A typically enjoyable entry in the Scooby-Doo! franchise. This is far from one of the best Scooby movies, but is still a fun watch.
This film follows a very straightfoward and typical Scooby-Doo! plot. We all know the formula and that is exactly what you see here. However there is a reason this formula has lasted so long. That is that it works and it works here quite well. Even if this movie does follow the typical formula though, it is one of the few Scooby movies where the mystery is actually surprising. This is a truly good mystery, and though I won't give it away here, it is not as obvious as one would think going into the film. The humor is about par for the course, but there are some good laughs here, especially involving Daphne's crush on John Cena. I also how they used Scooby's video game skills throughout the movie, instead of just using it as a simple device to get the plot started. It also lead to a really enjoyable dream sequence. Adding to this the Ghost Bear is an excellent villain, up there with the classic Scooby-Doo! baddies.
Still with all this I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if I were actually a wrestling fan. However I have never actually watched a wrestling match so most of the WWE stars featured here are people I never heard of. Because of this the novelty of having the Mystery Inc. Gang meet them was lost on me. To me at least this made the use of celebrities feel like shameless self-promotion and gratuitous. There were times when the story seemed to stop for the simple reason of advertising and singing the praises of WWE. The fact that the film takes place in a whole WWE city seems to make this feel all the more gratuitous. All in all I would have preferred a movie where the Mystery Inc. Gang helps some fictional wrestlers solve a mystery. However I am sure WWE fans will feel differently than I do about that.
My opinion on the action packed climax is split. It was animated very well and the action is exciting for a while. However it does go on to long and my excitement had winded down towards the end.
This may not be one of my favorite Scooby-Doo! movies, but I certainly enjoyed it and I am sure many of my fellow cartoon lovers will too. This is because despite its faults, the film still delivers much of what makes Scooby-Doo! so much fun.
Note: My fellow Young Justice fans will notice that during the climax one of the groups watching the match consists of the Young Justice versions of Wonder Girl, Miss Martian, Artemis and Zatanna. To be honest this was more odd and distracting than anything else.
Another Note: When this film airs on either Cartoon Network or Boomerang, it is re-titled, Scooby-Doo! The WWE Mystery and the dialogue referring to WrestleMania now refers to Superstar Mania.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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