Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (film)
- For other uses, see Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
| Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster. | |
| Production company | Mosaic Media Group |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | March 26, 2004 |
| Run time | 1:32:49 |
| Starring | Freddie Prinze Jr. Sarah Michelle Gellar Matthew Lillard Linda Cardellini Seth Green Peter Boyle Tim Blake Nelson Alicia Silverstone |
| Executive producer(s) | Brent O'Connor Kelley Smith-Wait Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | James Gunn Alan G. Glazer Rich Cowan |
| Music composed by | David Newman |
| Screenplay by | James Gunn |
| Storyboard artists | Eddie Lin Peter Chan Brom |
| Director(s) | Raja Gosnell |
| Title card | |
| |
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is an American-Canadian live-action/CGI supernatural mystery comedy film based on Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! animated TV series which aired from 1969 to 1970. It was written by James Gunn, produced by Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, and directed by Raja Gosnell. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures on March 26, 2004. It was a follow-up to Scooby-Doo, which was released in 2002.
Due to the sequel not being reacted to well and most importantly underperforming at the box office, a third film was canceled and the series was put on hiatus for five years when Warner Premiere and Cartoon Network co-produced Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, which was marketed as a prequel, despite it being set in contemporary times.
In their hometown of Coolsville, Mystery Inc. are hailed as celebrity heroes, but a relentless TV reporter sets out to defame them, which isn't hard when they face their most dangerous villain yet, one who has brought all their past monsters, which were all costumes, to life--bigger and badder than before.
Detailed summary
Memorable quotes
Fred: (to Heather) Hey, you're doing that thing again where you take everything I say out of context. You're trying to make it look like I think Coolsville sucks! No! Don't record that!
Shaggy: We're gonna die!
Daphne: Think positive!
Shaggy: We're gonna die quickly!
Shaggy: I'M BUFF!
Evil Masked Figure: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!
Scooby-Doo: Scooby....Dooby....DOO!
Jacobo: I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling punks! And their dumb dog!
Characters
Organizations
- Mystery Incorporated
- Dinkley Brigade
- Buttercup Scouts
- Big Brovas
- Coolsville Police Department
- National Exaggerator (mentioned)
- Coolsville Mining Company
- Fitzgibbon Baby Foods (logo)
Locations
- Earth
- United States
- Coolsville
- Coolsonian Criminology Museum
- Mystery Incorporated headquarters
- Bank of Coolsville (mentioned)
- Old mining town
- Coolsville Prison
- Wickles Manor
- Faux Ghost
- Investigative Prove studio
- Chinatown
- Mystery Incorporated clubhouse
- Coolsville
- Middle East (indirectly mentioned)
- Africa and Asia (indirectly mentioned)
- Indian Ocean (indirectly mentioned)
- Red Sea (mentioned)
- Indian Ocean (indirectly mentioned)
- United States
- The Moon
Objects
- Popular Science
- Randamonium
- Buttercup Scouts Cookies
- Monster instruction manual
- National Exaggerator newspaper
- Derber Diapers (billboard)
Vehicles
- The Mystery Machine limo
- The Mystery Machine
- Ghost ship
Production
Development
One of the first ideas for a sequel was set up at the end of the previous film, where instead of having Old Man Smithers be the Luna Ghost at the beginning of the film, he was a background character on Spooky Island, who witnessed the arrest of Scrappy-Doo.
On June 20, 2002, Warner Bros. Pictures officially greenlit a sequel, with Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, and Linda Cardellini returning, along with director and writer, Raja Gosnell and James Gunn, respectively. Production was expected to take place in Los Angeles in early 2003.[1]
Prinze Jr. did not wish to dye his hair blond again, so he had it shaved and wore a wig, instead.[2]
Casting
Seth Green was announced to play Patrick on April 7, 2003.[3] Alicia Silverstone was announced to play Heather on April 23.[4]
Filming
Principal photography began on April 4, 2003 in Vancouver.[3]
Lead prosthetics and animatics were provided by Steve Johnson's Edge FX.
Post-production
The previsualization was done by Image Engine Design. Visual effects were handled by Rythm & Hues, Meteor Studios, Giant Killer Robots, Frantic Films, Warner Bros. Animation, Look! Effects, Himani Productions, THDX Studios, Digital Dimension, and Ockham's Razor. Scooby and the Pterodactyl Ghost were specifically handled by Rythm & Hues and Meteor Studios, respectively.
The domestic and international versions have product placement involving KFC and Burger King; Scooby spills a milkshake on the chauffeur which is either from a KFC or Burger King cup, and when the Mystery Machine rolls up to Wickles Manor, Shaggy either complains about not being able to investigate a KFC or Burger King; with Lillard saying KFC from his lips after the camera is done panning over the mansion, while the Burger King version was likely only done in ADR since the camera stays on the mansion before he finishes his line.
The voices of the young Mystery Incorporated are dubbed over by the adult Mystery Incorporated.
Aftermath
In October 2002, even before Scooby-Doo 2 had begun filming, Warner Bros. was intent on a second sequel, hiring Dan Forman and Paul Foley as the new writers after they impressed the studio of their rewrite of a potential live-action adaptation of The Jetsons.[5] When Scooby-Doo 2 was released, its box office earnings wasn't as big as Warner Bros. expected, making less than the first film, leaving doubt that Warner Bros. would move forward with another sequel.[6] In August 2004, Matthew Lillard revealed that this was in fact the case and that the next film had been cancelled. He believed Scooby-Doo 2 was better than the first, but blamed the timing of Warner Bros. releasing the sequel, as thirteen movies were to follow after theirs.[7]
In 2020, James Gunn revealed that he had been hired again to write and be his directorial debut.[8] The film would've been about the gang visiting a town in Scotland, where they find a community of real monsters as the victims, forcing Shaggy and Scooby to change their views.[9] In retrospect, Gunn was glad this didn't end up being his first film to direct, which ended up being Slither.
