Scooby Doo

This topic contains:

• details about Scooby Doo’s classification and consumer advice lines
• extract from the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) decision about classification
• a review of Scooby Doo completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 10 July 2002.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

Extract from the OFLC decision about classification

Reasons for the decision

The film is adapted from the TV cartoon series and follows the adventures of Scooby Doo and the gang as they solve another mystery. The characters explore a haunted house. ‘Spooky Castle’ and ghosts and monsters appear throughout the film. However, the film has a light tone and events occur within a comedic context. Although the characters are placed in obviously dangerous situations (such as a conveyer belt heading towards slashing blades, falling down dark wells etc), they are always rescued in the nick of time, without coming to any real harm and good inevitable triumphs over evil.

Decision

In the Board’s view the film is appropriately located within the G classification. The film does not contain any material that will be harmful or disturbing to children and is suitable for all viewers.

YMA review

This review of the movie Scooby Doo contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• sexual references
• use of alcohol and other drugs
• the movie’s message
• overall comments

A synopsis of the story

Mystery Inc disbands due to petty squabbles and jealousies but is reunited two years later when each of the team receives an invitation from Mr. Mondavarious to solve the mystery on Spooky Island. The group arrives to find a haunted amusement park where vacationing, rowdy punks are being turned into zombies resembling well behaved college students. There are plenty of monsters and evil villains on this island who perform all manner of horrific and supernatural deeds such as voodoo rituals and breathing out green vapour which renders the victim unconscious. The five heroes, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby Doo decide it is better to work as a team to uncover the plot. Together they meet all kinds of dangerous situations which they tackle head on. There is much fighting and cartoon type violence where a lot of people get hit but are apparently unhurt. Daphne performs a major martial arts sequence in which she defeats a burly guard twice her size.

The team discover that the evil villain is stealing peoples’ “protoplasm” or soul which is then placed in a large swirling pool. The villain manages to take Fred, Daphne and Velma but Shaggy lifts their protoplasms out of the pool and returns them to their bodies. It takes some time for the protoplasms to find the right body with the consequence that Daphne is speaking in Fred’s voice and Fred is speaking in Daphne’s etc. until they get sorted out. By pulling off his face they discover that the evil villain in the body of Mr. Mondavarious is in fact Scrappy Doo who wants to take his revenge on the team for abandoning him when he was a puppy. We then see Scrappy Doo transform into a huge dog monster intent on taking over the world. The Mystery Inc team solve the day however and everyone is returned to their normal selves and Scrappy Doo is taken away.

Fred and Daphne get each other, Shaggy gets a girlfriend called Mary Jane and Velma meets a new boyfriend.

Use of violence

• Violence is often performed by the heroes, particularly Fred and Daphne, and is successful.
• It has few real life consequences—it is unlikely Daphne could defeat a burly guard twice her size with all her martial arts expertise. Also no-one seems to get hurt or stays unconscious for long.
• The movie is set in a comic context which includes the violent episodes—there is an element of unreality about the violence as in a cartoon, but younger children would not discern this.

Material that may scare children

For children under seven there are many images and visuals that they may find scary:

• Ghosts
• Monsters
• Grotesque creatures
• Evil looking real dwarves
• Haunted amusement park
• Haunted castle where objects come to life
• Velma and Fred narrowly miss being chopped in half by huge swinging blades
• Monsters breathing out green vapour
• Monsters roaring loudly
• Ghost trying to set Scooby Doo on fire
• Monster totem pole that speaks
• Talking skeleton
• Loud drums
• Man performing voodoo ritual on a dead chicken with a large knife
• Mary Jane’s face turns really evil and then she stretches it back to normal
• Mary Jane speaks in a man’s voice
• When protoplasms are re-entering bodies, the bodies writhe and expel the monster from within, which then disintegrates
• Scrappy Doo transforms into huge evil dog monster
• Daphne talking in Fred’s voice

For school aged children, much of the violence is unrealistic, which at this age they would be able to discern. However the Mystery Inc team are threatened by violent men which could be perceived as real. Scooby Doo is also threatened by monsters and with having to be a “pure sacrifice” for Scrappy Doo to achieve his ends. Some in the younger end of this age bracket could be scared by this.

Sexual references

There are a few sexual references and innuendo in this film. The girls, particularly Daphne, wear skimpy clothes and reveal much cleavage. When Fred is inside Daphne’s body he says he can see himself (Daphne) naked.

Use of alcohol and other drugs

There is innuendo of drug use by Shaggy. He is shown in his van with smoke drifting out of the top only to see that it is meat cooking. Also his girlfriend’s name is Mary Jane which is often a colloquialism for marijuana. When Mary Jane at one time breathes ‘green stuff’ on him he says “like wow”.

There is drinking of alcohol on the plane and on the island. Velma is given a drink “on the house” which is spiked and she appears drunk.

The movie’s message

The main take-home message of this movie is that it is okay to use violence if it beats the bad guy.

Values shown in the movie parents may wish to encourage are friendship, teamwork and equal gender roles.

Values shown in the movie that parents may wish to discourage are that violence is a way to solve conflict, attractive people are usually not bright, intelligent people wear thick rimmed glasses and well behaved college students are zombies.

Overall comments

There is not much in this film that adults would enjoy. The characters are shallow and vain, the plot is well worn and the humour is slap stick. It is made as a children’s’ film but young children in particular would find this film too scary. The toilet humour would appeal to the middle age seven to twelve year group particularly the scene where Shaggy and Scooby Doo have a belching and flatulence competition. Although the girls are portrayed as being able to look after themselves Daphne still appears weak and insipid. Much of the scary stuff is explained away such as in the beginning Daphne is taken by a flying ghost who turns out to be a man with balloons on him. This is good for children with reasoning skills but younger children would already be scared by this and might not take in the explanation.

American reviews

A Parents Guide to Children’s Films

Scooby Doo

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Scooby Doo