A couple of years ago, I wrote about the lost cut of the original Scooby-Doo movie – the legendary R-rated version that never made it to screens. But, I realise now, I have been uncharacteristically unstringent in talking about a Scooby-Doo film that did make it to cinemas, and that is the 2004 sequel, Monsters Unleashed.
Now, for me, this sequel had a whole lot to live up to – the first Scooby-Doo: The Movie release in 2002 is a version that truly captures a deep love for the previous versions of the show, while creating this distinctly modern twist in both the look and the feel that made it feel like a worthy addition to the canon of all this Scoobert Doobert.
And, like all good sequels, this goes bigger and (for me, at least) better in a lot of ways: an outrageously stacked cast (Alicia Silverstone AND Peter Boyle? Say no more!), an intensely silly plot, and a new dynamic for the Mystery Inc. as they start the movie united instead of disbanded. Coolsville makes for a really fun setting after Spooky Island in the original, and the costuming and styling of both the sets and characters lend it a cartoon-y look that never swerves too far into cheap.
The titular unleashed monsters here are none other than the villains who filled out the roster in the show’s original cartoon run – Scooby-Doo is up there with Batman in terms of iconic rogue’s galleries, as far as I’m concerned, and bringing so many of them back for this story really shines a light on that. Seeing legendary in-universe villains like Captain Cutler brought to life for the big screen is such a joy for anyone who’s grown up with the series, a throwback that delivers in a big way against the backdrop of that fabulously goofy plot.
And, honestly, I think it’s that first movie that makes this second one such a success – not just because the actors are so well-suited to the roles and clearly comfortable the second time around, not just because I’m more used to hideous CGI Scooby and therefore willing to overlook it. But because the first movie proved that director Raja Gosnell could make a modern Scooby-Doo story – and that, therefore, the decision to wallow in the glorious history of the show in the second one was a choice, rather than a necessity to hook in old fans with nostalgia-bait.
Both this movie and the original Scooby-Doo release truly feel like they’re made by fans, and for fans – and this sequel, especially, nails that in how it celebrates villains of Scooby-Doos past while breathing a little freshness into these characters and settings.
Do you love this sequel as much as I do? How does it rank up against the original? Who is your favourite classic Scooby-Doo villain (and if it’s not Miner 49er, why?)? Let me know in the comments!
If you enjoyed this article and want to see more stuff like it, please consider supporting us on Ko-Fi. You can check out more of my work on my personal blog, The Cutprice Guignol!
By Lou MacGregor
(header image via Warner Bros)
No But Listen 