Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy film directed by Brian Levant, produced by Warner Premiere and distributed by Warner Home Video. The film aired on Cartoon Network 13 September 2009, and was released 22 September 2009 on DVD and Blu-ray. It is the third installment in the Scooby-Doo live-action film series, revealing how the Mystery Inc. gang met and the events of their very first case.
The music is scored by Academy Award-nominee David Newman, who had previously scored the theatrical films Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). The film is dedicated to Lorena Gale, who died during production.
Its sequel, Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, was released 16 October 2010.
Summary[]
In Coolsville, Ohio, four teenagers are accidentally involved in a fight on the school bus, which causes the bus to crash into a flagpole, which falls on Vice Principal Grimes' 2007 Ford Mustang, smashing its windshield. Because of the fight on the bus and the damage to Grimes' car, the teenagers are sent to the library for detention. Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a clumsy, geeky outcast, who tried to smuggle his dog Scooby-Doo onto the bus; Fred Jones is quarterback of the football team; Velma Dinkley is a science nerd; and Daphne Blake is in the drama club and very wealthy. They bond somewhat over a shared interest in mysteries, but quickly get on each other's nerves. Two ghosts suddenly appear and chase them to the gym where a pep rally is taking place. A third ghost, The Specter appears, causing the lights in the building to flicker. He starts telling everyone to leave. The stamp-collecting Principal Deedle decides to close the school, but Vice Principal Grimes deems it a prank and suspends the quartet, as he refuses to believe that there are ghosts in the school.
The gang tries to clear their names by investigating the ghosts at the school, which leads to Grimes expelling them and threatening to have them arrested if they're caught sneaking into the school again. Further investigation in disguise at the school makes them think Grimes is their prime suspect. Searching at night at Grimes' house leads them to information about a time capsule. The ghosts attack again, and the teens are knocked out. The Specter, keeping Scooby and Grimes as prisoners, forces the gang to search underground for the time capsule. Unable to find the capsule, they trick the Specter into coming down to carry the capsule out of the hole, but the plan backfires when they try to lock him up in a flooded room, and the Specter acquires the capsule.
Stealing the capsule back, the gang uses a book of spells to banish the ghosts. Scooby manages to break free of his restraints and arrives just in time to subdue the Specter, who turns out to be Principal Deedle. The principal reveals that a stamp misprint was hidden within the time capsule, something that would have been worth a fortune. The time capsule was meant to be buried when the school first opened, but a flood hit the town that day and the capsule was lost in the old school underneath the new school. Deedle being determined to claim the misprint in the time capsule used the spell book to summon the ghosts to scare everyone away so he as the Specter can open the time capsule himself. As the police arrest the exposed Deedle, the group is publicly congratulated and un-expelled by Grimes, who becomes the new Principal and apologizes to the gang for falsely accusing them. Grimes also announces the time capsule's official burial. Just as the gang begins digging, Shaggy accidentally throws his shovel, which lands on Grimes' car, once again smashing its windshield. Instead of sending him to detention, Grimes forgives Shaggy, stating that accidents happen. In the film's ending, the group decide to stay together and solve mysteries, and they head off to "investigate some strange goings-on at the Coolsville museum", a hint to the very first episode of Scooby Doo Where Are You! and their very first case, The Black Knight Ghost.
Cast[]
- Robbie Amell as Fred Jones
- Kate Melton as Daphne Blake
- Hayley Kiyoko as Velma Dinkley
- Nick Palatas as Shaggy Rogers
- Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo
- Shawn Macdonald as Principal Deedle
- Garry Chalk as Vice Principal Grimes
- Leah James as Prudence Prufrock
- Brian Sutton as Ezekiel Gallows
- C. Ernst Harth as the Janitor
- Lorena Gale as the Librarian
- Daniel Riordan as The Specter