The Mystery Inc. Gang first meet the Caped Crusader in 1972 in an episode of The New Scooby Doo Movies entitled The Dynamic Scooby Doo Affair. However the most entertaining meeting of the world greatest detectives was in the direct to video movie Scooby Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold. This came as no surprise to me as Batman: The Brave and the Bold is one of my favorite superhero TV shows. It was smart, funny and never took itself too seriously and this film does exactly the same thing.
The movie begins with The Mystery Inc. gang solving a crime involving creepy puppets. When they catch the ghosts and go to unmask them, they discover that they are in fact the Martian Man Hunter and Detective Chimp. Batman then enters applauding telling the group they have proven themselves worthy of being a part of their organization, The Mystery Analysts of Gotham (also in the group are Black Canary, Plastic Man and the Question). During a meeting an alarm sounds alerting them that there has been a break in at Gotham Chemical Storage. When they get there, they discover a ghost called The Crimson Cloak, who may have a connection to Batman's past. Things get worse when The Mystery Inc. Gang is suspected of the crime.
Rather than being made by the crew that makes most of the direct to video Scooby Doo movies, this film was made by the people who made, the Batman: The Brave and the Bold TV show and that is completely evident. This movie is much more inline with that show than anything. For one thing we see many of the reoccurring characters from the series (portrayed in the same way as the show) throughout the film. Also like any episode of the show while it can be enjoyed by those who do not know much about superhero mythos there is also a lot of fantastic references and Easter eggs for us DC superhero fans. As such this movie gets everything right that the show did so well. What is equally impressive is that despite the feature length this movie never feels over long or stretched out (a fault with many of the Scooby Doo feature films). It is given the perfect amount of time here. None of this is to say however that this movie is lacking in the Scooby Doo department. Actually this is done very well. The Mystery Inc. gang is always completely in character and a joy to watch. Though certain Scooby Doo clichés are parodied here, one can tell that the filmmakers have complete respect for Scooby Doo. In fact the Scooby Doo gang (especially Daphne) get some of the funniest lines in the movie, and Scooby and Shaggy in the Arkham Asylum cafeteria is a complete delight. Despite this being a movie that never takes itself too seriously, the storyline and mystery are actually quite good and one could image a serious superhero film being made with a similar plot.
If you are either a Batman or Scooby Doo fan, I can't recommend this movie enough to you. It is pure silly fun and isn't that why you would watch a film like this.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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