Scooby-Doo in film

Scooby Doo
Created by	Joe Ruby Ken Spears
Original work	Scooby-Doo by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
Owners	Warner Bros. Pictures (via Turner Entertainment & Hanna-Barbera)
Miscellaneous
Live-action theatrical films	Scooby-Doo (2002) Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
Live-action TV films	Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009) Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010)
Live-action spin-off film	Daphne & Velma (2018)
Animated theatrical films	Scoob! (2020) Scoob! Holiday Haunt (unreleased)
Limited theatrical animated films	Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? (2005) Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright (2013) Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)

The animated series Scooby-Doo has been adapted and appeared in five feature-length films since its debut in 1969, not including the series of animated direct-to-video films that have been in production since 1998, or the four animated television films produced from 1987 to 1994.

Toward the end of the 1990s, Warner Bros. and producer Charles Roven began producing a series of feature live-action films starring Scooby-Doo, beginning with the 2002 film Scooby-Doo, directed by Raja Gosnell. Gosnell also directed the 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). A reboot television film, Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009), was released by Cartoon Network. Brian Levant directed the film and its sequel, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010). A direct-to-video film entitled Daphne & Velma, with no connection to previous Scooby-Doo films, was released in 2018. An animated film titled Scoob! was scheduled for release in theaters on May 15, 2020, but was released direct-to-video on digital platforms due to COVID-19 closing most theaters in the United States and Canada.^[1] The film subsequently received a secondary theatrical release in the United States beginning on May 21, 2021 in selected markets. In December 2021, HBO Max confirmed the development of a further prequel film, Scoob! Holiday Haunt, the release of which was cancelled by Warner Bros. Discovery in August 2022, citing cost-cutting measures and a refocus on theatrical films rather than creating projects for streaming, despite the film already being completed.

Background

Development for a live-action treatment of Scooby-Doo began in 1994 by producer Charles Roven. Originally the idea was to make a film with a much darker tone, essentially poking fun at the original cartoon series, much like The Brady Bunch Movie and was set for a PG-13 rating. Shaggy was set to be a stoner, Velma and Daphne had a side relationship,^[2] and there were many marijuana references.^[3]

Several rumors about these aspects in the original cartoon series were passed around by fans of Scooby-Doo, and were to be incorporated into the live action film.^[4]

Live-action theatrical films

Scooby-Doo (2002)

Raja Gosnell series logo used from 2002–2004

Main article: Scooby-Doo (film)

Scooby-Doo was released on June 14, 2002. Directed by Raja Gosnell, the film starred Freddie Prinze Jr., as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Scooby-Doo was created on-screen by computer-generated special effects and his voice was provided by Neil Fanning.

The plot shows the Mystery, Inc. gang coming back together after two years of separation, to investigate an amusement park called "Spooky Island", where they deal with real demons.

The film was a financially successful release, with a domestic box office gross of over $130 million.^[5] However, the film was not well reviewed, but was a great hit with young audiences and fans of the show.^[6]

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)

Main article: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was released on March 26, 2004, with the same cast and director from the first film.

The plot shows the Mystery Inc. investigating the plans of a masked villain who wants to control the city of Coolsville using a machine to create monsters. Unlike the first film, Scooby-Doo 2 featured several of the monsters from the television series, including the Black Knight, the 10,000-Volt Ghost, the Pterodactyl Ghost, the Miner 49er, Captain Cutler and the Tar Monster.

The film had a poor performance at the box office, grossing $80 million at the U.S.^[7] Scooby-Doo 2 won the Razzie Award for "Worst Remake or Sequel".^[8]

Live-action TV films

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins was aired by Cartoon Network on September 13, 2009, the 40th anniversary of Scooby-Doo. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 22.^[9] Directed by Brian Levant, the plot is an origin story for the Mystery, Inc. gang, portraying the beginning of everything: how the gang met, their first mystery, their lives at school and how they got the Mystery Machine.^[10]

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster was aired by Cartoon Network on October 16, 2010, with the same director and cast from the previous film. In this film, the Mystery, Inc. gang is heading towards a beach club owned by Daphne's uncle, for temporary summer jobs. While involved with their tasks, they stumble on a new mystery.

