ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

Tired, mangy, and completely uninspired, this mutt of a sequel makes you wonder why anyone bothered doing the Doo again. No worse - but certainly no better - than the flea-bitten original, Monsters Unleashed reunites the original human cast (Matthew Lillard, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, and Freddie Prinze Jr) with the digitally rendered Great Dane, as the intrepid teen heroes of Mystery Inc. investigate a series of supernatural attacks that are turning the city of Coolsville into Ghoulsville.

Relocating the action from Spooky Island to the haunted houses and abandoned mine shafts familiar from the original 'toon, the sequel kicks off at a museum exhibit dedicated to the gang's exploits. As the whole city watches, Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scoob are caught with their proverbial pants down as all their old foes - including The Zombie, Captain Cutler, Miner 49er, and the 10,000 Volt Ghost - start returning to life. Only this time they're not masked villains masquerading as monsters, but the real thing. Zoinks!

"IN IT FOR THE SCOOBY SNACKS"

As usual, the highlight of the film is watching Lillard's laryngitis-inducing Shaggy impersonation while he clowns around with the digital dog. It leads to a hilariously realized scene where the cowardly double act disguise themselves in '70s pimp gear to infiltrate a bar for villains, prompting an Afro-wearing Scooby to take to the dance floor while Big Brovaz sing We Wanna Thank You.

Elsewhere, though, the movie's less certain about how to hit the high notes, with a red herring-strewn plot that'll be tough for tots to follow. Then there's the startlingly irreverent decision to make Velma (the underrated Linda Cardellini) swap her trademark orange sweater for a PVC catsuit. Does anyone care enough about the original cartoon to cry "sacrilege!" as eternal nerd Velma is transformed from geeky to girly? Probably not. But then, it's pretty obvious that everyone involved in this dollar-hungry follow-up couldn't give much of a damn about anything anyway: they're clearly just in it for the Scooby Snacks.