Greetings Ladies and Gents! It is I, The Shaman of Animation and welcome to the finale of this year's Scooby-Doo Month...well after the month of October ended. Sorry guys, I really tried to get this done on Halloween but I let time get away from me. But after Curse of The Lake Monster Scooby-Doo, as far as Live Action goes, had fallen back into the abyss the original films put him in. That was until this year when a new live action movie came out from outta nowhere like an RKO; and let me tell yo, when I first found out about this film, I was none too thrilled. I mean, a Scooby-Doo film without the Great Dane himself but about the early days of Daphne and Velma's friendship? That'd be like giving The Joker his own solo movie.
I'm reminded that this is a thing. Why is this a thing? I hate that this is a thing...
I digress, is this movie as dumb as I think? let's find out as we dive into Daphne & Velma!
Daphne & Velma sees the two titular characters, who up until the beginning of this film had only talked and seen each other online, meeting IRL as the former moves to Ridge Valley and starts attending the latter's school. A school that's about finding future geniuses to give them internships with Tobias Bloom and Bloom Innovative, an advanced technology company. But when students are suddenly abducted and turned dumber, the two lady sleuths must get to the bottom of this weird mystery.
If my synopsis isn't any indication, this film is very removed from almost everything Scooby-Doo. There's no mention of the male members of Mystery Inc. There's no a Coolsville, but a nice little mention of Crystal Cove for all those Mystery Incorporated fans out there. But even so, I thought Ridge Valley (or at least Ridge Valley High) was a really cool place. There's a huge emphasis on technology that helps give it a cool modern day vibe.
A big positive for the film is the cast. I really liked the two Sarah's (Jeffery and Gilman) as Daphne and Velma. They have fun back and forths, their chemistry is pretty good, and Gilma's Velma delivers her lines with the dry snarkiness I expect from one Ms. Dinkley. Another shoutout goes to Brian Stepanek who I forget how great his timing is when it comes to delivering awkward, stammering humor. He brings possibly the best joke in the film.
While the cast is solid, there are some lame tropes in this film like the dumb jocks, the super eccentric principal, and the overbearing father, but to its credit the film does manage to take those cliches to a rather comical extreme. For example, the overbearing father played by Stepanek is so concerned about his daughter, he literally gets involved in every aspect of her life and makes her life easier; and while not every cliche works to the same effect, the effort is appreciated.
And speaking of effort, for the third time in these films, too much effort was placed in the mystery. Throughout most of it, it's pretty straightforward, in turn making it arguably the strongest mystery in these films, only for it to needlessly try a plot twist when the film had a solid conclusion to it.
Daphne and Velma was a film that I went in with low expectations and when I finished it, I was actually surprised with how much I enjoyed it. The two leading actresses provide fun performances, the supporting cast does well too, and despite being filmed apparently in two weeks, it looks great. I know the phrase "Female Empowerment" is one that sparks a lot conversation from people both good and bad, but this is something that young girls can watch and enjoy. And me as a male in my early 20s, I enjoy it, and would actually like to see a sequel to it. It's just a shame that the Scooby-Doo movie that's the farthest removed from the franchise ends up being one of the strongest entries.
But that's the final live action Scooby-Doo movie folks. It's crazy the varying amount of quality five movies about a talking Great Dane can be (And that we can make 3 separate movie series about a talking Great Dane). But I was glad to look at these, revisit ones I haven't seen in a long time, and see what the more recent stuff has to offer. If I were to rank these (and these are by what I think are the best quality wise. Why? Because of nostalgia I would pick the first Gosnell Scooby movie to watch any day) it would go:
Monsters Unleashed
Daphne & Velma
Curse of the Lake Monster
Scooby-Doo
The Mystery Begins
Thank you all for sticking with me for the last month plus for this folks. Will Scooby ever have another Live Action film. Who knows? The future and Hollywood are crazy things. What I do know is that Scooby-Doo is turning 50 next year and folks, I WILL be back to celebrate the big dog's 5-0; and I hope you will be there with me; and hopefully the third time will be the charm in me finishing this shite on time.
Til then folks, I'm The Shaman of Animation. Take Care...
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