Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
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| Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed | |
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| Directed by | Raja Gosnell |
| Produced by | Charles Roven Richard Suckle |
| Written by | William Hanna (characters) Joseph Barbera (characters) James Gunn |
| Starring | Freddie Prinze, Jr. Sarah Michelle Gellar Matthew Lillard Linda Cardellini Neil Fanning |
| Music by | David Newman |
| Cinematography | Oliver Wood |
| Editing by | Kent Beyda |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | March 26, 2004 April 14, 2004 September 14, 2004 (DVD) |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $73,000 |
| Gross revenue | $181,466,833 Worldwide |
| Preceded by | Scooby-Doo |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is a 2004 film, the 2nd and to date, last picture in the series and sequel to 2002's Scooby-Doo. It was directed by Raja Gosnell, who also directed the first film, and was written by James Gunn, who also wrote Scooby Doo. It was released on March 26, 2004. The movie returns with the cast of Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and Neil Fanning as the main characters of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, Shaggy Rogers, and Scooby-Doo, respectively. The new characters were announced with Seth Green (Family Guy/Robot Chicken), Peter Boyle (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Alicia Silverstone (Braceface) as Patrick, Old Man Whickles and Heather Jasper-Howe.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
It's 2004 and Mystery, Inc. - Freddie, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo - are attending the grand opening of the Coolsonian Criminology Museum in Coolsville, the evening's premiere exhibition is the costumes of the many monsters Mystery Inc. has faced over the years. Velma has a crush on the museum's curator Patrick Wisely (Seth Green), while news reporter Heather Jasper-Howe (Alicia Silverstone) seems to berate Fred and Daphne's relationship. However, the night turns into a crimescene when an Evil Masked Figure (Scott McNeil) attacks the museum with the Pterodactyl Ghost and steals monster costumes.Jasper-Howe insults Mystery Inc's methods through edited video footage on the news. Shaggy and Scooby feel responsible for the problems in the gang and try to be better detectives by dressing in appropriate attire styles and acting smarter, with little results. The gang believe that an old foe is behind the theft, like Jonathan Jacobo (Tim Blake Nelson) and Old Man Wickles (Peter Boyle). Wickles becomes the primary suspect, since Jacobo apparently died during a prison escape.
The gang go to Wickles' mansion where they find an old Celtic book describing how to create carbon-based organic composite predators, or as Velma puts, an instruction manual on how to create monsters. Shaggy and Scooby look for clues, discovering a sticky note inviting Wickles to the Faux Ghost, a nightclub. The Black Knight Ghost, Wickles' alter ego, shows up and fights Daphne. The gang escapes back to their home. Shaggy and Scooby sneak off to the Faux Ghost where they get caught in the antics of all the criminals who impersonated the monsters. Fred, Daphne and Velma discover that the main ingredient to produce monsters is a substance called Randomonium, which emits a glowing green color when used. Patrick shows up at the house, and Velma dresses up in a tight orange catsuit to try and impress him because she thinks she isn't "hot". The gang go to the museum where they learn that all the other costumes have been stolen. Shaggy and Scooby stalk Wickles to the old mining town where they find a secret laboratory and also a large dark room called the Monster Hive, where an advanced machine that creates monsters from the costumes. Fred, Velma and Daphne join them around this time. However, Shaggy and Scooby press a control panel (That they think is a device for making musical beats, which makes them rap and continue pressing buttons) which makes the machine bring more monsters to life: The Skeleton Men, Miner 49er, Captain Cutler, the Zombie and the Tar Monster. The 10,000 Volt Ghost also appears, previously transformed. Mystery Inc. flees with the control panel while the monsters invade Coolsville.
The gang flee to an old clubhouse in a swamp where they realise they can reverse the panel's programming to destroy the monsters. Shaggy and Scooby lament their stupidity outside wishing they could be heroes. Captain Cutler appears out of the swamp but is sent flying back in when Fred reverses Mystery Machine into him. The gang evades the monsters on the way to the Monster Hive, Scooby driving the Mystery Machine. Arriving at the Monster Hive, Fred gets into a jousting match against the Black Knight Ghost using a motorcycle, while Daphne tries to fight the 10,000 Volt Ghost. The two team up, defeating both ghosts by absorbing the 10,000 Volt Ghost's electricity into the Black Knight Ghost like a conductor. Velma gives Shaggy and Scooby confidence to be heroes, before she finds Patrick who has a shrine to Jonathan Jacobo. He saves her from the pterodactyl but is flown away by it. Shaggy and Scooby meet the Cotton Candy Glob but instead of running, they stand their ground and eat him. The gang reunite and proceed into the Monster Hive itself only to walk right into a trap, each captured by the Tar Monster. Scooby grabs a fire extinguisher and freezes the Tar Monster, beating his way through the monsters to the machine where he places the control panel. The monsters all die and return to their costume forms. The Evil Masked Figure is arrested and unmasked before public and press as Heather Jasper-Howe, who is actually Jonathan Jacobo in disguise. The gang reveal Jacobo survived the prison escape, used the Howe persona to turn the city against them, and framed Wickles as the culprit, all as an act of vengeance. Ned, Howe's cameraman is also arrested for briefly impersonating the Evil Masked Figure. Fred even tries to see if Ned is wearing a mask and pulls his skin. Velma and Patrick become a couple, while some of the old enemies of the gang become their friends including Wickles. The gang dance in the Faux Ghost along with Ruben Studdard to Shining Star.
