Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword (2009) */*****
Well, here we are... the 40th anniversary and the farewell performance of Casey Kasem as Shaggy Rogers. A return that lasted 6 years and 9 movies culminates in this, the 13th movie in the DTV series. Is it a worthy send-off? We'll find out.
The Mystery Inc. crew travels the globe on a transcontinental treasure hunt to solve a series of ancient riddles. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are indoctrinated by an unlikely Sword Master.
While it does give Shaggy a central role in saving the world, this movie really messed up by having Scooby deliver the final blow. It would've been much more bittersweet and appropriate if they would've had Shaggy get the final blow. It also suffers from an extremely disappointing collection of chase songs that are instantly forgettable. They could've done so much with J-Pop, but instead we got bland mishmash of acoustical mush.
They also could have done so much awesome stuff with the Japanese settings and legends, but instead we get a lame barely passable kiddie fantasy that somehow fumbles the use of the centric Samurai legend. Perhaps I am expecting too much from the franchise at this point, but this entry was extremely superficial in its use of the Japanese culture. Just a let down all around.
One positive thing though is the use of a handful of Asian actors in most of the supporting cast, however they then manage to even fumble that by having a non-Asian voice The Black Samurai (Ironically played by a black man). They had so many options for a legitimately terrifying and imposing Asian voice, and instead they decide Trigon from Teen Titans (2003) is the best choice. Seriously? WTF? Kevin Michael Richardson is a fantastic voice actor, and I enjoy his work, but in this context he was absolutely miscast. He gave a good performance, and is technically fine in the role, but is a major misstep for movie that is trying to steep itself and the viewer in the culture.
I am also a little salty over Brian Cox as a dragon, I feel there was a missed opportunity to use another iconic Asian voice as the Dragon. Although I am fascinated by the fact that they managed to make the Dragon look a bit like Brian Cox. That's kinda neat. Still think they could've raided the Asian talent pool a little more.
As if this nonsense wasn't bad enough, apparently Azula decided to cross studios and franchises to try and steal the sword of DOOM!!!! So she could control the Black Samurai. Seriously What the HELL?
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| Ms. Mirimoto |
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| Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender |
I absolutely hated this movie, and I will not recommend this to fans of any element pertaining to this infuriating movie. whether it be the culture, actors, or franchise.
Originally, I wasn't going to mention Mad Dog Masimoto... but they literally have an adult male on a leash. Who acts like a dog. It's supposed to be funny... it is not. Not in the context that this character is presented in. I guess he could be a parody of Jet Li's character in Unleashed, but that's unlikely and still tasteless.
If the story was stronger, I could forgive a lot of the other flaws, but this script feels as if it was hashed out in a boardroom in a few hours at the insistence of that creative abyss that is WB execs. It reeks of the creative bankruptcy that is WB top brass. This script hits all the basic points that would come from the braindead leadership.
Most of all though, I am royally upset that they squandered a fantastic premise with such an insipid story. Not even the classic series fumbled this badly. I mean even Scooby-Dum was less infuriating than this mess.
This is is a strong contender for the worst Scooby-Doo movie of all time. As of right now, it is the worst in my opinion. I didn't think anything would surpass Cyberchase or Legend of the Vampire. But here we are.
| Song | Credits | Performed by | Character performance by |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Do You Do the Samurai?" | Music by Thomas Chase Jones Lyrics by Joe Sichta and Thomas Chase Jones Produced by Thomas Chase Jones | Molly Pasutti | N/A |
| "Domo Arigato Sayonara" | |||
| "Surf the Molt" | Music and orchestrations by Thomas Chase Jones | N/A | |
| "Cave Voices" |
Interestingly enough, the Scoobypedia page for this movie also makes note of the similarities between Ms. Mirimoto and Azula. Glad to see I am not just imagining that.
Mystery Inc. Cast (No Change)
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