"POOPY POWER" (reviewed by AX)

I grew up watching Scooby-Doo cartoons. As long as you stuck to the ones that don't have Scrappy in them, you were always guaranteed entertainment. Scrappy blows and he isn't funny, but that's another discussion.

I have to admit, I was disappointed when I found out Scooby wasn't going to be played by a real dog in the film version. Computer-generated characters just don't look good when they're on screen w/ live actors. Period. I also wondered what the hell kind of movie was gonna come from director Raja Gosnell (BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE) and screenwriter James Gunn (TROMEO AND JULIET) teaming up for something aimed at kids. Advance reviews were pretty horrible, and even the filmmakers themselves were concerned that their film would piss off the generations of Scooby fans.

Well, I definitely wasn't pissed off. I sat down with an audience full of little kids and completely enjoyed myself. While it's not near as good as 1998's INSPECTOR GADGET (a highly underrated film), it is one of the best translations from cartoon to live action that I've seen. Scooby, despite being a CGI character, is hilarious and fun to watch. Once a cartoon, always a cartoon I guess. It worked for Roger Rabbit, so why the hell not? Scooby is the central character of the film, he is the hero, and he is brilliantly portrayed. I particularly loved his farting contest with Shaggy. Goddamn that was funny.

Speaking of the human characters, I must applaud both Matthew Lillard's expert portrayal of Shaggy and Linda Cardellini's dead-on performance as Velma. They are totally faithful right down to having the voices down cold. Amazing. Freddy Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar got the shit end of the stick with the roles of Fred and Daphne, as they were never really that interesting in the original cartoon. As such, the writers had to invent personalities for them, which ended up resembling their child counterparts from the series A PUP NAMED SCOOBY DOO (very very enjoyable in case you never saw it). I loved watching all these characters come to life, it really was cool and I'd be a fucking liar if I didn't admit that. Plus, the filmmakers wisely casted underrated actors like Rowan Atkinson (MR. BEAN), Miguel Nunez Jr (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD), and Pamela Anderson in minor roles.

Now for the stuff that sucked.

Scooby and the gang are called to a new theme park called "Spooky Island" because the white college kids that come visit there all end up turning into mean-spirited heathens that spout annoying hip-hop lingo. Turns out, there's a weird cult on the island stealing kids souls and replacing them with those of demons. What I didn't understand was, our heroes used annoying hip-hop lingo and they WEREN'T possessed by demons. Shaggy says, "Step off, Scooby!" in a rare serious moment. Daphne says (deadpan), "Straight up", and Velma gets the stomach-turning line "Let's get JINKY with it!". I hope they paid dear old Linda a pretty penny to say that line (and fuck whomever it was that cancelled FREAKS AND GEEKS. That show was amazing). And last, I wanted to kill the miserable son of a bitch who gave the band Sugar Ray a cameo appearance in the movie. That was stupid. This, combined with the idiotic lame-o wannabe rap-speak, dates the film and nearly ruins it. I'm the kind of guy that likes to watch movies over and over, and unfortunately I don't see myself watching this one in 10 years and enjoying it as much.

Aside from that, the movie was cool. I'm sure it was a challenge to remain faithful to the original show, yet present something new and interesting to audiences that's set in present times. There was plenty for little kids to laugh out loud at, and the movie explodes with energy and color. Plus, there's a lot for us older kids to enjoy too, from the subtle drug and sexual humor to Velma's unexplained cleavage shots. Not to mention the bizarre plot twist and surprises that I definitely wasn't ready for (even the small group of college dudes in the audience were visibly shocked by what happens). I recommend this if you're not some asshole who can't have fun at the movies.

(6.14.02)