Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (film)


 * For other uses, see Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (disambiguation).

'Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins' is a 2009 live-action/CGI supernatural comedy telefilm. The film was announced in May 2008, when Brian Levant signed on as director, with a cast of young, relatively unknowns playing the leads two months later, and principal photography began in August. It was aired on September 13, 2009, to coincide with the premiere of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! on its 40th anniversary, then later released in DVD/Blu-ray combo pack on September 22. It was a co-production between the then newly formed Warner Premiere and Cartoon Network. It was marketed as a prequel to the big screen films of Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, although it is set in contemporary times. The Mystery Begins was followed the next year with Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster.

The film is an origin story of how the motley crew of Mystery Inc. solve their first case together in clearing their names at their school after being wrongly accused of disrupting the school with ghost pranks and accidentally almost burning down the whole school.

Memorable quotes
Principal Deedle: Locker problems again, Mr. Rogers? Shaggy: Huh. Yeah, I uh- I seem to get the squirrelly one every year. Heh.

Daphne: Now introducing the new and improved Velma Dinkley. Fred: Jinkies. Scooby: Rubba, rubba. Shaggy: You can say that again, Scoob. Scooby: Rubba, rubba.

Prudence Prufrock: First, a grammar lesson! You never start a sentence with the word, "Like!" Shaggy: Like, sorry!

Characters
In order of appearance:



Locations

 * Coolsville, Ohio
 * Coolsville High School
 * Coolsville Pet Adoption Fair
 * Coolsville Cemetery
 * Parker Street
 * Rogers house
 * Blake mansion
 * Coolsville Mountain
 * Vice Principal Grimes's home (Old Spooky House)
 * Movie theater
 * Coolsville Museum

Objects

 * Scooby Snacks
 * Huckleberry Hound bobble head

Vehicles

 * The Mystery Machine

Development
The film was first announced by Moviehole on May 16, 2008, with Brian Levant signed on as director (who previously directed The Flintstones and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, and a nationwide casting call. The roles of the teens started off quite different than how they ended up on screen (except for Shaggy): Daphne is a Murder, She Wrote-inspired writer, Fred is a football player with a penchant for jigsaw puzzles with aspirations to try out for the school paper, with his idol being footballer turned supreme court justice Bryan "Whizzer" White, while Velma is U.S. ambassador for World Hunger, with the intention to cast an Asian in the role.

On July 21, Robbie Amell and Hayley Kiyoko were cast as Fred and Velma, respectively, joining Kate Melton and Nick Palatas as Daphne and Shaggy, respectively, who had already been cast before then.

On August 1, a press release formally announced the project as Scooby-Doo: In the Beginning at the time, with the aforementioned cast officially announced. Scooby-Doo would be computer generated by Animation Picture Company, and his voice supplied by Frank Welker, who had already been voicing the character in cartoons since 2002. Filming was reported to take three days in Vancouver, British Columbia. It had a projected date for fall 2009.

Cartoon Network saw their collaboration with Warner Premiere on ''Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins'' as an anchor into a major shift into new live-action programming for the latter.

Amell's offer to wear a blond wig to match Fred in the cartoon, was declined.

After graduating high school, Kiyoko auditioned for Velma, which was suggested by her father, although she was skeptical at first because she's the polar opposite to Velma, but Levant was able to see past Kiyoko's own style. When looking for guidance, she took to the cartoon, instead of Linda Cardellini's portrayal in the theatrical films.

Filming
While filming in Vancouver, Templeton Secondary School was chosen for the school the gang would attend.

Release
San Diego Comic Con International (SDCC) 2009 had a world premiere screening planned for the movie on July 26, 2009. The film had its television debut on September 13 at 7 p.m (ET/PT), followed by a DVD and Blu-ray release on September 22, 2009.

Music
The score was composed by David Newman, who also did the same for the two previous theatrical films.

Behind the scenes

 * On the side of the school buses, Coolsville High is in district #1969.

Errors

 * Despite only being referred to as the "Specter", the credits list him as "Dark Specter".
 * In the scene when the Gang is getting suspended, Nick Palatas (Shaggy)'s microphone is visible in his back pocket.
 * Shaggy doesn't get rope burn.

Marketing and promotion
At the aforementioned SDCC, the screening was supposed to be followed by a panel with Amell, Palatas, Melton, and Kiyoko, Levant, and producer Brian Gilbert, with the hopes that Welker would also be available, then a booth signing from Amell, Palatas, Melton, and Kiyoko. Specially made dog collars were also sold.

Critical reception
The telecast succeeded in becoming the most watched in Cartoon Network history, according to preliminary overnight data from Nielsen Media Research.

Trailers
Teaser trailer #1:

Teaser trailer #2:

DVD/Blu-ray trailer:

TV spot #1:

TV spot #2:

TV spot #3: