Review - Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we're back talking about Scooby-Doo, and this time it's the 2004 film Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. This film was, once again, directed by Raja Gosnell, written by James Gunn, and sees the returns of Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, and Matthew Lillard. Joining them in this movie are Seth Green, Peter Boyle, Tim Blake Nelson, and Alicia Silverstone, with special appearances by Pat O'Brien, Big Brovaz, and Ruben Studdard. 

      The movie opens in Coolsville at the red carpet grand opening of the Coolsonian Criminology Museum, run by Patrick Wisely, and Mystery Inc. is, of course, in attendance. The museum is dedicated to the many exploits of Mystery Inc., and thus has many of the monster costumes from criminals they unmasked the past. And, the costumes all come the many Scooby-Doo cartoons throughout the years, and include the following: the Black Knight Ghost, Captain Cutler's Ghost, Miner 49er, the Tar Monster, the 10,000 Volt Ghost, the Skeleton Men, the Zombie, the Creeper, Chickenstein, and the Pterodactyl Ghost. And, while the Green Glob Ghosts don't have costumes on display, we do get one called the Cotton Candy Glob instead. 

        However, the Pterodactyl Ghost is a real living monster, and it attacks the dedication party in the museum and grabs the costumes of the Black Knight Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost, and flies off, with an evil masked figure warning that this is the beginning of the end for Mystery Inc. After the attack, Velma locates a pterodactyl scale with an unknown substance. Back at their headquarters, Mystery Inc. seeks to find out who's behind the attack on the museum. Initially, they consider one possibility in the form of Dr. Jonathan Jacobo, who went on a crime spree as the Pterodactyl Ghost to get the funding he needed to create REAL monsters, but evidently died in an escape attempt off of a prison wall. HOWEVER, it's also discovered that Jacobo's cell mate was Jeremiah Wickles, who had suited up as the Black Knight Ghost. 

        The gang goes to investigate Wickles' mansion, where Fred, Velma, and Daphne find footprints made of the same glowing element found on the pterodactyl scale, as well as a grimoire previously owned by Jonathan Jacobo. The grimoire, it turns out, is a recipe book for creating monsters. Shaggy and Scooby, meanwhile, find another lead in the form of a sticky note with the name of a club called the Faux Ghost on it. Unfortunately, they are attached by the Black Knight Ghost, which Daphne and Velma are able to stun with a kick to the nads, and Mystery Inc. escapes. 

      Shaggy and Scooby disguise themselves and head to the Faux Ghost, where they learn practically nothing from Wickles', and are caught when Scooby's disguise falls off while dancing with the patrons to Big Brovaz's performance of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)." Meanwhile, Velma discovers that the element being emanated from the monsters is Randamonium, (which is still less stupid than Transformium), and could connect Wickles to Jacobo. And, the source of the Randamonium is the abandoned Coolsville Silver Mine. Patrick then shows up, looking to ask Velma out on a date, but she's a bit nervous. So, Daphne gives Velma a stunning makeover, and the foursome of Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Patrick head out in the Mystery Machine. But, their night of fun is interrupted when they pass the museum. According to reporter Heather Jasper Howe, the duo of the Pterodactyl Ghost and the Black Knight Ghost stole the remaining costumes from the museum. And, after Daphne suspects that Heather may have ties to the Evil Masked Figure, he makes an appearance and claims that Coolsville will soon be his. 

     At the silver mine,which is guarded by the Skeleton Men, Shaggy and Scooby find an underground lab, where they inadvertently drink several transforming potions, which turn Scooby into a monster, Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes, and even a vastly intelligent version of himself. The potions turn Shaggy into a woman and then into a overly muscular jock. But, Smart Scooby makes a potion that returns them both to normal, so whatever. Fred, Daphne, and Velma arrive and attempt to interrogate Wickles, who is presenting a new summer camp for kids in the abandoned silver mine, and they learn that he is NOT behind the monster attacks or the museum thefts. But, they do catch up with Shaggy and Scooby, and the discover the Monster Hive, where the stolen costumes are placed on a machine that infuses them with Randamonium, thus turning the costumes into real monsters. 

