iiiGrab a bowl of popcorn and sit down for some ghostly fun with those meddling kids in the third live action movie adaptation of the cult classic Saturday morning cartoon, Scooby-Doo. Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins is a direct-to-DVD release that manages to succeed where the two previous big budget theatrical releases failed.
The Mystery Begins is a wonderful modern adaptation that manages to be faithful to the old 1970s cartoons while bringing the story and characters up to date.
Playing the iconic teen detectives - heart-throb Fred, image-obsessed Daphne, the nerdy Velma and the perennially hungry Shaggy - is a group of virtual unknowns. But voicing the computer-generated Scooby Doo is Frank Welker, recently heard as the voice of Megatron in the Transformers live action movies, but more interestingly the voice of Fred in the animated series since its inception in 1969.
The film tracks the beginning of the gang. Freddie, Velma, Daphne and new-kid-at-school Shaggy are unjustly accused of playing a spooky practical joke, complete with real ghosts, and suspended from Coolsville High. The four sleuths and a big, goofy dog named Scooby-Doo now have to work to prove their innocence.
This adaptation is far superior to the two Freddie Prince Jr and Sarah Michelle Gellar vehicles, and is definitely worth checking out if you're a classic 'toon fan.