Scooby-Doo [VHS] [2002]

As films based on nostalgia TV go, Scooby-Doo is solidly okay: not as inspired as The Brady Bunch or Josie and the Pussycats perhaps, but much better than The Flintstones, The Beverly Hillbillies or My Favourite Martian. First off, the casting is perfect, with Matthew Lillard zoiks-ing as if he had spent a whole life slacking off on Doritos and dope in order to play Shaggy; Sarah Michelle Gellar oblivious to criticism of the splendidly bubble-headed Daphne’s all-purple wardrobe; Linda Cardellini appealing in specs and orange sweater as Velma, and even Freddie Prinze jr. just fine as the self-involved clod Freddy. Oddly, the bunch are so good that the CGI dog seems like the fifth wheel in Mystery Inc. The film opens with the climax of a typical "and I would have got away with it too if it weren’t for those meddling kids" adventure, but then the gang split up in a multiple temper tantrum only to be reunited two years later to investigate a mystery at Spooky Island where Mr Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson) is concerned that riotous teenagers are being possessed by well-behaved demons. There is a plot, and long-term Scooby-Doo fans will be delighted by the revelation of who exactly is behind it all, but the film is mostly colourful, amiable fluff that rushes between one-liners and dollops of effects without troubling the brain.--Kim Newman