Movie Review: Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
Synopsis: While solving a mystery in Gotham City, the Mystery Incorporated gang discovers they are being tested by Batman to see if they are good enough to be part of his Mystery Analysts team, alongside Martian Manhunter, Detective Chimp, Question, Black Canary and Plastic Man. During their first case, they encounter the Crimson Cloak, a mysterious villain that seems to be connected to one of Batman’s first cases, which was the only time he allowed an innocent person to die. Soon after, Mystery Inc. is framed for breaking into Gotham Chemical Storage and, with Batman’s assistance, they become fugitives while trying to help him solve the case.
Who’s in it? The animated movie uses voices from Frank Welker, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard, Diedrich Bader and Tom Kenny.
Review: I wanted to change things up a bit this morning and
since my daughters never seem to have time to watch cartoons with me, I decided
to watch Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold this morning. I
normally like animated Scooby-Doo movies, even though I probably should have
outgrown them decades ago. This one, however, wasn’t one of my favorites.
The crossover concept isn’t anything new, of course. In
fact, I remember seeing Batman on multiple episodes of Scooby-Doo mysteries
when I was a kid. This one, however, felt a bit different and not necessarily
in a good way.
I think the best way I can describe this movie would be it
is a bit busy. The 75-minute film spends a lot of time trying to squeeze in
various Batman characters, especially the villains. Some, like the Riddler (John Michael Higgins) have a bit more prominence while others, like the Joker (Jeff Bennett) are only on screen for a cameo but it did feel like the first half of
the movie was dedicated toward that.
Once the movie did get going, it didn’t improve much, at
least in my opinion. It became about the gang trying to escape the police, the
Mystery Analysts team and various villains they happened to anger along the
way. This in turn left very little time for the actual mystery involving the
Crimson Cloak. In fact, the investigation into the Crimson Cloak’s identity
felt a little half-assed considering there was very little effort to gather
clues and Velma (Kate Micucci) needed an assist from the Bat Computer.
In other words, it seemed less like a Scooby-Doo movie and
more like a Batman movie that happened to have Scooby-Doo and friends lending a
hand. While it wasn’t anything I would necessarily say I hated, it just wasn’t
quite what I was signing up for when I decided to watch it.
Final Opinion: It was one of those movies that was trying
too hard by including too much. A bit less in terms of cameo appearances and a
bit more in terms of detective work and I might have enjoyed the film more.
My Grade: C
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Here are some reviews of other animated movies:
Movie Review: The Bad Guys (2022)
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