[edit] Cast
- Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred Jones: The leader of Mystery Inc, Fred continues to lead the gang and enjoying his time in fame. He is hurt the most when Coolsville is turned against Mystery Inc. He is dating Daphne, much to the jealously of newsreporter Heather Jasper Howe. He believes that talking is for wimps, but after speaking with Daphne, he realizes he is wrong and battles the Black Knight.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne Blake: Daphne is the beautiful member of the group and rather popular with the males of Coolsville. Daphne develops a rivalry with Heather Jasper Howe, who questions Daphne's role in the gang other than to look pretty. Daphne proves everyone wrong by battling the Black Night Ghost in Wickles' mansion. She keeps her amazing fighting skills.
- Linda Cardellini as Velma Dinkley: The smartest member of Mystery Inc, Velma has a crush on Patrick, the curator of the Coolsonian Criminology Museum. Velma panics whenever she runs into him, and with help from Daphne, becomes a new person at first by dressing in a skin-tight catsuit, but later realises she should just be herself. She always say jinkie as her slang word.
- Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers: Norville Rogers, or named Shaggy for short, is a cowardly guy and best friends with Scooby-Doo. Both cause mayhem at the museum during the Pterodactyl Ghost rampage, and hold themselves responsible for the collapsing fame of Mystery Inc. To make amends, Shaggy and Scooby take the mystery of the monsters into their own hands, but later learn from Velma that the gangs loves them for what they really are.
- Neil Fanning as Scooby-Doo: Scooby-Doo is the loyal canine mascot of Mystery Inc. He is a little dense at times and has a speech impedement. His best friend is Shaggy, and the two are quite alike. Scooby and Shaggy feel responsible for the continuous mess ups the gang keep having during their plans to capture monsters, and attempt to make amends by taking the mystery into their own hands.
- Seth Green as Patrick Wisely: The curator of the Coolsonian Criminology Museum. He has a crush on Velma, but is rather timid. He cares deeply for his museum and seems to become distant from Velma as more costumes vanish from the museum. However, he is actually a nice guy who cares deeply from Velma, even saving her from falling to her demise.
- Alicia Silverstone as Heather Jasper-Howe: A hot and sexy news reporter who seems to enjoy criticizing Mystery Inc. She has a rivalry with Daphne. She is always accompanied by her cameraman Ned, but turns out to really be Jacobo, to Ned's disgust, as they had apparently 'cuddled' before.
- Peter Boyle as Jermiah Wickles: The original portrayer of the Black Knight Ghost, Mystery Inc's very first case. He is accused of being the new portrayer of the Pterodactyl Ghost, but he just wants to be at peace, hoping of opening a mining leisure park in Coolsville's old mining factory.
- Tim Blake Nelson as Doctor Jonathan Jacobo: The main villain and original portrayer of the Pterodactyl Ghost. He stole millions of dollars to fund his research into bringing monsters to life, but failed. He apparently died during a prison escape, falling into the ocean.
- Ruben Studdard as Himself(cameo): The winner of American Idol, Ruben Studdard appears at the end of the film singing his own version of the song, "Shining Star".
[edit] Monsters
The film featured a number of monsters from the classic Scooby Doo cartoons. The monsters were either portrayed in costumes with CGI effects or completely made from CGI animation. Some of the monsters look entirely different from their appearances in the cartoons, although this was done for realism. The monsters in the film were the Pterodactyl Ghost, the Black Knight Ghost, the 10,000 Volt Ghost, the Skeleton Men, Captain Cutler, Miner 49er, the Zombie, the Tar Monster and the Cotton Candy Glob. All the monster costumes seen in the film were very similar to their cartoon adaptions, many practically identical. Each monster costume came with a plaque that described the monster's appearance in the show, complete with original artwork of the monsters.
[edit] Possible Sequel
According to reliable sources of the original Scooby-Doo crew, a third installment of the franchise is in the works. It is hinted be a prequel to the first to films, and will take place around the time of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. The release date is currently slated to be in Early 2009.
[edit] Soundtrack
A soundtrack was released on March 23, 2004.
- Don't Wanna Think About You - Simple Plan
- You Get What You Give - New Radicals
- Boom Shack-A-Lack - Apache Indian
- "We Wanna Thank You (The Things You Do)" - Big Brovaz (UK theme song - bonus track)
- The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim
- Wooly Bully - Bad Manners
- The Real Slim Shady - Eminem
- Shining Star - Ruben Studdard
- Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
- Get Ready For This - 2 Unlimited
- Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
- Here We Go - Bowling for Soup
- Love Shack - B-52's
- Strippin' in Honey - Snoop Dog
- Friends Forever - Puffy AmiYumi
- Circle Backwards - Mark Provart
[edit] Reception
It was rated PG for some scary action, rude humor and language. The film made its free-TV premiere on Nickelodeon before it aired on ABC Family.
The film earned $181,466,833 worldwide, lower than the $275,650,700 worldwide Scooby-Doo grossed two years earlier.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed at the Internet Movie Database
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed at Rotten Tomatoes
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed at Metacritic
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed at Box Office Mojo
| Preceded by Dawn of the Dead |
Box office number-one films of 2004 (USA) March 28, 2004 |
Succeeded by Hellboy |