Live-action direct-to-video film

Daphne & Velma (2018)

Main article: Daphne & Velma

Daphne & Velma was released on DVD on May 22, 2018. Directed by Suzi Yoonessi, it features the title characters Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley.^[11] The plot shows Daphne and Velma investigating mysteries in their high school. Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman portray Daphne and Velma, respectively.^[12]

Animated theatrical films

film logo

Scoob! (2020)

Main article: Scoob!

Scooby-Doo is the hero of his own story in Scoob!, the first full-length, animated film, which reveals how he and his best friend Shaggy became two of the world's most beloved crime busters. The story takes us back to where it all began, when a young Scooby and Shaggy first meet, and team up with Velma, Daphne, and Fred to launch Mystery Incorporated.

Scoob! Holiday Haunt (unreleased)

In June 2021, Cervone said that a sequel to Scoob! was in development.^[13] On December 22, 2021, HBO Max released a sizzle reel featuring a first look at a Christmas-themed prequel film, titled Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which was to be released on the service in December 2022. The film takes place in the gang's youth, with Welker and the actors who portrayed the younger versions reprising their roles while Cervone returned to write the film with Paul Dini as well to produce the project. The film was co-directed by Bill Haller and Michael Kurinsky, and had a production budget of $40 million.^[14] On August 2, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled its release, citing cost-cutting measures and a refocus on theatrical films rather than creating projects for streaming.^[15][16] Tony Cervone would go on to say on the same day that the project was "practically finished".^[17] Later that month, it was reported that the film would still be finished, even though Warner Bros. Discovery had no present plans to release it.^[18] The film was finally finished on November 4, 2022.^[19]

Limited theatrical animated films

Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? (2005)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?

The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on May 13, 2005.

Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright (2013)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright

The film had a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 20, 2013.

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)

Main article: Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold

The film was premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre^[20] on January 6, 2018.^[21]

Cast and crew

Cast

See also: List of Scooby-Doo characters

List indicator(s)

• A dark gray cell indicates the character did not appear in that installment.
• An ^A indicates a performance through archived or previous work.
• A ^V indicates a performance through voice-over work.
• A ^Y indicates an actor or actress voiced a younger version of their character.

Character	Films		Television films		Spin-off film	Animated film
	Scooby-Doo	Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed	Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins	Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster	Daphne & Velma	Scoob!
Mystery Inc.
Scooby Doo	Neil Fanning^V	Neil Fanning^V	Frank Welker^V	Frank Welker^V		Frank Welker^V
				Danielle. E. Hawkins
		J. P. Manoux		Jane Oshita and Philip Albuquerque
				Luke Youngblood
Shaggy Rogers	Matthew Lillard	Matthew Lillard	Nick Palatas			Will Forte^V
		Cascy Beddow^Y				Iain Armitage^V^Y
		Nazanin Afshin-Jam
Fred Jones	Freddie Prinze Jr.	Freddie Prinze Jr	Robbie Amell			Zac Efron^V
		Ryan Vrba^Y				Pierce Gagnon^V^Y
Daphne Blake	Sarah Michelle Gellar	Sarah Michelle Gellar	Kate Melton		Sarah Jeffery	Amanda Seyfried^V
		Emily Tennant^Y				Mckenna Grace^V^Y
Velma Dinkley	Linda Cardellini	Linda Cardellini	Hayley Kiyoko		Sarah Gilman	Gina Rodriguez
		Lauren Kennedy^Y				Ariana Greenblatt^V^Y
Ghosts, Monsters & Villains
Scrappy-Doo	Scott Innes^V
	J. P. Manoux
Zarkos	Sam Greco
N'Goo Tuana	Steven Grieves
Old Man Smithers The Luna Ghost	Nicholas Hope
Dr. Jonathan Jacobo Evil Masked Figure		Tim Blake Nelson
		Scott McNeil
Black Knight Ghost		Kevin Durand				Silent cameo
		Bob Papenbrook^V
Pterodactyl Ghost		Dee Bradley Baker
Tar Monster		Michael Sorich
Red-Eyed Skeleton		Dee Bradley Baker
Green-Eyed Skeleton		Wally Wingert
10,000 Volt Ghost		Terrence Stone
Captain Cutler's Ghost		James Bamford	Silent cameo			Silent cameo
Zombie		Christopher R. Sumpton
		Dee Bradley Baker^V
Miner 49er		C. Ernst Harth
Principal Deedle Dark Specter			Shawn Macdonald
			Dan Riordan
Prudence Prufrock			Leah James
Ezekial Gallows			Brian Sutton
			Al Rodrigo^V
Wanda Grubwort				Beverly Sanders
				Hayley Kiyoko
Carol					Vanessa Marano
Tobias Bloom					Brookes Forester
Dick Dastardly						Jason Isaacs^V
						Simon Cowell Christina Hendricks
Muttley						Billy West^V
						Don Messick^A^V
Cerberus						Fred Tatasciore^V
Supporting characters
Mary Jane	Isla Fisher
Mr. Emile Mondavarious	Rowan Atkinson
Patrick Wisley		Seth Green
Heather Jasper-Howe		Alicia Silverstone
Jeremiah Wickles		Peter Boyle
Ned		Zahf Paroo
Vice Principal Grimes			Garry Chalk
Otis			C. Ernst Harth
Librarian			Lorena Gale
Mrs. Rogers			Uncredited actress			Pam Coats^V
Thorton "Thorny" Blake V				Ted McGinley
Mr. Elmer Uggins				Richard Moll
Principal Piper					Arden Myrin
Griffin Griffiths					Evan Castelloe
Spencer					Adam Faison
Nedley Blake					Brian Stepanek
Elizabeth Blake					Nadine Ellis
Brian / Blue Falcon						Mark Wahlberg^V
Dee Dee Sykes						Kiersey Clemons^V
Dynomutt						Ken Jeong^V
Dusty						Vanara Taing^V
Captain Caveman						Tracy Morgan^V

Crew

Crew/detail	Film
	Scooby-Doo	Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed	Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins	Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster	Daphne & Velma	Scoob!	Scoob! Holiday Haunt
Director	Raja Gosnell		Brian Levant		Suzi Yoonessi	Tony Cervone	Bill Haller & Michael Kurinsky
Producer(s)	Charles Roven Richard Suckle		Brian Gilbert Brian Levant		Ashley Tisdale Jennifer Tisdale Suzi Yoonessi Amy S. Kim Jaime Burke	Pam Coats Allison Abbate	Allison Abbate Tony Cervone Mitchell Ferm
Writer(s)	Screenplay by James Gunn Story by James Gunn Craig Titley	James Gunn	Daniel Altiere Steven Altiere		Kyle Mack Caitlin Meares	Screenplay by Adam Sztykiel Jack Donaldson Derek Elliott Matt Lieberman Story by Matt Lieberman Eyal Podell Jonathon E. Stewart	Tony Cervone Paul Dini
Composer(s)	David Newman				Sasha Gordon	Tom Holkenborg	Dara Taylor
Director of photography	David Eggby	Oliver Wood	Jan Kiesser	Dean Cundey	Meena Singh	—
Editor(s)	Kent Beyda		Eric Osmond		Kristina Davies	Ryan Folsey	Mark Solomon

Reception

Box office performance

Film	Release date	Box office revenue			Box office ranking		Budget	Reference
		Domestic	Foreign	Worldwide	All time domestic	All time worldwide
Scooby-Doo	June 14, 2002	$153,294,164	$122,356,539	$275,650,703	#230	#321	$84 million	[22]
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed	March 26, 2004	$84,216,833	$97,250,000	$181,466,833	#651	—	$80 million	[23]
Scoob	May 15, 2020	$2,188,425	$26,400,000	$28,588,425	—	—	—	[24]
Total	$83,593,643	$237,510,997	$244,506,539	$485,705,961			$109,000,000	[25]

Critical and public response

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore[26]
Scooby-Doo	32% (146 reviews)[27]	35 (31 reviews)[28]	B+
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed	22% (119 reviews)[29]	34 (28 reviews)[30]	A-
Scoob!	48% (153 reviews)[31]	43 (33 reviews)[32]	—

