A delightful treat for Hanna-Barbera fans.
The charm of this movie is extremely clear from the open credits segment. Seeing the Mystery Inc. Gang as comic book characters fighting alongside all of our favorite Hanna-Barbera superheroes is simply the kind of lighthearted fun we all want from a film like this, even if it is really a fantasy segment. The fun is only just starting there. Shaggy and Scooby being superhero geeks is something that was set up well before this in the franchise and it is great for it to play a prominent role. A comic book convention is a great setting for a Scooby mystery and one that is mostly unique (despite being used in a short Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo! segment before). What is also great about this film is to see Shaggy take the main role in solving the mystery and showing that he can contribute much more than just being live bait for monsters. The mystery itself is really good. There are enough suspects and clues that we can truly feel like we are solving the mystery along with our main characters and the film actually has us guessing quite a few times. Mr. Hyde is a fantastic Scooby-Doo! villain and is simply a lot of fun. This movie's main appeal to cartoon fans is the sheer amount of references to Hanna-Barbera cartoons throughout. There are so many posters, comic books, displays and costumes in the background of the comic convention that show a lot of Hanna-Barbera characters of the 1960's and 70's that you can't take in them all in one viewing.
The main downside to this movie is Velma. While the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang is as likable as ever, Velma strangely comes off as a jerk in this film. She talks down to the other characters simply because they have interests that she doesn't. She may not like superheroes or cute stuffed animals, but she doesn't have to treat her friends like they are stupid for enjoying these things. Velma has never been this much of a jerk in any other Scooby-Doo! movie and it gives this film a bit of a mean spirited feel that is out of character for this franchise. However there is so much good about this movie that it overcomes this fault easily.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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