Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (2014) – Video
Running time: 84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Brandon Vietti
WRITER: Michael Ryan
EDITOR: Kyle Stafford
COMPOSER: Ryan Shore
ANIMATION STUDIO: Digital eMation, Inc.
ANIMATION/FANTASY/FAMILY and ACTION/COMEDY/MYSTERY
Starring: (voices) Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard, Grey DeLisle, Mindy Cohn, Charles S. Dutton, Bumper Robinson, Mary McCormack, Corey Burton, and Fred Tatasciore; from WWE: John Cena, Kane, Brodus Clay, AJ Lee, The Miz, Triple H, Michael Cole, Santino Marella, and Vince McMahon
Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery is the 21st animated movie in the Scooby-Doo straight-to-video series from Warner Bros. Animation. This series began in 1998 with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. In WrestleMania Mystery, Mystery Inc. joins WWE wrestling superstars to solve the mystery of a marauding ghost bear. This film is also a co-production between WWE Studios and Warner Bros. Animation.
Early in Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery, Shaggy Rogers (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) win tickets to WrestleMania. The two then cajole the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang: Fred Jones (Frank Welker), Daphne Blake (Grey DeLisle), and Velma Dinkley (Mindy Cohn), into taking them to the event. The entire gang boards the Mystery Machine and heads to WWE City, the site of WrestleMania.
An accident on the way gives the friends the chance to meet WWE (Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment) superstar, John Cena (John Cena). They even meet WWE boss, Mr. McMahon (Vince McMahon), and the gang gets an invite to visit the WWE training camp. The good times are interrupted, however, by Vicious, a ghost bear whose attacks threaten to ruin WrestleMania. WWE stars join Mystery, Inc. to solve the case and to also protect the health and freedom of Shaggy and Scooby.
I actually did not expect much from Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery, because I am not a fan of professional wrestling. I was when I was a child (and I was huge fan of it, then). However, I liked this movie … a lot. In fact, I found myself wishing for a sequel as soon as I finished watching WrestleMania Mystery.
There are a few reasons. First, WrestleMania Mystery is one of the better recent Scooby-Doo direct-to-DVD movies, with the animation, production values, and voice acting being mostly good. John Cena, or at least the cartoon version of him, comes across as a nice guy, the kind of fella who would make a good mystery-solving pal. The Miz (regular name: Mike Mizanin) is funny in a small role, and I think that he’d also make a good sleuthing buddy. WWE star, Sin Cara, is fantastic in a non-speaking role.
At 84 minutes in length, WrestleMania Mystery is more like a full-length movie than most of the Scooby-Doo movies of the last several years. For the most part, the story does not seem padded. Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery works. It is genuinely good and funny, and it has a nice, action-filled last act. I like it enough that it almost makes me want to watch some real-life WWE action … almost.
7 of 10
A-
Saturday, May 17, 2014
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