‘Scooby Doo’ to be Reanimated as a Feature Length Cartoon
Nostalgia strikes again! 'Scooby Doo,' the Saturday morning cartoon show that generated two live action movies (and then two TV movies), will be coming back to theaters, but this time as an animated film. So no Freddie Prinze Jr. in this one (sorry, Freddie Prinze Jr.).
This news comes from Variety, who note that the plot of the film is under wraps, but that they have hired a writer. Though they don't specify what kind of animation, it seems likely that this will be done with computers (though we haven't ruled out stop-motion). That though would separate it from the old cartoons and from the previous movies that blended a CG Scooby with real actors.
The previous live action versions were written by 'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn, though it seems unlikely he will be brought on for this new version. And there is definitely an audience for the movie: Though 'The Smurfs 2' was not as popular domestically as the first film, it's currently well over $200 million worldwide, and it's not as if kids and parents aren't aware of 'Scooby Doo.' Warner Brothers probably considers this a no-lose proposition. If it doesn't work in theaters, they probably suspect that parents will buy it anyway (or rent it).