Scooby-Doo 2 - Monsters Unleashed	Back to Menu
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by KEES BOER	Next Film

Jinkies! In this film Scooby and the gang lose their cool —– and their stellar reputation —when an anonymous masked villain wreaks mayhem on the city of Coolsville with a monster machine that re-creates classic Mystery Inc. foes like Pterodactyl Ghost, The Black Knight Ghost, Captain Cutler’s Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost.

A museum has been opened to honor the work of Mystery Inc. The museum is filled with the costumes of the ghosts that Mystery Inc. has captured in the past. When the heroes arrive during the opening of the museum, they are greeted like movie stars at the premiere of their new film. Ever one has their own fans and there are even some dog fans of Scooby there. Of course instead of asking for an autograph, they request to have their bud sniffed! Some of this is quite funny.

The adventure starts when the costumes seemingly come to life. The master villain has created a monster-making machine. (And yes, this is the type of movie that makes you wonder why producers add a note at the end of the film, stating it was based on fiction.)

To make things worse, Heather Jasper-Howe (Alicia Silverstone) is a relentless reporter, enticing the citizens of Coolsville against Mystery Inc. The gang launches a full-blown investigation into the Monster Outbreak, but Heather undermines their confidence to such a degree that Shaggy (Matthew Lillard), and Scooby feel worthless.

In spite of the film’s somewhat absurd antics, there was a nice lesson as well. When Shaggy feels like the big loser, brainy Velma (Linda Cardellini) tells Shaggy that she always saw him as a hero – a nice touch. Another bright spot in the film was the use of color. Bright colors added to the excitement of the film, making it much more enjoyable to watch.

The producers and the cast have also really tried hard to make the film like the comic. For instance, Cardellini originally learned to capture Velma’s voice by listening to a home-made CD that her boyfriend made of various signature Velma sound bites, followed by silence so that Cardellini could repeat each phrase. “I learned how she spoke and tried to make it as real as possible, and somehow make her voice my own.”

I was the only one left in the theater at the very end. But there is another scene following the credits, where Scooby gives a secret code. So be sure to stick around to the very end in this film. I wasn’t able to figure out what the code was about, but the extra scene was worth staying for.

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* Graphic Copyright Warner Bros 2004 All Rights Reserved. Story ©Alachua County Today. All Rights Reserved.

Caption Photograph: (L-R) Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Linda Cardellini & Matthew Lillard in Warner Bros. Pictures’ live action comedy adventure “SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED” Photo: Diyah Pera