Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is rated PG: for some scary action, rude humor and language.

Once again the Mystery Inc. gang is in the spotlight. In Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Freddy (Freddy Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby-Doo (voice by Neil Fanning) strut down the red carpet. They are celebrities at the opening of a new display at the Coolsville Museum where the costumes of their past opponents are being unveiled.

However, not everyone is happy about the exhibit. Flying through a large plate glass window, a reincarnated Pterodactyl Ghost and an evil masked character (Scott McNeil) crash the party.

Heather Jasper-Howe (Alicia Silverstone), an on-the-spot reporter, catches the damage caused by the destructive duo and the helpless reactions of Mystery Inc. While no one can explain the strange appearance of the two fiends, Heather’s story on the nightly news casts doubts on the crime solving abilities of the five friends and leaves the local citizens with waning confidence. As their fan base diminishes, the teenagers also begin to question their abilities.

Embarrassed by their part in the museum debacle, Shaggy and Scooby vow to act like real detectives. Their reformation pays off when they discover a monster-making machine hidden in an old abandoned mine outside of town. Lurking around the dilapidated shaft, their prime suspect is Jeremiah "Old Man" Wickles (Peter Boyle), the former Black Night Ghost who was unmasked by the teens.

Meanwhile, Thelma faces her own dilemma when Patrick Wisely (Seth Green), the museum’s curator starts to show some interest in her. Dressing up in a skintight red latex suit and doffing her glasses, the brainy sleuth tries to become a cool, jet-setting socialite to win Patrick’s affection.

Studio: 2004 Warner Home Video.

Mystery Inc. has left behind many of the innuendos and adult themes that showed up in the first Scooby-Doo movie. But there are still plenty of risky pranks in this film that parents won’t want reenacted at home. Using a blowtorch to light some “flatulent” gas and spraying down a room with a hand held fire extinguisher would likely be less entertaining in reality. Some of the foes from the gang’s past capers—Captain Cutler’s Ghost, Miner 49er and 10,000 Volt Ghost—might also prove to be a little too spooky for the younger crowd.

Stretching out this Saturday morning cartoon premise for a full 90 minutes proves to be the biggest challenge for the script that’s padded with a dance scene and a musical cameo by American Idol winner Ruben Studdard. Given the key to solving the mystery, Scooby hesitates to ask, “Should I do it?” Feeling dogged on every side by recycled ghosts, my only thought was “Yes!”

At one time or another, each of the Mystery Inc. team members questions his or her abilities. What is the difference between accepting yourself for who you are and pushing yourself to improve and grow?

If you had a machine that could create anything, what would it be?

A trio of school chums has to put their heads together to deal with scary monsters and eerie events in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. An animated film, The Secret of NIMH tells the tale of a plucky little mouse mom who asks a secret society of misfits to help her save her family.