- Netflix’s new live-action Scooby-Doo series can redeem the franchise after the failure of “Monsters Unleashed” in 2004.
- The history of Scooby-Doo’s live-action adaptations has been rocky, with previous attempts failing to impress both critics and viewers.
- The upcoming series offers hope for a fresh, high-quality adaptation that properly explores the characters and mysteries.
Scooby-Doo is getting a new live-action version over at Netflix, and this TV show can redeem the franchise after a big live-action failure 20 years ago. The Scooby-Doo franchise is one of the biggest and most beloved ones in the entertainment world, and it all started in 1969 with the animated TV series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. The show introduced the world to the Mystery Inc. gang and the types of mysteries they attend. The success of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! made way for a franchise with animated shows, movies, video games, and a lot more.
Of course, Scooby-Doo and friends have already gotten the live-action treatment, and it began in 2002 with Raja Gosnell’s Scooby-Doo. The franchise has continued to be quite active, and it currently has a controversial animated TV show titled Velma, but it’s now going back to live-action. According to Deadline, a live-action Scooby-Doo TV series is in development at Netflix, with Greg Berlanti on board as producer. Expectations are high for this new live-action Scooby-Doo project, and it can redeem the franchise’s live-action branch after a big failure 20 years ago.
Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo has been around since 1969 and is still going strong. Here are all of the franchise’s TV series in chronological order.
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Was A Messy Sequel
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed got an even worse critical reception than the first movie and viewers weren’t kind to it either.
Scooby-Doo’s history in the branch of live-action has been full of ups and downs. Raja Gosnell’s 2002 movie saw the Mystery Inc. gang parting ways and being reunited two years later when Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson), the owner of a horror-themed tropical resort named Spooky Island, hires them to solve the mystery of a demonic curse taking over the guests. Although Scooby-Doo got negative reviews, it was a hit with viewers, making it a box-office success, enough to grant it a sequel – unfortunately, the second movie couldn’t replicate what made the first one so entertaining despite its flaws.
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was released two years later and was also directed by Raja Gosnell, with the whole main cast back. In Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, the Mystery Inc. team is invited to the Coolsonian Criminology Museum when a masked man steals some of the monster costumes on display, and so they have to solve the mystery of whom this person is and what their plans are. Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed got an even worse critical reception than the first movie and viewers weren’t kind to it either, with its sense of humor, messy plot, and characters pointed out as its biggest flaws.
The upcoming Scooby-Doo live-action TV series gives fans of the franchise new hope for a good quality and fun adaptation after the mess of Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Having Netflix on its side is a great sign for the project, and a TV series format allows it to build tension, mystery, and properly explore not just the monsters and ghosts but also the Mystery Inc. characters, who, although they were fun in Gosnell’s movies, they were pretty plain.
Why Other Live-Action Scooby-Doo Adaptations Also Failed
Scooby-Doo Has Struggled In The Branch Of Live-Action
The franchise made a couple of live-action TV movies and live-action direct-to-video films.
Gosnell’s films aren’t the only live-action Scooby-Doo movies, but the others can’t really be seen as successes, either. After plans for a third live-action Scooby-Doo movie were canceled following the failure of Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, the franchise made a couple of live-action TV movies and live-action direct-to-video films. First was Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, which aired on Cartoon Network in 2009 and explored how the team met. Despite getting good reviews and ratings, it became a forgettable story. Next was Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, which also aired on Cartoon Network, in 2010, and had the same fate as its predecessor.
In 2018, Daphne & Velma was released on DVD. It follows the title Mystery Inc. members as they investigate different mysteries in their high school. Daphne & Velma got polarizing reactions, with some praising its message of female empowerment while others criticized its story and tone. Netflix’s Scooby-Doo live-action TV series can revive the franchise’s live-action branch with an intriguing and entertaining story and good character development, saving it from failure and from being forgotten.
Source: Screenrant