Review: ‘Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins'

Cartoon Network looks to reprise the 40-year-old Scooby-Doo animated franchise with a new live-action, CGI-enhanced movie that takes audiences back to the origins of the famed teen quartet and their lovable Great Dane.

In Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, viewers get to see how the mystery-solving gang of Fred, Velma, Daphne and Shaggy first meet at Coolsville High (check out a clip here). The four mismatched teens are brought together unexpectedly in detention hall after a school bus incident and immediately find themselves in the middle of a suspicious ghost-haunting situation at their school. After being accused by school officials of intentionally causing all the spooky happenings at the school, the four reluctant students - along with Shaggy's recently adopted dog, Scooby-Doo - set out to clear their names while solving their first mystery.

The CGI visuals are more than adequate to entertain Cartoon's young male target audience, and the cast holds their own in reprising the roles of four of the most recognizable characters in television history.

Longtime Scooby-Doo fans will not be disappointed in Cartoon Network's take on the revered franchise.

Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins premieres Sunday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. on Cartoon Network

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.