The same person who gave us the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy in the Marvel Franchise, some of the stronger titles of that series, is also responsible for Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004).  That person is James Gunn, and he has been handed the leadership of the DC cinematic universe in their vain attempt to replicate Marvel’s success.  I do not know if you enjoyed the 2021 version of The Suicide Squad, or the latest iteration of Superman (2025), but this should all be concerning when considering Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, or any of his future projects.  To give you a taste of today’s film, it has a substance in it called “randomonium.”  I hope you can tell the root word contained therein.  Sometimes, the Faith life can seem like little more than searching for meaning in life’s randomness.  This makes it tricky, but it is worth it.  I would prefer less of this frustration in my films, especially when they are based on a beloved childhood cartoon.  Such are futile complaints, but this is my blog.

The museum opening at the start of Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is a testament to Mystery Inc.’s lack of futility.  In the city of Coolsville (sigh), problem solvers Daphne Blake (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma Dinkley (Linda Cardellini), Fred Jones (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Shaggy Rogers (Matthew Lillard), and their dog, Scooby (voiced by Neil Fanning) are being honored with an exhibit cataloging their exploits in unmasking villains who have terrorized the populace with fiendish prosthetics.  On the way in, the never camera-shy Fred is enticed by hard hitting (*cough*) reporter Heather Jasper Howe (Alicia Silverstone).  He is doing his best to impress her, while Velma is trying to do the same for the curator, Patrick Wisely (Seth Green).  Everything is about to get less impressive when the Pterodactyl monster comes to life and flies around the room scaring everyone.  Our heroes swing into action, engulfing it in a curtain and looping it with a rope.  Unfortunately, Scooby and Shaggy forget to tie it, and the creature gets away.  It has some assistance from the Evil Masked Figure (Scott McNeil), who vows to expose Mystery Inc. as frauds.  It also does not help when Heather’s report airs and they are made to look like buffoons.  They each take their defeat hard, but Scooby and Shaggy overhear the others focusing on the part the dog and the stoner played.  Tied of being treated like idiots, they vow to be more focused in their crime stopping duties, even dressing like the others.  The consensus is that whoever is behind the latest plot must be somebody they have already encountered.  To rule out one suspect, they travel to the home of the Black Knight ghost, who they know is Jeremiah Wickles (Peter Boyle).  Dodging the various traps in Old Man Wickles creepy mansion, Velma uncovers a book that contains spells to turn those costumes from the museum into real monsters using randomonium.  Before too long, they are attacked by the Black Knight ghost and barely escape.  In the scramble, Scooby notices a note attached to his paw with the name of a local watering hole called the Faux Ghost.  Still wanting to show they are capable of being more than just goofballs, Scooby and Shaggy sneak out and head to the bar.  Because they are certain to be recognized by all the criminals they helped get arrested, they decide to go in disguise.  There, they meet Old Man Wickles, who says he gave up on being the Black Knight ghost.  Before he goes further, he recognizes Shaggy and it leads to Scooby and Shaggy needing to make a quick exit.  At the same time, Velma and the others are visited by Patrick, who has invited them to the museum to look for more clues.  Because of her crush, Velma acts bizarrely, but they are in for a surprise when they get to the place and find all the costumes stolen.  Patrick goes inside, seemingly wanting to take care of matters himself, and the Evil Masked Figure appears soon thereafter.  Scooby and Shaggy find Patrick behind the museum threatening a stranger, which will leads Velma to conclude that he is the Evil Masked Figure.  Once they are back together, it is time to find out the source of the randomonium, which takes them to the silver mines.  Once there, they officially rule out Old Man Wickles, who is trying to turn the area into an amusement park.  Once more, Scooby and Shaggy go off on their own and bumble into where the monsters are being made, inadvertently starting the machine that makes them.  They have to make a harrowing get away, but now Heather is blaming them for unleashing the monsters on the city.  Needing a place to lay low, Mystery Inc. heads to their old hang out from when they were in high school.  There, Velma is able to figure out how to use a device taken off the monster making machine that will eliminate the threat.  It is time to head back to the mine, but they are slowed by individual ghouls with which they have to contend.  For Thelma, her biggest challenge is trusting Patrick, who proves his innocence by saving her life.  Everyone eventually gets to their target where Scooby is the one to press the button and save the day.  The Evil Masked Figure is captured in the process and brought outside to the waiting cameras.  The villain is uncovered and it is Heather, but she is also wearing a mask.  Underneath that is Dr. Jonathan Jacobo (Tim Blake Nelson), the original Pterodactyl ghost, and he who have gotten away with it, too. . . .  The film concludes with a party at the Faux Ghost.

The only party I had while watching Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed is when the end credits rolled.  Nonetheless, this is the portion of my reviews when I try to say something nice about a film from a Catholic perspective.  This will not be an easy task, and the same thing could have been said about its predecessor.  Like the previous movie, the members of Mystery Inc. must learn more about themselves in order to better work with each other.  As a practicing Catholic, I do this through my relationship with God because such things are only possible through Him that created us.  Those who live in religious communities must adopt this kind of attitude.  There are a lot of words for a group of people working in concert.  The ones in the movie refer to themselves as Mystery Inc., as in they incorporate their individual skills in order to accomplish solving mysteries.  I kind of like that word, “incorporate.”  The Latin root is “corpus,” which means “body.”  Thus, to incorporate something, it is the act of making it into a body.  This is something these characters do, though with their unique characteristics, an idea that is emphasized throughout.  When we think about the Church, we also call it a body.  Spiritually speaking, we are all part of Christ’s body, which we also consume at Communion, and the Church is His bride.  Such ideas are a little lofty for today’s movie, but there is a Scriptural parallel.  1 Corinthians 12:12-26 talks about Christians being part of one whole that does different things on an individual level, but it is all for the glory of the One.

That is, as I have alluded to, a deeper discussion than Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed deserves.  I have nothing more to say about it.  If you want some Scooby-Doo nostalgia, watch the original cartoons.