Music
The music was composed by David Newman, having previously worked on the predecessor. Throughout the movie there are cues from "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"
Songs
- "The Way" - Clay Aiken
- "Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry
- "Friends Forever" - Puffy AmiYumi
- "Strangers in the Night"
- "Boom Shack-A-Lak" - Apache Indian
- "Wooly Bully" - Bad Manners
- "Nu Flow" - Big Brovas
- "Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Again)" - Big Brovas
- "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" - Michael Buffer
- "Get Ready For This" - 2 Unlimited
- "Scooby's Terrific Rap" - Matthew Lillard and Neil Fanning
- "Circle Backwards" - Mark Provart
- "You Get What You Give" - New Radicals
- "Monsters" - Mark Provart
- "It's All Right Here" - Tim James
- "Wanted Dead or Alive" - Bon Jovi
- "Here We Go" - Bowling for Soup
- "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" - MXPX
- "Shining Star" - Ruben Studdard
- "Don't Want to Think About You" - Simple Plan
- "We Wanna To Thank You (The Things You Do)" - Big Brovas (selected territories)
- "Undone" - Patrick Nuo (selected territories)
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: March 26, 2004
Behind the scenes
- Much of the gang's backstory is based on the TV shows Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Scooby-Doo Show, and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
- Patrick O'Brien is interviewing for Access Hollywood. There's also an Access Hollywood cameraman at the unmasking of the Evil Masked Figure.
- Director Raja Gosnell's twin daughters (Cayley and Audrey) make uncredited cameos as fans of Daphne each presenting her with flowers. Interestingly, this is somewhat bigger than their cameos as airport kids in the previous film for which they were credited.
- Gosnell's son (Bradley) also had a cameo as an airport kid from the previous film, and now makes another cameo as a bike kid who mocks the gang.
- Inside Wickles Manor, the men preaching the "good news" are presumably Jehovah's Witnesses. They hold what appear to be bibles with a watchtower on them which is a reference to The Watchtower magazines that are exhibited by them on people's doorsteps.
- The National Exaggerator is presented as a legitimate newspaper while in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo it was a tabloid rag.
- Daphne doesn't say "Jeepers" in this movie either.
- Scooby Snacks don't appear in this movie, with a Buttercup Scouts Cookie acting as a stand-in, instead.
- Scooby Brainiac refers to buff Shaggy as a "Schwarzeneggian oaf," in reference to the bodybuilder-actor-governer-actor Arnold Schwarnezzeneger.
- Fitzgibbon Baby Foods is an allusion to James Gunn's childhood friend, Larry Fitzgibbon.
Errors
- The old high school clubhouse hasn't been visited in years, yet has photos of Fred from the previous movie.
- Inside Jacobo's lab, Velma finds a newspaper clipping with the reporter's name being Kerry Platt, but outside of the laboratory, the same newspaper clipping has Celia Meacham as the reporter, instead.
Everlasting influence
- In the May 4, 2004 episode of Jeopardy!, this movie is indirectly referred to in the "Actors & Actresses" category for $1600, with the question bein, "Jinkies! It wasn't too much of a stretch for him to play Fred in the Scooby-Doo movies," with the answer being, "Who is Freddie Prinze Jr.?"
Marketing and promotion
- Main article: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed/Marketing campaign
Critical reception
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Rasberry Award | February 25, 2005 | Worst Remake or Sequel | Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed | Won[10] |
In other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
Home availability
- In the United States:
- September 14, 2004: Warner Home Video releases Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed on VHS.
- September 14, 2004: Warner Home Video releases Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed on DVD.
- November 9, 2010: Warner Home Video releases Scooby-Doo 1 & 2 Collection on Blu-ray Disc.
- April 11, 2023: Warner Home Video releases Best of WB 100th Anniversary: Scooby-Doo! 10-Film Collection on DVD.
Trailers
Teaser trailer:
Trailer:
References
- ^ Staff (June 20, 2002). "Warner Bros. Pictures Announces Plans For “Scooby-Doo” Sequel - Stars Of First Movie To Return". Warner Bros. press room. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ Bricker, Tierney (June 14, 2022). "Zoinks! We're Revealing 22 Secrets About Scooby-Doo". E! Online. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Reporter (April 7, 2003). "Seth Green Joins 'Scooby-Doo 2' Cast". Killer Movies. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ Susman, Gary (April 23, 2003). "Alicia Silverstone joins the Scooby gang". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ Linder, Brian (October 16, 2002). "Warners Wants Third Scoob". IGN. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Leydon, Joe (March 21, 2004). "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed". Variety. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ B., Brian (August 4, 2004). "Matthew Lillard says no Scooby Doo 3". MovieWeb. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Ridgley, Charlie (March 16, 2020). "Scooby Doo: James Gunn Says He Was Set to Write and Direct Third Movie". Comic Book. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Gunn, James (April 1, 2020). "Tweet". Twitter via Internet Archive because Gunn deleted the tweet for some reason. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ HeadRAZZBerry (November 13, 2011). "2004 RAZZIE® Nominees & "Winners"". Razzie Award. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
