DVD Reviews

Scooby-Doo 1 & 2 Collection (Family Double Feature) – Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Dec 14, 2010, 17:56 GMT

Laughs and scares aplenty are unleashed in two popular live-action/computer-animation romps featuring Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard), Velma (Linda Cardellini) and that canine you-know-doo. Mystery Inc. reunites in Scooby-Doo to solve the ghostly goings-on at Spooky Island Resort. In Scooby-Doo 2 Monsters Unleashed, our heroes probe why Coolsville is overrun with monsters the pals defeated years earlier... but now the beastly beings are b-a-a-ack! ...more

My two-year-old has been known to scream “Doo Doo” on occasion. It’s not that he needs diaper assistance but he wants his favorite show on the television. Scooby Doo and his meddling friends has been a staple for many generations so it shouldn’t surprise that the big screen called and this set collects both films.

He’s only two, but he has learned to scream “Scooby Doo” instead of “Doo Doo” (although some may say that the latter might describe these two movies precisely). Those meddling kids, Fred (Freddy Prinze Jr.), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Shaggy (Matthew Lilliard), and their dog Scooby (a CGI creation voiced by Neil Fanning) solve mysteries.

Scooby Doo (2002) had the gang going to the haunted island amusement park of Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson) to investigate some odd goings-on. Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) finds the gang officiating the opening of a museum dedicated to them in Coolsville, their hometown, but the ceremonies are interrupted by reappearance by their old monsters.

Scooby Doo was the cartoon creation of Hanna Barbera and has been delighting children since it appeared in 1969. I don’t know that the same can be said for the two big screen films that appeared. The first seemed to not know who it was made for, kids or adults, and was mishmash of fart jokes, hints at drug use, etc. that’s sexed up by action.

It does hint at the old show with some flashback set design but it’s uneven. The sequel seems a bit more for the kids with the adult nature toned down. Neither of them live up to the nostalgia of the old show. They can entertain and this set offers a way to get both high-def films in one gulp.

If you want them that is. The first film has been on Blu-ray before but if you want the sequel on Blu-ray you have to buy the set.

Both films are presented in 1080p high definition transfers (1.78:1). Scooby Doo special features (all standard definition) include 13 minutes of additional scenes, a commentary by Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and Rowan Atkinson, a second commentary by Director Raja Gosnell, Screenwriter James Gunn and Producers Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, the 22 minute “Unmasking The Mystery Behind Scooby-Doo” making of, the 4 minute “Scary Places” about the production design, the 1 minute “Mystery Van” about the Mystery Machine, the 2 minute “Daphne Fight Scene” about the stunts of that scene, the 1 minute “Rain on the Set” about the downpours on location, the Outkast "Land Of a Million Drums" Music Video, and the 2 minute theatrical trailer.

Scooby Doo 2 has 7 minutes of additional scenes, 2 music videos, the 10 minute “Scooby Doo’s Triple Threat” making of, the 5 minute “True Ghoul Hollywood Stories” about the spooks featured, the 5 minute “Scooby Doo the Dancing Dog” about how they made Scoob boogie and how you can too.

Scooby Doo, the films, are an uneven affair but can be fun if you let them. If you want them on Blu-ray, Warner has provided a double dose that can be cheaply had. Although owners of the first film may just have wanted the second one.