Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

And it's not the Mystery Van....

The star of this movie is the scene-stealing Hayley Kiyoko, who has that sure-fire combo of a pretty face that's rubbery enough for broad comedy. There's no doubt that this DVD is her calling card to Big Things.

I like this iteration of the series despite its creaky gags, thin plot and underwhelming visual effects. The four human characters imbue the film with an infectious, bubbly chemistry.

The plot unfolds so rapidly you won't have time to fret over its flaws. Many of the gags, for instance, were old when they were done in Mack Sennett comedies. And some of the details may irk "Scooby" purists, such as Fred's dark hair this time around. On the other hand, there are a number of amusing back-story gags -- for instance, three of the characters are too young to drive. So guess which one has his license because he's been held back a couple of grades.

As for the special effects, the rendering of the title character puts him in the Salem the cat league ("Sabrina the Teenage Witch") -- cheesiness is part of the fun. When I caught this movie, I happened to be watching ABC's "Kingdom Hospital" miniseries, which features a remarkably lifelike anteater character. It crossed my mind that the money that went into creating that anteater was probably four or five times the budget for this entire motion picture.

"Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins" also provides a lot of material for drinking games here. Take a gulp every time you see Velma's knees, every time Shaggy says "Zoinks," every time you understand one of Scooby's lines -- you get the idea.

It may not have the gloss of the two previous live action Scooby films but this one still has all the heart and fun of those two films. It will entertain families in the same way that the classic cartoon did over forty years ago.

An all new cast do a fair job of playing the iconic characters and the story plods along at a pace that can be enjoyed by both parents and kids alike.

There are flaws in the plot but it does come across as more than just a DVD spin and that is a testament to the cast.

Overall this is funny and entertaining enough of a film for those who have enjoyed the previous live action Scooby outings.

My brother & I probably watched every episode of the original Hannah Barbara Scooby Doo cartoons in the 80's and so I am very leery of all these newer versions that keep popping up. There was a certain feel in those originals that will never be reproduced and perhaps Scooby is best left in the 70's. I was pretty let down by the Freddie Prince Jr. movies which tried to update Scooby (like a lot of CGI updates, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Smurfs, Garfield, Transformers, etc.)with modern lingo & culture which for some reason means crudeness, krass jokes and even sexual innuendos. This movie was better in that sense, but is annoying when they stray from the original (Freddie is blond, ghosts are ALWAYS people in masks, etc.) And since we're making a "realistic" version, why is Scooby CGI? Why not just use a real Great Dane? Nick Palatas, though doing a decent impression of Casey Kacem's "Shaggy" voice comes across annoying and contrived after a while. Maybe I'm a purist...maybe I'm a grouch, but I kind of wish people would leave the old cartoons alone.

Just got done watching the new movie and I have to say that I was very impressed. The acting is better than you would expect and the story line is decent. Since I was real young I've always loved Scooby Doo. When I found out they were making another live action movie I got really excited. Then I found out It was not going to the movies and I started to worry. Then when I found out that Fred was not blonde and Velma was Japenease(something like that)I freaked out. But after watching it I realized the new Fred and Velma worked. The only problem I had with Velma was how she said Jinkies. My favorite part of the movie was the ending. How the makers remade the opening credits of the cartoon. That was really cool. This movie is very entertaining for all people who are fans of Scooby. I highly recommend it. 9/10

I give this a 7, because the acting is decent, the story is fairly original, and it's Scooby Doo! Now, for those who liked the first 2 live-action films, this is a cartoon network film, so while they are all Scooby movies, they have no other relationship to one another. That's not to say it has no faults. It's fairly campy, though not much, and it does stray from it's origins a bit. Scooby fans will know what I mean, once they see this. It does have good action, and CGI effects are well done. The story moves along without getting bogged down by trying to flesh out the characters. I think Hayley Kiyoko did an awesome job as Velma. It's hard to believe she's only 17. I recommend this one as a family fun film. Kids will love it, and adults will enjoy it as just as much.