Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins
DVD cover
Distributed by	Warner Premiere
Directed by	Brian Levant
Produced by	Brian J. Gilbert Brian Levant
Screenplay by	Daniel Altiere Steven Altiere
Based on	Scooby-Doo by Joe Ruby & Ken Spears
Starring	Frank Welker Nick Palatas Kate Melton Robbie Amell Hayley Kiyoko Shawn MacDonald Gary Chalk
Music by	David Newman
Cinematography	Jan Kiesser
Editing by	Eric Osmond
Country	United States
Language	English
Original channel	Cartoon Network
Release date	September 13, 2009 (2009-09-13)
Running time	82 minutes

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (also known as Scooby-Doo 3 or Scooby-Doo 3: The Mystery Begins) is a 2009 American television film that was first aired on September 13, 2009, the fortieth anniversary of Scooby-Doo. Produced by Warner Premiere, directed by Brian Levant and distributed by Warner Home Video based on the hit Hanna-Barbera cartoon classic, Scooby-Doo. It is the third installment in the Scooby-Doo live-action film series. The film is an origin story for Scooby and the Mystery Inc. gang, revealing how they met and the events of their very first case. The music is scored by Academy Award-nominee David Newman, who had previously scored the theatrical films.

Plot

In Coolsville, Ohio, four teenagers are involved in a fight on the school bus and are sent to detention. Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a clumsy, nerdy outcast, who tried to smuggle his dog Scooby-Doo onto the bus; Fred Jones is quarterback of the football team; Velma Dinkley is a science geek; and Daphne Blake is in the drama club. They bond somewhat over a shared interest in mysteries, but quickly get on each others' nerves. While in the library for detention, two ghosts appear and chase them to the gym where a pep rally is going on. A third ghost, The Specter, appears telling everyone to leave. The stamp-collecting Principal Deedle decides to close the school, but Vice Principal Grimes deems it a prank and suspends the quartet.

The gang tries to clear their names by investigating the ghosts, which leads to Grimes expelling them. Further investigation, in disguise at the school, makes them think Grimes is their prime suspect. Searching at night at Grimes' house leads them to information about a time capsule. The ghosts attack again, and the teens are knocked out. The Specter, keeping Scooby and Grimes as prisoners, forces the gang to search underground for the time capsule. Unable to find the capsule, they trick the Specter into coming down to carry the capsule out of the hole, but the plan backfires when they try to lock him up in a flooded room, and the Specter acquires the capsule.

Stealing the capsule back, the gang uses a book of spells to banish the ghosts. Scooby manages to break free of his restraints and arrives just in time to subdue the Specter, who turns out to be Principal Deedle. The principal reveals that a stamp misprint was hidden within the time capsule, something that would have been worth a fortune. As the exposed Deedle is sent to prison for his actions, the group is publicly congratulated by Grimes (who becomes the new Principal), and they decide to continue investigating strange doings.

Cast

• Nick Palatas as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers
• Frank Welker provides the voice of Scooby-Doo
• Robbie Amell as Fred Jones
• Kate Melton as Daphne Blake
• Hayley Kiyoko as Velma Dinkley
• Gary Chalk as Vice Principal Grimes
• Shawn Macdonald as Principal Deedle
• C. Ernst Harth as the Janitor
• Lorena Gale as the Librarian
• Daniel Riordan provides the voice of the Specter

Featured villains

• The Specter
• The Ghost of Ezekiel Gallows
• The Ghost of Prudence Prufrock
• The Black-Knight Ghost from "What a Night for a Knight"
• Captain Cutler's Ghost

Sequel

Main article: Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster

Due to the financial and ratings success of Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, a sequel went into script development in October 2009. The cast from The Mystery Begins revealed that they were signed on for 3 films in October 2009. On March 12, 2010 the film was titled Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster. Principal photography commenced on March 15, 2010 in various locations around Southern California. The plot was also revealed:

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster finds the Mystery Inc. gang heading toward summer jobs at a country club owned by Daphne’s uncle, only to stumble onto strange happenings around the local lake – including mystical moonstones, creepy characters and a Frog Monster on the loose. There’s mystery afoot and romance in the air. Who knows what will happen

A short trailer of the film was shown on Cartoon Network on August 1, 2010, depicting Scooby and Shaggy at the beach.

The sequel aired on October 16, 2010 and was released on DVD in 2011.

Reception

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins is the most-watched telecast in Cartoon Network history with 6.1 million viewers.

The film received mixed to positive reviews with an audience rating of 40% at Rotten Tomatoes and 5.7 out of 10 at IMDb.

Filming locations

Production took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, including Templeton Secondary School from August 4, 2008.

Notes

• The trailer for Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins was first seen on the DVD of Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword and 17 Again.
• The What's New Scooby-Doo? theme played at the end was originally performed by Simple Plan, but re-recorded by Anarbor especially for the film.
• Captain Cutler's Ghost from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You is seen in the end of the film.
• The movie appears to ignore the backstory/explanations for Scooby Snacks and the Mystery Machine from What's New Scooby-Doo?. The Mystery Machine's origins were different in this movie, from the origins set in the episode "It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine", when the Mystery Machine gains a life of its own and starts to do drive by itself, so the gang tries searching for clues to work out why, which leads them to "The Mystery Kids", a band of talented kids who formerly owned the Mystery Machine and learn that Flash Flannagan, the band's former keyboard player, painted the Mystery Machine with the flower pattern to remind him of the flowers in his garden. However the movies explanation of where the Mystery Machine came from is accurate to official continuity of the Scooby-Doo universe.
• Fred "Freddie" Jones is interpreted as having brown/black hair when he normally has blonde.
• This is the first live action film to have Frank Welker voice Scooby-Doo. Neil Fanning voiced Scooby in the first two films.
• Scooby-Doo is proven ticklish when Shaggy tickles Scooby's tummy. This is the first time Scooby is shown being tickled on a live action film.

See also

• Theatrically released films based on Hanna-Barbera animations

Novelization

A novelization of this film is being planned by first-time writer James Proudwolf. A future site for the adaptation will be created on the Scooby-Doo wiki. This new page will also have a timed section which will allow fans to post what they see as references in the film, that will be included as "easter eggs" in the novel.

References

• Total Film
• Popcorn Junkies
• Multi Channel News
• Live-Action Scooby-Doo Prequel in the Works from Major Spoilers
• Film Junk
• Animation Insider
• Advanced Review at AnimationInsider.net

External links

• Scooby Doo: The Mystery Begins at the Internet Movie Database
• Scoooby Doo! The Mystery Begins Official Site
  • Official Site Trailer Premiere