Time to get back to the Scooby-Doo franchise. This week I’ll be taking a look at the first animated movie to feature Matthew Lillard in the role of Shaggy.

As you probably know, Matthew Lillard played Shaggy in the first two Scooby-Doo live action movies. He was one of the few bright spots in those movies. So it was a no brainer for him to take over the role of Shaggy after Casey Kasem, except not really. You see since the first of the new Scooby movies, Zombie Island, there have been 5 men (including Lillard) to play the role. In fact the man to play Shaggy in Zombie Island was Billy West not Casey Kasem. Scott Innes took over the role for the next few movies until Kasem’s return. On the TV side Scott Menville took over the role of Shaggy in “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!“ the follow up series to “What’s new, Scooby-Doo?”. 

So, there was a large pool of talent to choose from when it came to picking a new Shaggy.  Even with all of those choices Matthew Lillard was the obvious way to go. He embodied the character in the live action movies and aside from Kasem was probably the best know actor to play Shaggy.

This movie and all of the animated projects to follow show that he was the right man for the job. Lillard brought a breath of fresh air to the series. His take on Shaggy was not only true to the original but brought a new edge to it as well.

The only question is whether or not this was a good movie for him to debut (re-debut?) in. To answer that question let’s take a  look at today‘s movie, “Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra Doo”.
                                      

Do a DeviantArt search for her. I dare you.

The movie starts out with the gang solving a previous mystery. As they wrap things up Velma gets a call from her mother. Velma’s mom wants her to check up on Madelyn, Velma’s little sister. This is the first time we’ve seen the family members of one of the gang since “Scooby Doo! Pirates Ahoy!”.

Madelyn is at a school for Magicians, the set up is very reminiscent of Hogwarts, except that it’s a college and the people attending are learning Illusions and not actual magic. The school is run by Whirlen Merlin a world famous Illusionist.  What, you ask, would Velma’s mom be worried about at a college for Magicians? Turns out there is a Gryphon terrorizing the school. Which means there is a mystery afoot.

The school staff is pretty small. There is Crystal, Whirlen’s former Assistant.  Marlon, Whirlen’s brother, who acts as a butler and chef, Alma Rumblebuns the school housekeeper and Amos the Groundskeeper.  The only other character to mention is Calvin Curdles an Ice Cream magnate who wants to purchase the school which is located in the O’Flannery Castle. There is a back-story as to why there is a castle in the US but I’m not going into it. Mainly because I can’t remember it. It isn’t pivotal to the story.

There are a couple of romance subplots to mention in this movie. Madelyn has had a crush on Shaggy for years. Shaggy, for his part, is much less interested.  Fred instantly falls for Crystal, which really annoys Daphne.  Later in the movie we learn that Calvin Curdles and Alma Rumblebuns used to be an item.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The gang arrives at the school and are welcomed by the staff. This is where Fred meets Crystal.  That night Madelyn and Shaggy go on a romantic walk, this is where we learn that the Gryphon was supposed to protect the school. Instead it attacks and one of the students takes a picture of it with their phone. This leads to the entire student body, except for Madelyn, leaving.  With the school empty it’s up to the Gang to figure out what’s going on.

This would be a good time to run down the suspects. At the top of the list are Calvin Cuddles, Alma Rumblebuns, and Amos the Groundskeeper. These three are the most obvious choices. It also makes them the most likely red herrings. On the other side of the spectrum you have Whirlen, Crystal, and Marlin. It doesn’t take long before the movie makes it clear who the ‘villain’ is. But we’ll get to that part in the sum up.

Back to the story. Velma is looking around the school when she comes upon Daphne practicing ballet. Daphne wants to become more graceful so that Fred will be interested in her. The Fred/Daphne relationship is something that gets played up a lot in these movies. Usually with one of the two getting jealous of the other showing interest in a new character. Anyway, Velma and Daphne find a secret passageway and end up in the attic. They find an old scrapbook that reveals the relationship between Alma and Calvin, that I mentioned earlier.

In a different part of the castle Scooby and Shaggy come upon the School’s special effects room. It turns out that Marlon is more than just a butler/chef. He is the brains behind Whirlen’s act.  While this is happening Madelyn finds a book about the staff of O’Flannery, which is supposed to be able to control the Gryphon. The staff is said to be on an island located in the lake that’s on the school grounds. Alma warns the gang that the island is protected by a banshee but that won’t stop them.