       While Fred, Daphne, and Velma investigate further, Shaggy and Scooby accidentally activate the machine and turn four more costumes into monsters. In this case, they bring to life Miner 49er, the Zombie, Captain Cutler's Ghost, and the Tar Monster. Mystery Inc. grabs the control panel for the monster machine and escape, with the 10,000 Volt Ghost in pursuit. Unable to return to their headquarters, as the monster attacks and the terribly biased reporting by Heather have turned public opinion AGAINST Mystery Inc., thus forcing them to return to their old treehouse base. It's here where Velma comes up with a plan to reprogram the control panel to reverse the current of Randamonium, this turning the monsters back into mere costumes. 

      After escaping Captain Cutler's Ghost with the reprogrammed control panel, the gang evades both the Zombie and the Pterodactyl Ghost and return to the mine, where Fred buys time for the others by entering a joust against the Black Knight Ghost. And, what we see is pretty awesome, as Fred hops on a motorcycle, grabs a water pipe, and goes head-to-head against the Black Knight Ghost, all to the tune of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive," and it was so awesome. At the same time,. Daphne goes toe-to-toe against the 10,000 Volt Ghost, and it goes about as well as you think. But, both monsters are defeated when Daphne and Fred take a metal rod, jumper cables, use them to connect the Black Knight Ghost to the 10,000 Volt Ghost. Talk about an overload. 

        Velma then distracts the Skeleton Men and sends Shaggy and Scooby off with the control panel, and she finds herself sliding down to an underground shrine near the Monster Hive, and has a run in with Patrick. And, for some reason, Velma has begun to suspect that Patrick might be the Evil Masked Figure, but he manages to prove otherwise. Velma reunites with Fred and Daphne, but where are Shaggy and Scooby? Well, after taking down Miner 49er with a massive Scooby fart, the duo have a run-in with the Cotton Candy Glob, and eat him. Yeesh. Anyway, the remaining monsters show up, and the Tar Monster captures Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy. But, using a fire extinguisher, Scooby freezes the Tar Monster and reconnects the control panel to the machine, turning the monsters back into costumes. The Evil Masked Figure is caught and taken to be unmasked. 

         Who was the Evil Masked Figure. Well, it turned out to be Heather Jasper Howe. Yeah, no shit! We all saw that one coming. But, she also had help from her cameraman Ned. But, why? Well, Heather Jasper Howe was, in fact, Jonathan Jacobo. Yep, Jacobo survived, attempted to frame Wickles by leaving both the grimoire and the Black Knight Ghost in Wickles' mansion, and took on the guise of Heather to turn the press against Mystery Inc. The mystery solved, and Coolsville saved, Mystery Inc. has a victory party at the Faux Ghost, with everyone dancing to a performance of the R&B song "Shining Star" being performed by Ruben Studdard. 

       Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was definitely an improvement over the 2002 original. The cast definitely feels more at home in their roles, and the new cast seem to fit right in. I absolutely loved the way this movie was filled with fan service for Scooby-Doo fans by having some of the classic monsters from throughout the multitude of Scooby-Doo cartoons being brought to life in a new and inventive way. And, I have made it pretty clear that, as dumb a name as Randamonium is, it's still not as dumb as Transformium. Hell, even Unobtanium wasn't that dumb of a name. But, I will say that James Gunn's writing combined with Raja Gosnell's directing created a combination that worked better this go around. Although, much like with Pam Anderson and Sugar Ray in the first movie, the appearances of the likes of Pat O'Brien, Big Brovaz, and Ruben Studdard do kind of date the movie slightly.

      Also, there is a slight edit that is really noticeable when you compare the theatrical/DVD version to the streaming version of this movie, where direct mentions of Burger King are replaced with direct mentions of KFC. Other than that, Indefinitely think that, while not great, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was definitely a step up from the 2002 film. Unfortunately, a third film which James Gunn was going to both write AND direct was cancelled due to the lower box office of this film. But, hopefully we can see James Gunn return to Scooby-Doo when he isn't busy at DC Studios. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys on Saturday for my breakdown of WWE Elimination Chamber.