Cancelled projects

In October 2002, during the filming of Scooby-Doo 2, Warner Bros. gave the green light for production of a third film. Dan Forman and Paul Foley were hired to write the script for Scooby-Doo 3. In August 2004, Matthew Lillard said in an interview that the third Scooby-Doo film was cancelled. "There will be no Scooby 3," Lillard said. "The second one didn't do as well as it was expected to do, and I completely hold that to Warner Brothers' fault. I think Warner Brothers made a mistake releasing it at the time they did March 2004. I think the movie's much better than the first movie, and I honestly thought it was going to do ridiculously good box office. But we had a bad timeslot. We had 13 movies open up in two weeks after we opened up. I mean, it did well, but it didn't do great, and it needed to do great", added, noting that the studio was quite disappointed with the result, which prevented the production of a third film.^[33]

References

1. D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 21, 2020). "'Scoob!' To Skip Theaters & Head Into Homes; How Director Tony Cervone Got Animated Pic Across The Finish Line In COVID-19 Climate". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
2. "Lesbian Secrets of Scooby-Doo's Velma! – Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com". www.tvguide.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-16.
3. Entertainment Weekly, 636/637 – Jan 25th Issue. Page 38
4. Sigesmund, B.J. "The Inside Dope." Newsweek. June 14, 2002. Available at Lexis-Nexis.
5. Chris Suellentrop. (March 26, 2004). "Hey Dog! How do you do that Voodoo That You Do So Well?".Slate.com. Retrieved on June 9, 2006.
6. "Review of Scooby-Doo". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
7. "Weekend Box Office preview". 27 January 2006..
8. "2004 RAZZIE® Nominees & "Winners"". razzies.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-03.
9. "Toon Zone News". Toonzone. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
10. "Scooby-Doo: The Mystery Begins Promises Origin of Scooby Gang". http://Comics Worthreading. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
11. Cecchini, Mike (November 28, 2017). "Daphne and Velma: Scooby-Doo Prequel Movie Coming". Den of Geek. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
12. "Meet the Stars of the New Live-Action Daphne and Velma Feature". 28 November 2017.
13. Wilding, Josh (2021-06-18). "SCOOB! Director Tony Cervone Confirms A Sequel To The 2020 Movie Is In Development (Exclusive)". Comic Book Movie. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
14. Burlingame, Russ (December 22, 2021). "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt First Look Revealed in HBO Max Teaser". ComicBook. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
15. Couch, Aaron (August 2, 2022). "'Batgirl' and 'Scoob!: Holiday Haunt' Scrapped at Warner Bros. Amid Cost-Savings Push". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
16. "Scoob! Sequel Shelved By HBO Max". Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
17. "Scoob! Sequel Director Revealed Film Was "Very Close" to Completion Before HBO Max Cancellation". comicbook.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
18. "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt Could Still Get Finished Despite Being Shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery". comicbook.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
19. "Tony Cervone on Instagram: "Well, we finished this thing today. A bittersweet conclusion for sure. I really hope you get a chance to see it somehow. It's a good one. I want to congratulate the directors @mkurinsky and @bill.haller for doing an outstanding job. They understand the characters, comedy and spooky thrills so well. Thanks to @dinipaul for writing it with me. Thanks to @meferm for producing it with me. Thanks to our head of story @duseybear and our Director of Layout @swc90046, and to @terryhan_ for keeping me somewhat on time. And thank you to our wonderful, wonderful gang - @iain, @mckennagraceful, @ariana_greenblatt, Pierce Gagnon and the one and only Frank Welker. Every minute with you was a pleasure."".
20. ‘Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold’ Premiering in LA Saturday | Animation Magazine
21. SCOOBY-DOO! and BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD World Premiere at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood: Saturday, January 6, 2018!
22. "Scooby-Doo (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
23. "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
24. "Scoob!".
25. "Franchises — Scooby-Doo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
26. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
27. "Scooby-Doo". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
28. "Scooby-Doo (2002): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
29. "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
30. "Scooby-Doo 2 (2004): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
31. "SCOOB!". Rotten Tomatoes.
32. "Scoob!". Metacritic.
33. "Matthew Lillard says no Scooby Doo 3". MovieWeb. 2004-08-04. Retrieved 2018-01-01.