The group heads out to the Island and are quickly attacked by the Banshee. We get a nice parody of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” here.  The gang escapes, with the staff, and head back to the school. On the way back to the castle we get a sweet moment where Shaggy realizes he might share Madelyn’s feelings.  This is cut short by the Gryphon.

The gang runs to the castle but in the confusion they mix up the staff with the Groundskeeper’s pitchfork.  The mistake is noticed only after they are inside the castle. Madelyn runs outside to get the staff and gets captured by the Gryphon.  As that is happening the gang learns that Amos has been working for Calvin Curdles who is pressuring Whirlen to sell.  Whirlen is about to do just that when the gang persuades him to wait. With that taken care off the gang heads out to save Madelyn.
                                          

Eat you heart out Gandalf.

The Gryphon has taken her to the dilapidated tower that is near the castle. They use the spear to get inside but are quickly separated when the Gryphon attacks. Shaggy and Scooby go ahead and save Madelyn, which leads to a great scene that homages the “You shall not pass!” scene from Lord of the Rings.

Time for the wrap up. Shaggy takes down the Gryphon revealing it to be a giant puppet carried by a blimp.  So who was behind all of this?
                   

 

I love how he actually looks like Brian Posehn.

Marlon.

Why? He was tired of living in his brother’s shadow. As well he should be. With out him his brother would be nothing. Marlon created an incredibly lifelike puppet, built a blimb, made amazing holograms (the Banshee), retro fitted the tower with traps, and was still able to cook for the entire school. The man is amazing. You might have noticed that when I wrote the word “villain” earlier I put it in quotes. That’s because this is another episode where the bad guy isn’t really bad. Marlon didn’t want to hurt anyone.
He was misguided, with everything he could do the guy could have gone to Hollywood and made a mint as prop maker and SFX guy, not evil.

We get a nice clean wrap up. Marlon and Whirlen make up, Alma and Calvin get back together, and the school stays open. Marlin also gets more recognition for his work. So just like in “Scooby-Doo! And the Lock Ness Monster” the moral of the movie is “Lie and commit crimes because you‘ll get exactly what you want if you do.” It’s important that children, and stoners, learn that lesson.  I almost forgot, Fred and Daphne get a nice scene at the end where Fred sees her in a new light.

I just realized I forgot to mention the lion! Whirlen has a pet lion. It and Scooby don’t get along to well. It isn’t important to the plot but it does have a few fun scenes.

So, was this a good Scooby movie?
                                                      

Yes. Yes, it was. I really enjoyed this one. The animation is fantastic. From here on out the movies have a darker style to them. It is reminiscent of Zombie Island, which is a good thing. The gang is also in their original outfits which is a nice touch. The action scenes are very fluid and the designs for the supporting characters are great.

Matthew Lillard as Shaggy is the main selling point of this one. He has an, for lack of a better word, edge to him. It’s almost a slight meanness. Shaggy isn’t as hippy-ish as before. It’s hard to describe. Lillard just plays him in a way that is more relatable. Seeing Shaggy getting annoyed, especially with Scooby, is refreshing. This version of Shaggy is more fleshed out.

Since we’re talking about the voice acting, this is another good cast. There aren’t as many big names but everyone here knows exactly what they are doing.  Danica Mckellar plays Madelyn, Brian Posehn is Marlon, Calvin Curdles is portrayed by Jeffrey Tambor,  and we get the introduction of my favorite character as Dave Attell plays the GPS.

The GPS, which I neglected to mention earlier because I wanted to give it it’s own space, is the voice of the Mystery Machine. And the Mystery Machine has an attitude. I love this. The idea of the Mystery Machine being tired of these teenagers and their stupid shit brings a smile to my face. As I type these words I am literally smiling. The best bit from the GPS is when it calls Fred “Scarf-boy”.

Like I said this is fun movie. It’s a bit darker and has a sharper story than the last few Scooby outings, without losing he corny charm that makes Scooby-Doo fun. This is one to check out.

8 out of 10.

I'll be back next week with a new installment of The Pull List. See you then.