martinhitchings

I grew up with the Scooby Doo cartoon and loved it as a kid and when they brought out the first Scooby live action movie; I was dubious. Thing was, I loved it! I also quite enjoyed the second movie although not as much as the first.

When it came to the original cast, I had issues with Freddie Prinze Jr as Fred as I felt he wasn't butch enough and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, because she was both a little too short and I had not yet got over my Buffy crush; but Matthew Lillard as Shaggy was, quite simply, awesome.

This, unfortunately is where this movie falls down. Though I don't doubt the effort of Nick Palatas as Shaggy and indeed his acting chops (he is a young actor starting out) but following Matthew Lillard's Shaggy was always going to be a tall order. What also doesn't help is having a dark haired Fred in the form of Robbie Amell, I struggled to recognise him as Fred.

However, the Daphne (Kate Melton) character I though was excellent and if I could transplant her for Gellar in the first; I would without a second thought.

Bottom line, not a great movie but I guarantee your young children will enjoy it. For the rest of us, its a sad reflection.