Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009)

The story of how Mystery Inc. was formed.

Director:

Brian Levant

Writers:

Daniel Altiere, Steven Altiere

Stars:

Kate Melton, Hayley Kiyoko, Robbie Amell

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Melton	...	Daphne
Hayley Kiyoko	...	Velma
Robbie Amell	...	Fred
Nick Palatas	...	Shaggy
Frank Welker	...	Scooby Doo (voice)
Shawn Macdonald	...	Principal Deedle
Garry Chalk	...	Vice Principal Grimes
Leah James	...	Prudence Prufrock
Brian J. Sutton	...	Ezekial Gallows (as Brian Sutton)
Al Rodrigo	...	Ezekial Gallows (voice)
Dee Jay Jackson	...	Bus Driver
C. Ernst Harth	...	Janitor
Lorena Gale	...	Librarian
Devon Thomas	...	Beefy Jock
David Hurtubise	...	Mr. Pupperman (as Dave Hurtubise)

Storyline

The story of how Mystery Inc. was formed.

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Plot Keywords:

prequel | third part | castle thunder | part computer animation | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest Mystery Is How It All Began

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild peril

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Scooby Doo 3

Filming Locations:

Cloverdale, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Premiere,Cartoon Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 82 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First Live Action film adaption of the cartoon not to star the original cast of Freddie Prinze Jr (Fred), Sarah Michelle Geller (Daphne), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy) and Linda Cardellini (Velma).

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Goofs

When the gang are in disguise, Shaggy & Scooby are hiding inside bins. Despite the bins saying 'push' on the lid, they are proved to not be push bins when Shaggy looks out lifting the lid up.

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Quotes

Fred: So, the Bears really slaughtered those Dolphins last night, huh?
Shaggy: What? That's terrible! Who in their right mind would bring bears to the beach?

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Connections

Referenced in Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010)

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Soundtracks

Fiesta
Written & Performed by Daniel Indart
Courtesy of LMS Records

User Reviews

Zoinks!

This made for TV prequel to the fun, all-star Warner Brothers movies suffers from dodgy casting decisions (a non-blond Fred, a Japanese Velma, a rather chunky Daphne, a curly haired Shaggy), very iffy CGI, and a mystery that is far too easy to figure out. It's lightweight, silly, spooky fun, and passable entertainment for the kids, I suppose, but it's not a patch on the gang's two previous live-action outings.

The simple story sees a young Shaggy (Nick Palatas), Scooby (voiced by Frank Welker), Fred (Robbie Amell), Daphne (Kate Melton) and Velma (Hayley Kiyoko) teaming up to find out who is behind the resurrection of a pair of ghosts who are haunting their high-school. In traditional Scooby Doo style, there are several suspects, but the real culprit should be glaringly obvious to anyone who has been paying attention.

Admittedly, there's some fun to be had from seeing how Mystery Inc. formed, and I enjoyed the scene in which Velma gets a sexy makeover by Daphne (gotta love a hot Asian nerd!), but all in all, this adventure lacks the magic, spectacle and quality that a better cast and a bigger budget allows.