Warner Bros/Hanna-Barbara, 2013
Voices of Frank Welker, Gray DeLisle, Matthew Lillard, and Mindy Cohn
Directed by Victor Cook
Music and Lyrics by various
Scooby Doo! Music of the Vampire remains the only full musical Scooby Doo project to date, but they did occasionally incorporate musical numbers or songs into plots or use them as background for action scenes. Later Scooby series also frequently referenced or spoofed the pop culture of the time, as with the American Idol references in this episode. How does that tie into a Phantom of the Opera-style tale about a spook haunting the former opera house where a talent show is taking place? Let's begin just as Talent Search is about to go on...or is it?
The Story: Fred (Welker) and Daphne (DeLisle) are finalists in Talent Search, singing and playing their own material. Velma joins for the finals and to check out local museums, while Shaggy (Lillard) and Scooby (Welker) tag along for the famous Chicago deep-dish pizza. As it turns out, there may not be a show. A "Phantom" who once terrorized the Opera House when it became a disco in the late 70's seems to have returned. He's especially interested in a bratty little girl named Chrissy (Ariel Winter) and her obnoxious show business parents who are also finalists.
As the kids investigate further, Velma begins to realize that the Phantom seems to have distinctly different motives and goals every time he appears. Talent Search host Brick Pimento (Wayne Brady) is thrilled with the publicity, but clean freak assistant director Dewey Ottoman (Peter MacNichol) laments the mess he leaves. Little Emma the violinist (Isabella Acres) wants the money for her family farm, while magician The Great Pauldini (John O'Hurley) wants to show off. While Daphne and Fred rehearse and Velma watches miles of tape to catch a killer, Shaggy and Scooby are happier eating miles and miles of tomato pie!
The Animation: Not bad for an animated direct-to-DVD film from a decade ago. The colors are clear and bright and the characters move fairly well, especially during chase scenes. There's even some special effects during Fred and Daphne's numbers. I will, however, point out that the rare use of CGI, notably during the car chases, sticks out like a sore thumb and is badly incorporated with the 2-D animation.
The Song and Dance: I give them credit for trying something different with the usual "man in a mask" criminal. Mystery Inc usually pursues one villain, maybe two at most. This may be the only time that multiple characters played the same bad guy, all with very different motives. Welker and DeLisle are adorable as they try to dance around the idea of maybe liking each other after 40 years, and Cohn is an especially feisty Velma here. Winter does the best of the remaining cast as the spoiled diva child with the material and costume that's way too old for her age and her childish behavior. And frankly, the idea of the musical numbers being stage performances works better with this franchise than going full musical with characters who really can't sing.
Favorite Number: Welker and DeLisle perform together twice. "I Love You," their sweet uptempo ballad near the end, is the one we hear in full. Their other big number is "It's Enough for Me," though the movie keeps cutting away from them before we can hear it in full. We do get to hear most of Chrissy's "Homewrecker," a dark ballad about a woman scorned that, as Velma pointed out, is miles beyond Chrissy's years and vocal abilities. There's also Emma's two violin solos, both of which are sprightly and moving enough to make you understand why the Talent Search audiences were impressed.
What I Don't Like: Getting beyond the gimmick with the multiple Phantoms, this pretty typical of the Scooby Doo cartoons in general. While Velma has more to do than usual, Shaggy and Scooby are limited to their attempts to show off their performing skills to Pimento and eating their way through Chicago's largest pizza. References to then-topical talent contests and reality shows date the film a bit as well.
The Song and Dance: Not the best Scooby Doo movie ever made, but it's also far from the worst. The funny numbers and creative villain pushes this slightly above Music of the Vampire. Recommended mainly for major fans of the franchise and families with elementary school-age Scooby lovers.
Home Media: As a relatively recent film, this is easily found in all formats.
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