Scooby-Doo
Release Date:
June 14, 2002
Another in a long line of TV shows making the transition to the silver screen, Scooby-Doo is much more high-profile than most. Warner Bros. has already scoped out a June 14th release date, and has spent a reported $100 million on the film. Originally, Mike Myers wrote a version of Scooby-Doo much like Austin Powers or The Brady Bunch, with the Mystery, Inc. players getting laughs from the fish-out-of-water scenario. Now WB will go with a straight-up version similar to the original cartoon, with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Fred, Linda Cardellini as Velma, and Scott Innes as the voice of Scooby-Doo. I would have rather seen the Mike Myers version, but I doubt this new/old version's box office will suffer from comparisons to the early Mike Myers' screenplay. Not that many people heard about him writing a Scooby-Doo screenplay; even fewer people actually read it.
Since the cast doesn't jump out at you with their star power, Scooby-Doo will have to rely on marketing to draw in the show's large fan base. If online polls are any indication, Scooby-Doo has a very big want-to-see buzz going for it. A big factor will be just how lifelike and likable Scooby-Doo the character is. Early Internet photos of Scooby look like a very CG version of the cartoon, but that may not be a bad thing. After all, Scooby-Doo's main demographic was and still is children. So, I'd expect a very tame PG-rated, special-effects-driven ghost story, with Scooby and Shaggy running scared most of the film, and eventually (accidentally) saving the day.
I suspect that if Scooby-Doo relies on its grown-up audience to fuel opening weekend grosses, it will suffer a similar fate as Rocky and Bullwinkle. So, alas, the people that will make or break this Warner Bros. film will be those meddlin' little kids. (David Parker/BOP)
June 16, 2002
In light of Scooby-Doo's phenomenal opening weekend, it comes as no surprise that a sequel has already been greenlit by the studio, and will probably be released in Summer of 2004. Scooby has been very well-received by its true target audience -- children. Since hitting the all-important family demographic has proven to be a vital ingredient for box office success in recent months, that reaction will be key to the film's durability over the long haul, not to mention the bankability of the eventual sequel. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Vital statistics for Scooby-Doo |
| Main Cast |
Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Scott Innes, Rowan Atkinson |
| Supporting Cast |
Isla Fisher, Andrew Bryniarski, Michala Banas, Rio Nugara, Andrew Prine |
| Director |
Raja Gosnell |
| Screenwriter |
Craig Titley, James Gunn |
| Distributor |
Warner Bros. |
| Trailer |
Click Here for Trailer
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| Official Site |
http://scoobydoo.com/ |
| Rating |
PG |
| Running Time |
86 minutes |
| Screen Count |
3,447 |
| Also see |
John Hamann reviews the movie
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Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture |
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