became two of the world's most beloved crime busters. The story takes us back to where it all began, when a young Scooby and Shaggy first meet, and team up with Velma, Daphne, and Fred to launch Mystery Incorporated. They working with the Blue Falcon to solve their most challenging mystery behind their mascot's secret legacy and purpose, which connects with Dick Dastardly's evil plan to unleash Cerberus.

Scoob! was released on May 15, 2020. Directed by Tony Cervone, the animated film voice talents is Will Forte as Shaggy, Zac Efron as Fred, Amanda Seyfried as Daphne, Gina Rodriguez as Velma and Frank Welker reprising his voice role as Scooby.

''Scoob! Holiday Haunt'' (unreleased)

In June 2021, Cervone said that a sequel to Scoob! was in development. On December 22, 2021, HBO Max released a sizzle reel featuring a first look at a Christmas-themed prequel film, titled Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which was to be released on the service in December 2022. The film takes place in the gang's youth, with Welker and the actors who portrayed the younger versions reprising their roles while Cervone returned to write the film with Paul Dini as well to produce the project. The film was co-directed by Bill Haller and Michael Kurinsky, and had a production budget of $40 million. On August 2, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled its release, citing cost-cutting measures and a refocus on theatrical films rather than creating projects for streaming. Tony Cervone would go on to say on the same day that the project was "practically finished". Later that month, it was reported that the film would still be finished, even though Warner Bros. Discovery had no present plans to release it. The film was finally finished on November 4, 2022.

Limited theatrical animated films

''Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?'' (2005)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?

The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 13, 2005.

''Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' (2018)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold

The film was premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre on January 6, 2018.

Cast and crew

Cast

• A dark gray cell indicates the character did not appear in that installment.
• An indicates a performance through archived or previous work.
• A indicates a performance through voice-over work.
• A indicates an actor or actress voiced a younger version of their character.

Reception

Box office performance

Critical and public response

Cancelled projects

In October 2002, during the filming of Scooby-Doo 2, Warner Bros. gave the green light for production of a third film. Dan Forman and Paul Foley were hired to write the script for Scooby-Doo 3. In August 2004, Matthew Lillard said in an interview that the third Scooby-Doo film was cancelled. "There will be no Scooby 3," Lillard said. "The second one didn't do as well as it was expected to do, and I completely hold that to Warner Brothers' fault. I think Warner Brothers made a mistake releasing it at the time they did March 2004. I think the movie's much better than the first movie, and I honestly thought it was going to do ridiculously good box office. But we had a bad timeslot. We had 13 movies open up in two weeks after we opened up. I mean, it did well, but it didn't do great, and it needed to do great", added, noting that the studio was quite disappointed with the result, which prevented the production of a third film.

References

References

1. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (April 21, 2020). "'Scoob!' To Skip Theaters & Head Into Homes; How Director Tony Cervone Got Animated Pic Across The Finish Line In COVID-19 Climate".
2. "Lesbian Secrets of Scooby-Doo's Velma! – Today's News: Our Take {{!}} TVGuide.com".
3. Entertainment Weekly, 636/637 – Jan 25th Issue. Page 38
4. Sigesmund, B.J. "[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NWEC&p_theme=nwec&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F4BAF4268CEB598&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Inside Dope]." ''[[Newsweek]]''. June 14, 2002. Available at ''[[Lexis-Nexis]]''.
5. Chris Suellentrop. (March 26, 2004). "[http://www.Slate.com/id/2097818/ Hey Dog! How do you do that Voodoo That You Do So Well?]".''Slate.com''. Retrieved on June 9, 2006.
6. "Review of Scooby-Doo". [[CBS]].
7. (27 January 2006). "Weekend Box Office preview".
8. "2004 RAZZIE® Nominees & "Winners"". razzies.com.
9. "Toon Zone News". Toonzone.
10. "Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins Promises Origin of Scooby Gang". Comics Worthreading.
11. Cecchini, Mike. (November 28, 2017). "Daphne and Velma: Scooby-Doo Prequel Movie Coming". Den of Geek.
12. (28 November 2017). "Meet the Stars of the New Live-Action Daphne and Velma Feature".
13. Wilding, Josh. (2021-06-18). "SCOOB! Director Tony Cervone Confirms A Sequel To The 2020 Movie Is In Development (Exclusive)".
14. (December 22, 2021). "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt First Look Revealed in HBO Max Teaser".
15. Couch, Aaron. (August 2, 2022). "'Batgirl' and 'Scoob!: Holiday Haunt' Scrapped at Warner Bros. Amid Cost-Savings Push".
16. "Scoob! Sequel Shelved By HBO Max".
17. "Scoob! Sequel Director Revealed Film Was "Very Close" to Completion Before HBO Max Cancellation".
18. "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt Could Still Get Finished Despite Being Shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery".
19. "Tony Cervone on Instagram: "Well, we finished this thing today. A bittersweet conclusion for sure. I really hope you get a chance to see it somehow. It's a good one. I want to congratulate the directors @mkurinsky and @bill.haller for doing an outstanding job. They understand the characters, comedy and spooky thrills so well. Thanks to @dinipaul for writing it with me. Thanks to @meferm for producing it with me. Thanks to our head of story @duseybear and our Director of Layout @swc90046, and to @terryhan_ for keeping me somewhat on time. And thank you to our wonderful, wonderful gang - @iain, @mckennagraceful, @ariana_greenblatt, Pierce Gagnon and the one and only Frank Welker. Every minute with you was a pleasure."".
20. [http://www.animationmagazine.net/home-entertainment/scooby-doo-batman-the-brave-and-the-bold-premiering-in-la-saturday/ ‘Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ Premiering in LA Saturday. Animation Magazine]
21. [https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/scooby-doo-and-batman-the-brave-and-the-bold-world-premiere-at-tcl-chinese-theater-in-hollywood-saturday-january-6-2018-xela/ SCOOBY-DOO! and BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD World Premiere at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood: Saturday, January 6, 2018!]
22. "Scooby-Doo (2002)". [[Box Office Mojo]].
23. "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)". [[Box Office Mojo]].
24. "Scoob!".
25. "Franchises — Scooby-Doo".
26. "CinemaScore". [[CinemaScore]].
27. "Scooby-Doo". [[Flixster]].
28. "Scooby-Doo (2002): Reviews". [[CBS]].
29. "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed". [[Flixster]].
30. "Scooby-Doo 2 (2004): Reviews". [[CBS]].
31. "SCOOB!".
32. "Scoob!".
33. (2004-08-04). "Matthew Lillard says no Scooby Doo 3". MovieWeb.