A 20-Year-Old 'Rotten' Scooby-Doo Movie Is Better Than Many Fans Give it Credit For (2025)

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is a classic cartoon that started in 1969. Even though the original Scooby-Doo series only ran for three seasons, it became a sensational cartoon that helped define a procedural formula that was easy to digest for audiences of all ages. The original Scooby-Doo cartoon became such a phenomenon that it spawned a massive franchise that's still going on today.

The booming franchise now has dozens of animated movies, multiple television series, comic books, video games, and so much more. One of the most ambitious Scooby-Doo projects happened in the early 2000s, though. Scooby-Doo: The Movie (2002) was a live-action adaptation of the iconic crime-solving gang. The 2002 movie managed to make almost 300 million dollars at the box office, which instantly spawned a sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004).

Scooby-Doo Gave the World a Live-Action Adaptation Years Before Disney

These Movies Brought the Gang to Life Like Never Before, Literally

Scooby-Doo: The Movie (2002), more commonly known as Scooby-Doo, is a live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo. This film focuses on a more grown-up version of Mystery Incorporated. In the original cartoon, the Gang were portrayed as teenagers. Some of the following animated films followed the Gang into adulthood, but the live-action film solidified its stance that the Gang were grown professionals and their mystery-solving excelled them to fame, especially in their hometown of Coolsville.

At the beginning of the movie, Velma, Freddy, and Daphne break out into a serious argument during their most recent mystery. Shaggy attempts to soothe the animosity among the team, but the other three aren't having it. Velma quits the gang, which results in Daphne and Fred quitting as well. Mystery Inc. went their separate ways for a few years. Eventually, they all receive a mysterious invitation to Spooky Island, a horror theme park built across an entire island. The owner of the island expresses concern that the visiting college students are exhibiting odd behavior when they leave, leading him to believe they might be possessed or influenced by some sort of malicious force.

The mystery behind Spooky Island takes inspiration from one of the best animated Scooby-Doo movies ever made, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998). Zombie Island is a memorable film for many fans, not just because it tells an incredible story, but because it finally played with the idea of the Gang crossing paths with real monsters instead of a person in a mask. Like Zombie Island, Spooky Island also focused on a species of real monsters. These creatures needed to inhabit human bodies to survive contact with the sun.

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) kept with the theme established in the first live-action movie. Monsters Unleashed takes place after the events of the first film. Mystery Inc. is back together, solving mysteries. Coolsville honors the Gang by putting a Mystery Incorporated exhibit in the town's museum. The exhibit features some of the most iconic costumes of villains they've unmasked. A new villain, known as the Evil Masked Figure, crashes the opening night party and steals some of the museum's costumes.

As the plot unfolds, the Gang comes face-to-face with some of their old foes, like the Creeper, Miner 49er, and Captain Cutler. These ghosts aren't exactly how the Gang remembers them, though. Instead of a man in a mask, these classic Scooby-Doo monsters are now real. Every time a new costume goes missing from the museum, a new, "real" monster shows up to terrorize Coolsville in its place.

Critics & Fans Didn’t Have Much Love for These Movies

& Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Suffered the Most

Critics were extremely harsh towards both Scooby-Doo: The Movie and the sequel, Monsters Unleashed. Although both films have similar reviews and scores from both critics and fans, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed bombed at the box office. The aftermath of the sequel's release was so bad that Matthew Lillard, who played Shaggy Rogers, worried he'd never work in Hollywood again.

While IMDb rates both movies the same (5.3 out of 10 stars, which isn't stellar, but it's average), Rotten Tomatoes is extremely harsh about Monsters Unleashed. The sequel has a Tomatometer of only 22%, which is abysmal. Many critics claimed the film didn't have much going on, that it was a snooze-fest, and that the only highlight was Matthew Lillard's Shaggy. One Rotten Tomatoes critic even claimed the film was "not Scooby Snack worthy."

A few of Rotten Tomatoes' Harshest Criticisms:

"It's a terrible movie. The laughs aren't there. The stunts are stupid. There's no plot whatsoever." - Richard Roeper

"The sequel will likely be a disappointment to everyone except 10-year-old barf joke aficionados and a few stoned adults." - Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

"The movie plays every joke down the middle, aiming its dim wit at 5-and-unders, insulting them and whoever was foolish enough to take them on the outing." - Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

The few positive reviews mostly focus on how well the cast embodies their cartoon counterparts, with Matthew Lillard as a standout. No one can argue that the live-action films didn't pick the right cast. Every member of the Gang came to life on the silver screen. These actors understood their roles in the letter, so why did the films receive such poor ratings? And why did Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed make almost $100 million less than the original?

Despite the Negativity Around These Movies, They’re Strong Scooby-Doo Entries

& Scooby-Doo 2: Monster's Unleashed is the Better Film

All that said, after re-watching both of these live-action adaptations, it's hard to pinpoint why the reviews are so terrible, especially for Monsters Unleashed. The live-action Scooby-Doo films were never meant to be sophisticated and overtly deep movies. The franchise has always focused on a simple premise of four friends and their talking dog solving mysteries for the fun of it. Scooby-Doo teaches kids a few important lessons:

• Everything isn't always what it seems
• More often than not, the "evil" in the world is just a normal person
• Forming strong bonds and friendships is important
• Good friends will always come through for their loved ones
• Be kind and help people
• Crime and causing harm is never the answer

Beyond these basic moral lessons, Scooby-Doo is wholesome, spooky fun that people of all ages can enjoy. The live-action adaptations replicated the vibe of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! to the letter. Yes, the movies focused on "real" monsters alongside their main villains, but Scooby-Doo fans already proved that wasn't a problem with the success of movies like Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island and Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999).

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed focuses on a more grown-up version of the Gang. Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, and Fred have already gone through a harsh breakup. They went their separate ways and found their way back to one another. When they reunited, they recovered their love for solving mysteries and the bond they shared as a group of friends. The sequel rewards them for all the growth they went through in the original movie. The Gang enjoys success, fame, and enough money to live comfortably. Their business is booming. They've become such prominent figures in their community that they have fans and an exhibit in Coolsville's museum.

Monsters Unleashed is a revenge story, and it shines a spotlight on the negative effects of success and fame. Mystery Incorporated is at an all-time high, but they've built their legacy on the back of sending criminals to prison. While their work is noble, they make many enemies along the way. Since most of the people they put away haven't committed something as serious as murder, they'll likely get out of prison eventually. The film even features an entire bar for criminals the Gang unmasked, emphasizing how many enemies the group made over the years. It makes sense that one (or more) of them would seek revenge on the group that ruined their lives.

The Evil Masked Figure turns out to be none other than Jonathan Jacobo, the original Pterodactyl Ghost. Jacobo cleverly frames his former cellmate, Jeremiah Wickles, the original Black Knight Ghost to throw the Gang off his trail. Jacobo even manages to convince the world that he died in a prison escape attempt. Jacobo's plan involved using Mystery Incorporated's legacy against them by stealing the costumes of unmasked villains and using a special machine to bring them to life. The real monsters terrorized Coolsville and the Gang couldn't stop them. Their failure to stop the Evil Masked Figure's reign of terror turned the Gang's hometown against them.

Monsters Unleashed's Evil Masked Figure was a great villain. Not only did the revenge plot make sense, but it took a surprisingly mature and elaborate approach to the idea of one of the Gang's enemies going to great lengths to destroy them. This movie was also a love letter to the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! It brought some of the most memorable Scooby-Doo monsters to life in a way that any fan can appreciate. To this day, it's still shocking that critics tore Monsters Unleashed apart as harshly as they did because this live-action adaptation hit every mark it needed to.