BIG TOP SCOOBY-DOO! (2012)
(Animation, Comedy, Adventure [G]
This movie was not given a rating so I just threw a G on it. There are some werewolves in here, but no cursing, nudity, or any of that jazz.
Sweden's just a made-up place, like fairyland or Australia. I bet you think kangaroos are real, too.
In this one, the gang visits Atlantic City after solving some interesting cases and Fred is really into the idea of checking out the circus that is in town. The rest of the gang not so much, but they go anyway in the place is close. Naturally, they have to check it out anyway and they end up encountering a werewolf. As the owner of the circus spins the tale of what’s going on and why the werewolf might be there, the gang decides to stick around and investigate.
Art wise I really don’t have any complaints here aside from the werewolves themselves. I know the artists down and Warner Bros could have given us something better than what we got. I don’t know, they just look a bit goofy in most of this thing, and if you are going to do the werewolf thing for this type of movie, why not just go all out on those suckers. In the shot I am posting (see below) of one of the werewolves in this is pretty good, but I think a more narrow design like the one on the left from AXE COP might have been a better route to go. I am probably being too picky so I am not taking points off the final score for this issue. The animation overall is very solid and they do a good job with the few mixes of computer-animated and traditional animation they do throw-in.
This movie is also blessed with the single best voice cast SCOOBY-DOO has ever had. Matthew Lillard is epic as Shaggy, Fred Welker of course is the best Fred and best Scooby-Doo, and as far as I know, is the only one? We also get some fantastic voice work from Mindy Cohn as Velma and Grey Griffin is always amazing as Daphne.
Story-wise this one starts out great, there is even a scene where cops are shooting at a werewolf and the opening song is really fun. Where this thing drags is after the first circus act that the gang gets involved in. After that, it feels like this thing is almost a slow burn energy-wise where too much of the focus is on Scooby-Doo being jealous of Shaggy and Shaggy basically being a jerk. I really just don’t need that much friction between Shaggy and Scooby in a direct-to-video flick. The mystery is also pretty decent, but this one is not as good as some of the other direct to video Scooby-Doo movies I have reviewed.
Oddity – The quote that starts out this review indicates that Shaggy thinks Sweden is a made-up place. I am not sure how much the movie's scripts refer to the animated show, but in Season 3 in the 7th episode of WHAT’S NEW SCOOBY-DOO? the gang actually goes to a hockey tournament in Russia and the Swedish Hockey team plays in that tournament. You would think Shaggy would have known that Sweden was a real place because they have a hockey team unless he just wasn’t paying attention in that episode which aired 7 years before BIG TOP SCOOBY-DOO! was made.
Overall I have to give this one a 5 out of 7. It’s still pretty great overall, but some of the storyline and dialog are what threw me off here more than anything else.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF WARNER BROS ANIMATION AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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