It’s no secret that I am a Scooby-Doo fan and so are my kids. We religiously watch Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo – well you get the picture. When I heard they were making a live action version of the animated series I was a bit sceptical. Normally when live action movies are made of beloved cartoons the results are less than stellar. Fortunately for me I thought the Scooby-Doo movies were an exception to this rule.
The first live action remake titled simply Scooby-Doo was released in 2002. It certainly wasn’t an Oscar winner but it was a fun movie that stayed pretty true to the original cartoon. Meaning that the members of Mystery Inc were all pretty much the same and the traits that made us love them were all still present. Then, in 2004 a sequel to Scooby-Doo was released called Scooby-Doo, Monsters Unleashed.
Now first of all I don’t typically love sequels – mostly because I find them hard to live up to the original film (or in this case the original series) but I actually preferred the sequel. Part of the reason for this is the cast. I am a diehard Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, so with Sarah Michelle Gellar starring as Daphne and Seth Green co-starring in the movie, I get a reunion of sorts from one of my favorite television shows.
Another reason is because the writers were smart to incorporate a lot of the original ‘monsters’ from the animated show into the movie. Cool, right?! And if you weren’t a Scooby-Doo fan you wouldn’t have known that simply by watching the movie, but if you are a Scooby-Doo fan half the fun of watching is trying to pinpoint where you remember the monsters from.
These are the sorts of things that make a movie not just mildly entertaining, but actually fun to watch. For most of us Scooby-Doo brings back fond memories from our childhood and getting to watch the movie with our kids all while seeing things on the screen that triggers images of you at the same age is priceless. So when you sit down to watch TELETOON Retro’s Big Ticket Movie showing of Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed with your family on Friday (at 7pm ET/PT), keep your eyes open for these ‘monsters’ in the movie that made their original debut in the animated series.
The Pterodactyl Ghost - this was first seen in The Scooby-Doo Show episode "Hang In There, Scooby-Doo
The Black Knight Ghost - this was first seen in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? episode "What A Night For A Knight"
Captain Cutler's Ghost – this was first seen in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? episode "A Clue For Scooby-Doo
The Miner Forty-Niner – this was first seen in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? episode "Mine Your Own Business
The Tar Monster - this was first seen in The Scooby-Doo Show episode "The Tar Monster"
Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed is a favorite in my house, so much so that we actually own the movie. If you’re worried about it being too scary for your kids I wouldn’t worry about it – all of mine loved it! Make sure you watch and let me know if you spot any retro monsters that I might have missed.
Scene and Heard
Confessions of a Pop Culture Mummy
*Source - Wikipedia
More upcoming TELETOON Retro Big Ticket Movies on
Fridays at 7pm ET:
- May 27: Dennis the Menace Strikes Again
- June 3: Gremlins
- June 10: Gremlins II
You can check out www.teletoon.com for more details.
This blog proudly sponsored by TELETOON Network
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