The gang catches the sea creature at the lighthouse. Scooby and Shaggy accidentally win a hamburger eating contest. The prize is a trip to Hollywood and a tour of Brickton Studios. The old studio is on the verge of collapse as it gets away from its horror roots. It is haunted by a Headless Horseman and the gang has a new case.
The title says it all. It is exactly what it is. It's Lego. It's Scooby-Doo. It's their standard mystery with their traditional running around. It has all the Scooby tropes. I do worry about some of the older horror references.
Lego Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood
2016
Action / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy / Horror / Mystery
Lego Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood
2016
Action / Animation / Comedy / Family / Fantasy / Horror / Mystery
Plot summary
The gang find themselves in a tinsel-town twist! While on a VIP tour of the legendary Brickton Studios, Scooby and friends get a first-hand experience of the rumored hauntings when classic movie monsters drop in for a creepy casting call.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
May 03, 2016 at 07:59 PM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
standard Scooby
Better than expected
You can't expect much from a direct-to-video, CGI, Lego movie. And it seems almost appalling that Warner bros. would allow a film like this to be made or that someone would even conjure up the idea for this movie in the first place.
But surprisingly enough, I didn't hate it. I mean don't get me wrong, it's not a good movie, but its not nearly as bad as the premise led me to believe.
First of all, they did manage to get the official voice cast together to make this. That alone improves the film. The movie also has a pretty classic Scooby-Doo plot that is executed fairly well. On top of that, they managed to pull off the comedy. The jokes were good and they even had some pretty clever Lego-inspired gags throughout.
But of course, this movie does fall short in a lot of areas. Besides the funny bits, the script was poorly written. The supporting characters were throw-away consisting of an unsettling and unappealing tour guide, an off-brand Elvira, and not one, but two generic J Jonah Jameson ripoffs.
The ending was also completely predictable, they didn't give Velma anything to do throughout the film, and they mis-characterized Daphne by giving her a craving for fame. A trait I don't recall from any of the other movies/TV shows.
In the end, this movie obviously isn't great, but also isn't a train-wreck and I'm sure your kid will love it if they like Scooby-Doo and have a weird thing for Legos.
Not haunting enough
Being a huge 'Scooby Doo' fan for goodness knows how long, any new
show, special or film would be watched with great anticipation. While
'Scooby Doo Where Are You' is still the jewel of the crown of the
franchise, it was interesting to see 'Scooby Doo' rendered in Lego.
The first Lego 'Scooby Doo' film, after being pleasantly surprised if
not blown away by the short special 'Knight Time Terror', 'Haunted
Hollywood' has both good and very weak elements that make it an
interesting but mixed bag watch. It is a long way from the worst
'Scooby Doo' film (excluding the television specials of the late 80s,
which are very flawed but not that bad, and 'Arabian Nights', which is
terrible, the only weak one to me is 'Monster of Mexico'. However, all
the other 'Scooby Doo' films are much better. Especially 'Zombie
Island', 'Witch's Ghost', 'Big Top', 'Goblin King' and 'Mask of the
Blue Falcon', the rest are decent to very good.
Starting with 'Haunted Hollywood's' issues, the film doesn't have
enough story for the 75 minute running time, making it feel
over-stretched and making one think that a half an hour special would
have been better.
Despite saying that 'Knight Time Terror' felt too short and rushed,
that had a much stronger mystery, much more going on, more atmosphere
and felt too hasty for a special so a feature length would have been
justified. The mystery has its moments but can feel bland and some of
the film feels padded, not all of it necessary, with a fairly obvious
reveal.
Of the gang, only Shaggy and Scooby work properly. The other three lack
agreed distinct personalities, Daphne particularly is bland and her
rock star subplot would have worked and easy to relate to if it didn't
wear thin too early.
Lastly, some of the character designs are wanting, especially for
Daphne and a couple of the monsters. Even for Lego they look blocky and
their movements aren't particularly smooth, Daphne apart from the hair
and clothes could have been someone else entirely.
However, other elements do work very well. Character-designs aside, the
Lego animation is very nicely done. It's very colourful and
atmospheric, with some of the visuals also being inventive. The music
is both dynamic and groovy, with a lot of energy and a haunting
undercurrent.
A good deal of the writing is fun and smart, with witty in-jokes,
endearingly goofy jokes (although a few of the puns go overboard on the
corniness) and nostalgic homages to past horror films that are so much
fun to recognise. It's quirky and a few thrills and scares, thanks to
the villains being pretty creepy.
There are some decent supporting characters, particularly Drella
Diabolique (brilliantly voiced by Cassandra Peterson.
Voice acting is very good. Frank Welker shows no signs of being long in
the tooth despite voicing Fred since the very beginning way back in
1969, so nearly 50 years and he is going strong. His Scooby voice took
some getting used to, having been so accustomed to Don Messick since
forever, but it's definitely grown on me. Matthew Lillard is a worthy
successor to Casey Kasem, a very difficult feat that he pulls off with
ease, he is hilarious and an immensely likable goofball.
Kate Micucci does well as Velma, though the writing for the character
is not the best. Grey DeLisle has to work with Daphne being bland but
that doesn't stop her putting effort with the character regardless.
In summing up, a slightly above average mixed bag with an air of
disappointment. 6/10 Bethany Cox