Scooby-Doo! Du sang froid !

I sat down here in 2020 to watch "Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!" from 2007 with my 10 year old son, as he enjoys the "Scooby-Doo" animated movie quite a bit. And since we hadn't already seen this 2007 animated movie, we found the time to catch up with it.

And I must say that "Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!" was definitely an enjoyable animated movie. Sure, it was basically and essentially the same as every single other "Scooby-Doo!" adventure. But isn't that part of the charm?

The animation in "Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!" was good, and the drawing style too. It is great that they keep holding on to the traditional and classic drawing style that we grew up with. It keeps a sense of familiarity to the franchise.

As an animated movie, having a proper voice cast ensemble can make or break an animated movie. And luckily they had put together a good crew for voicing the various characters in "Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!". With the likes of Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Mindy Cohn and Grey Griffin to do the core characters. But "Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!" also have such great and noteworthy voices of Rene Auberjonois, James Hong and Alfred Molina on the cast list.

It was actually interesting the way they opted to keep the mystery of the yeti - aka. abominable snowman - at the end of this animated movie. That was definitely something I enjoyed.

If you enjoy the "Scooby-Doo!" animated movies and adventures, then the 2007 "Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!" is definitely a must watch, because it is an archetypical "Scooby-Doo!" movie, for better or worse. I am rating it a six out of ten stars.

OK, the start is pretty hysterical, from how everyone ends up where they do to the NOA knock off weather station bucking for a Howlin' Wolfman Rock and Roll DJ with about 12 listeners total. And all with a throwback character from Loch Ness and that always feels like a nod to Scooby fans.

Respect.

But, unfortunately, it has one of those strong starts and one of those endings that are so weak you can't even remember who the villain was after fifteen minutes.

What was that? Right, totally unmemorable.

But it is a cartoon, and the first half is funny enough to love, so who cares if it finishes weak?

Chill Out, Scooby Doo! (2007)

** (out of 4)

Fred, Velma and Daphne are on vacation in Paris where they're supposed to meet Shaggy and Scooby. The only problem is that the two misfits end up in the Himalayas Mountains at the same time a mysterious snow creature has been spotted and it doesn't take long for everyone to meet. CHILL OUT, SCOOBY DOO! is one of the most boring features I've seen from the beloved dog and his gang, which is pretty shocking because the location and monster should have led to a much more entertaining film. Just to say how bad this one is, my son who absolutely loves everything Scooby pretty much tuned this one out after about twenty-minutes and it was a real chore trying to get him to finish it. There are all sorts of problems here but the biggest is that the filmmakers turn Scooby and Shaggy into a couple of idiots. Yes, the series and feature movies have always gotten laughs out of them but the attempt at humor was just so forced and so over-the-top that I couldn't help but get annoyed at it. The supporting laughs with the rest of the gang also fall flat and in the end there's really nothing funny to be seen here. The snow monster was a plus as it looked terrific and the Himalayas were a terrific location but it's just too bad more wasn't done with it. The original series had an episode called "That's Snow Ghost," which is the thing you should check out over this feature.

I liked this movie. It was an interesting adventure film that didn't make me bored. This isn't the best Scooby movie or the worst but it's right in the middle with the mummy one for me. The story was entertaining and the gang was fun to see. The plot never wavered as it went on. But the new characters were just alright. They didn't mesh well with the other characters or story. So overall it's a fun movie that won't disappoint.

I don't think the film was perfect, but I myself found it very worthwhile to watch. The plot is very simple and fun, and I thought the animation was very, very good, very colourful and fluid. Nice to see Paris, which is just an amazing city, I strongly recommend you go if you haven't already. The soundtrack was very nice too, and as usual the voice talents were excellent. Casey Kasem never fails to bring a smile to my face as Shaggy, I know I use this phrase a lot, but I find him very entertaining. Other voice actors that do that for me too are people like Jodi Benson, Tim Curry, Tony Jay and Frank Welker. Speaking of Welker, I much prefer Don Messick as Scooby, but Welker wasn't at all bad, though I do think he was better as Fred. Mindy Cohn and Grey DeLisle are fine too, and Daphne looks really pretty here, well she's always been pretty. In supporting roles, Rene Auberjoinis and Alfred Molina are very entertaining. Chill Out Scooby Doo does have its flaws though. Like What's New Scooby Doo? with the absence of the sound effects, it just lacked that Hanna Barbera touch. As much as I liked the plot, I do think the perpetrator got obvious a bit too early, but that's just an inkling that I have. My main problem was that I thought I noticed a contradiction. Daphne says in one scene "a yeti, what's a yeti?" and I found it odd at the time. Then it occurred to me, then again I could be wrong, that there was a Scooby Doo Where Are You episode when the gang chase a snow ghost, referred to by a supporting character as a yeti. Overall, a very entertaining Scooby Doo film, not the best, but a definite improvement on the appalling Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue. 7/10 Bethany Cox.