LEGO Scooby-Doo! Mystère à la plage

Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash (2017)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

When Fred and Velma are accused of being no fun, the gang heads down to Blowout Beach where they're going to let loose and have a blast. When they get down there they realize no one is there and apparently there are some pirate ghosts that have chased everyone away.

You know, I've loved Scooby-Doo since I was a kid but over the past couple of years I've quit buying the movies and instead I just rent them to see how they are. I'm not a huge fan of the Lego movies and this one here is probably the weakest that I've seen. I'd also argue that it's one of the weakest Scooby-Doo movies that I've seen and it's really too bad that they're changing the series up so much.

I say "changing the series up so much" because do you remember when these cartoons used to be dark and creepy? It seems they just keep getting away from that and instead going for bright colors and really bad humor. Even worse is that the story here is pretty darn weak and I think even a toddler will be able to find out who the guilty party is. The jokes are rather weak and in all honesty the film drags pretty badly even though it's only 77-minutes.

Being a huge 'Scooby Doo' fan for goodness knows how long, any new show, special or film would be watched with great anticipation. While 'Scooby Doo Where Are You' is still the jewel of the crown of the franchise, it was interesting to see 'Scooby Doo' rendered in Lego.

There have been two feature-length Lego 'Scooby Doo' films, the first one being 2016's 'Haunted Hollywood'. This second outing from 2017 is to me the superior film. 'Haunted Hollywood' is certainly worth watching if very flawed, but 'Blowout Beach Bash' had the better executed mystery, was better paced, had more content (whereas 'Haunted Hollywood' felt overstretched, thinly plotted at times and padded. Neither are among the best 'Scooby Doo' films, not like 'Zombie Island', 'Witch's Ghost', 'Big Top', 'Goblin King' and 'Mask of the Blue Falcon', the rest are decent to very good with only 'Monster of Mexico' of the feature films disappointing ('Arabian Nights' is terrible but was made for TV).

'Blowout Beach Bash' could have been executed a little better. Daphne is still somewhat bland and her Lego design is still not doing much for me. A few of the songs are not particularly great or memorable, despite some clever nods to past beach films. Was not hugely surprised by the reveal, though it wasn't blatantly obvious. Although the mystery and pacing are much better than in 'Haunted Hollywood', not everything felt necessary.

However, the mystery has the classic fun and spooky feel that makes me love 'Scooby Doo' in the first place, with a great sunny atmosphere on the beach and creepy villains. The pace is lively and crisp, the gang interact beautifully together, they have far more distinct personalities that are true to their original ones generally (whereas only Scooby and Shaggy came off well properly in 'Haunted Hollywood', only Daphne could have been done well) and the supporting characters are generally stronger (though nobody is as memorable as Drella Diabolique in 'Haunted Hollywood').

Animation-wise, animation is very nicely done. It's very colourful and atmospheric, with some of the visuals also being inventive. The music is both dynamic and groovy, with a lot of energy and a haunting undercurrent.

When it comes to the writing, 'Blowout Beach Bash' is smart and endearingly goofy, particularly with Shaggy and Scooby, and it also feels very quirky and nostalgic in both classic and current 'Scooby Doo' fashion. Thrills and scares are aplenty.

Voice acting is very good. Frank Welker shows no signs of being long in the tooth despite voicing Fred since the very beginning way back in 1969, so nearly 50 years and he is going strong. His Scooby voice took some getting used to, having been so accustomed to Don Messick since forever, but it's definitely grown on me. Matthew Lillard is a worthy successor to Casey Kasem, a very difficult feat that he pulls off with ease, he is hilarious and an immensely likable goofball.

Kate Micucci does well as Velma, sounding positively adorable, and Grey DeLisle makes a valiant effort doing as much as she can with Daphne.

In summary, fun and the better of the two Lego 'Scooby Doo' films. 7/10 Bethany Cox

As far as Scooby-Doo movies go, this one's pretty good. The gang heads to the beach to take a well-deserved vacation and get roped into a mystery involving the ghosts of evil pirates. Shaggy, Daphne and Scooby are upset that Velma and Fred can't pass up the chance for a good mystery and the pair try to prove they can let their hair down.

The mystery in this one is a little more complicated than you typically get from most Scooby-Doo media, which leads to a really good reveal scene at the end where the layers of who did what, where, and how get peeled back bit by bit.

My only question is: why did this have to be Lego branded? Lego stuff barely comes up. Every now and then characters will gesture at the idea that their world is made out of bricks, but almost nobody ever uses legos as legos. There's maybe two whole scenes in the entire thing where it actually matters.

This could have just been a normal Scooby-Doo movie and it wouldn't have lost very much.

I first watched this film when I was in the emergency room after a concussion at 8 years old. As an 8 year old girl obsessed with Scooby Doo, I fell in love with the film. I got it digitally a month or two later, and watched it constantly. I hadn't seen it in many years. Ever since I decided not to use streaming services as often, I bought it on DVD but hadn't watched it. Yesterday, I decided to see it. It wasn't outstanding, but it was still nice to watch. I liked the concept and the silly little gags and the voice acting. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they got all of the original voice actors from the Scooby gang. Overall not a bad watch.

Sure, I grew up with watching Scooby-Doo on the TV as a youngster, and I still do find the time to sit down once in a while with my 7 year old son to watch Scooby-Doo on new adventures, as he enjoy the tales of the Mystery Gang as much as I did when I was a kid.

However, I am a little bit reluctant when they branched over into Lego. Sure, the animation and CGI is top notch, but it is just not the same. The essence is there, for certain, but it is just not Scooby-Doo in the way it was meant to be.

I sat down to watch "Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash" with my son, and I must admit that the storyline in this particular adventure was actually one of the better story lines in quite some time. So it was rather easy to distract myself from the aversion to it being Lego.

The CGI and animation was amazing, as to be expected of course. And it they had a great amount of details in all the scenes, which was genuinely pleasant to see.

And it is of course always a treat to have recurring voice actors return to reprise established characters, and here we are having Grey DeLisle, Matthew Lillard, Kate Micucci and Frank Welker of course.

I was genuinely surprised with the outcome of this particular Lego rendering of a Scooby-Doo tale, and it was a very entertaining storyline to say the least.

If you have the chance to watch "Lego Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash" then you should definitely do so, whether you are a newcomer or a long time fan of the Scooby-Doo universe.