Review: Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Rating 4/5

When Mystery, Inc. are guests of honor at the grand opening of the Coolsville Museum of Criminology, a masked villain shows up and creates havoc before stealing the costumes of the gang’s most notorious villains: Black Knight Ghost, Pterodactyl Ghost and Tar Monster. Could it be that their nemesis, mad scientist Jonathan Jacobo has returned and is trying to recreate their deadliest foes? Velma has a crush on the hunk / museum curator Patrick Wisely but why is he acting so suspicious? The Mystery Gang is hard pressed to succeed this time, since pesky TV reporter Heather Jasper-Howe insists they are buffoons.

After the sucess of the first Scooby Doo, WB naturally fasttracked a sequel into production. Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed improves on everything from its predecessor, making for a much more enjoyable experience. The problem with the first Scooby Doo was that it didn’t know what it wanted to be. The tone of Monsters Unleashed is much more defined. The movie really does feel like an episode of the cartoon.

Speaking of being like the cartoon, it was great seeing the classic monsters on the big screen and in live action. They did change the orgin of The Pterodactyl Ghost, though it does make more sense here. A mad scientist is much cooler than some random dude pirating music in the mountains.

It’s always great when they give Shaggy or Velma a love interest, and having Buffy alum Seth Green was the perfect casting choice. Mathew Lillard is still fantastic as Shaggy, as well as Linda Cardellini. I actually think Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr improve in this movie. They feel more like Fred and Daphne here than in the first movie.

The flashback scene was a nice little nod to A Pup Named Scooby Doo.

There was talk of a Scooby 3 around the time the movie came out, but unfortunately failed to meet the box office of the first film, only making $84 in the US. Had there been a Scooby 3 with the same cast, it would’ve focused on Shaggy’s and Scooby’s fear and how that affects their lives. But at least we got one good sequel. Scooby 2 is a much watch for any fan of Scooby Doo. 4/5

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