Sunday 22 April 2018

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)

I used to watch Scooby-Doo all the time when I was younger but now I don't care much about it anymore. The thing is that they are not so bright. I did see, however, Lego Scooby-Doo: Haunted Hollywood nearly a year ago and since it wasn't bad I thought I'd give Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold a change. And honestly, I could not miss Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang teaming up with Batman. 

And that's exactly what happens in this film. After solving a mystery with the help of Batman (Diedrich Bader), the gang is invited to the Mystery Analysts of Gotham, a crimefighting organization consisting of Batman, Martian Manhunter (Nicholas Guest), Detective Chimp (Kevin Michael Richardson), Black Canary (Grey Griffin), Question (Jeffrey Combs), Plastic Man (Tom Kenny), and Aquaman (John DiMaggio). Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) and the gang have the opportunity to solve one of the superhero's unsolved cases, but before long Batman's only cold case turns hot again as a mysterious villain who calls himself the 'Crimson Cloak' wreaks havoc on Gotham.

I have to admit I wasn't sure this pairing --Scooby-Doo and the gags working with Batman and the Justice League B-Team-- would work, but the writers found a way to make it work. The plot develops in a way that Batman actually needs the help of the gang to solve the mystery. Also, there are some nice twists along the way and the possibility of not having a bad guy to unmask at the end makes the film interesting for most of its running time. 

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
What I liked the most about Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold was easily the characters. I really liked seeing all those superheroes and villains --the Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Penguin, and Two-Face-- I knew already, and the film paid a nice homage to them, but my favourite was the character of Daphne. She isn't as bland as she usually is. This time around, she isn't the usual damsel in distress, but she's quite smart and actually helps the gang to solve the mystery. It was nice seeing this change in the character. 

The voice acting is overall pretty good, especially the work of Frank Welker and Diedrich Bader. The animation is very nice too. The drawings are beautiful, colourful and quite detailed. At last, the film has enough jokes and gags --mostly Scooby-Doo style-- to entertain.

2 comments:

  1. Yay!!! You've beaten me to the punch on this one as I haven't watched it yet. Glad too hear it's a solid film.

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