Sick Product of a Sick System

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Fresh and Exciting

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

It would appear in this day and age, that all the good ideas have been used up and either the movie makers 'remake' an already iconic film, or they re-brand it, changing it into something that resembles the original but in no way copies it 'frame by frame'. In this instance, Scooby Doo and the gang are mere shadows of their original characters; using ideas that are part of this made for TV prequel, and to be honest, failing miserably! Going into the story-line would be a pointless exercise, purely because there is a mystery to solve; no surprises there! There are red herrings and misadventures, again, no surprises. Shaggy is a beatnik who wears green and brown with a goatee; Velma is smart, wears glasses, has bobbed hair, no surprises here either!However, Fred now has dark hair (his style is like those in Glee), Daphne is tall and looks 30, and neither of the actors could act their way out of a wet paper bag. Robbie Amell, the piece of wood that plays Fred (who 'acts' as Fred would imply this fella has any acting ability at all) and Kate Melton (again, a plank of wood), seem to have never seen what the characters actually say and do...apparently this was important for Shag and Velma (and Scooby in CGI sort of way), so why not Fred and Daphne?There is this new idea from Scooby 1 & 2 (proper movies with big name actors and some sort of budget) who started this 'let's have a dating contest' which somehow cheats the viewer into making the characters really human...not the cartoon characters in the original 1970's episodes. It seems a pity to change that area; a simple idea without all the emotional complications! There are remakes and flipping an idea into a new 'brand'. Then, there are movies that have some sort of redeeming factors...well, all except this one.

I have been a big fan of Scooby Doo for as long as I can remember. The original series, The Scooby Doo Show and The New Scooby Doo Movies I love, Mystery Incoporated was a pleasant surprise, Shaggy and Scooby Doo:Get a Clue was a disgrace(the only one I hate) and What's New Scooby Doo and 13 Ghosts are growing on me. I have also been pleasantly surprised by most of the animated movies, and the live action ones too. I wanted to like Curse of the Lake Monster but it didn't work for me really. There are some good points, Scooby is very cute, Shaggy is still the likable goof-ball I love and Daphne and especially Velma are spot. I didn't like Fred though(but I actually didn't mind him Mystery Begins), and this is not just because of the appearance, for my liking he wasn't macho or cool enough here. Some of the locations are nice and the soundtrack has this infectious energy. However, the editing is rather sloppy in some scenes, sometimes rather hectic in the more tense moments. Also the writing was weak with one too many gags that tried too hard and failed due to lacklustre timing and insipid dialogue and the story is rushed and predictable with the whole Shaggy and Velma idea absurd and never once believable. None of the support characters struck me as memorable either, and the rest of the acting as well as the direction seemed rather bland for my tastes. All in all, didn't work but not a complete disaster. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Since when did Scooby become about the gang dating each other? Ewww. Half way through, my kids asked, if it's called Scooby Doo and the Curse of the Lake Monster, how come there is hardly any Scooby in it? Seriously, half the movie was about relationships, the mystery was secondary. Not really a SPOILER, but don't read ahead if you don't want to know useless absurd plot points: Fred secretly dating Daphne but hanging out with other girls, Daphne trying to make him jealous with boys, Shaggy secretly in love with Velma, Scooby jealous of the date between Shaggy and Velma. It's just wrong. And musical numbers? They were cute, but since when does Scooby Doo have musical numbers? On the plus side, it had Marion Ross (I hope she was paid a bunch), a guy in a rubber suit, and live action versions of classic gags, like running in and out of doors in a long hallway. The actors playing Shaggy and Velma were good, but please get a blond Fred (and not a dark haired guy in a wig), it's just wrong.

the movie will be great for kids, its family friendly, but thankfully is light on the grossout gags that have become de rigeur in 'kids movies'.. Certain parts may be scary for extremely young viewers (i.e., toddler-aged) but its pretty tame otherwise.The plot follows the Mystery Inc. gang as school lets out for summer and everyone gets a job at Daphne's uncle's country club right on Lake Erie. Only, in this town, there's a legend of a frog-monster and a vengeful witch that scares the locals. Needless to say, the teen sleuths decide to take on the case- stalwart Fred, plucky Daphne, brainy Velma, fearful Shaggy and hungry Scooby..The film's screenplay could have come from the cartoons, and the film includes many of the cartoon-inspired gags like pratfalls, manic chases, characters "instantly" having a disguise on, seeing hearts when they have a crush on someone.. the full blown "light of the silvery moon" musical sequence may capture some of the "Glee"-zeitgeist of today, as well as the psychedelic-pop closing number..for the college-aged (and older) guys out there, yes, Daphne and Velma are very attractive..Lastly, Scooby-Doo "purists" who have balked at the changes to the heretofore blonde Fred and Caucasian Velma should lighten up-- it's been 40+ years since the first cartoons premiered, and the mythos were ripe for a slight reinterpretation. Enjoy with scooby-snacks at hand.