SSM! Sinematiks #2: Alita: Battle Angel
And now we're here!
Well, it doesn't get any more recent than this! For this movie was released May of this year.
Yes, this bad luck infested and disease-stricken year of 2020.
I would have loved to have seen this movie on the big screen but alas....
Scooby-Doo movies do have varying degrees of entertainment value and most of which were simply over-glorified TV episodes. And sadly enough most of which went straight to DVDs.
But totally not like THIS movie in particular.
Not only does this movie feature a three-way (I know that sounds kinda dirty but trust me, it's not!) franchise crossover between Scooby-Doo, Blue Falcon and Wacky Races.
The film would also drop blatant to at times subtle references to other Hanna-Barbera IPs.
Perfectly setting-up for a possible shared Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe.
Because shared universes are all the rage nowadays.
Characters like:
Atom Ant.
Jabberjaw.
Grape Ape.
Dr. Benton Quest, Rosie, Frankenstein Jr.
Hong Kong Phooey.
and Squiddly Diddly.
These references weren't simply limited to their original characters and other franchise titles:
Pistop Perfume as in Penelope Pitstop!
Anyone?
No one?
Seriously?
They are at times, references to their original voice actors.
Casey Kasem is of course, the original voice actor for Shaggy.
As can be seen here:
While Takamoto Bowl
is a loving tribute to Scooby-Doo's and pretty much Hanna-Barbera's very own character designer : Iwao Takamoto.
After which Scooby did a very Fred Flinstone like pose while aiming for the bowling pins.
These names would also be referenced in key locations in the movie like in the area called Messick Mountain.
Messick as in Don Messick was the original voice actor for Muttley.
Although newer materials were done by veteran voice actor Billy West. Mr Messick's original wheezing laughter was still used in this movie.
And this one is a bit of a doozy.
This shrine (although not at a creepy Helga Pataki level) alludes to several great Dick Dastardly and Muttley moments ranging from medals and their jet pilot days (further creating this confusing tangent with Dastardly's own brother and pet Dread Baron and Mumbly) to their eventual Wacky Races attire. The pigeon near the corner was from Stop That Pigeon. A segment from their original show.
And speaking of DICKS,
The only weird thing we've noticed is that of Dick Dastardly not wearing his signature striped and slightly oversized train conductor hat.
Without it, he looks exactly like Clayton from Tarzan.
Just a minor gripe, I guess?
Also, Pebbles Pet Shop
is probably THE only pet shop that is willing and crazy enough to sell you a full-sized gorilla.
Also, Simon Cowell's inclusion
was definitely not out of place considering Scooby-Doo's rich history of celebrity guest appearances.
Original Scooby-Doo background music from the TV shows also made it into the movie.
Most of which were remixed but were pretty darn faithful to the original scores:
Adult humor was also very subtly thrown in the mix ( Tinder, Search History, F-Bombs).
But this still is a pretty safe movie to watch with the kids.
All in all, this was undoubtedly a Scooby-Doo/Hanna-Barbera movie done correctly.
Hopefully, we do get to a sequel or better yet.... even more H-B characters getting their own movies.
This was definitely a step in the right direction!
No comments:
Post a Comment