Movie Review: "Scooby-Doo!: Wrestlemania Mystery"

Synopsis: After Scooby-Doo earns a perfect score in his and Shaggy's WWE video game, the Mystery, Inc., gang is headed to WWE City, where it's all World Wrestling Entertainment, all the time! Unfortunately, their fun is cut short by the Ghost Bear, a large creature that is bent on destroying the city and the WWE franchise.  It's up to Scooby and the gang to figure out who's behind it and why.  The stars of WWE are more than willing to lend a hand...but, even with their combined strength, this mystery may be too much for them to handle.
Features the voice of Matthew Lillard, who portrayed Shaggy in the theatrical live-action Scooby-Doo films.

The Good: As a longtime fan of that insane Great Dane, how could I not enjoy this? At its core, it was a great whodunit with plenty of action and a convoluted plot.  The voice actors all did pretty well, though Matthew Lillard is no Casey Kasem.  I found the animation enthralling; it blended traditional hand-drawn animation with computer-generated graphics, and did so quite well.  The usual clean content--no sex, no profanity, etc.--was a plus.

The Bad: Unfortunately, the focus on wrestling made this discerning viewer uncomfortable.  Between the intense violence during the matches, the objectification of the women, and the basis around a "sport" that is well-known to be fake, it didn't fit too well with the things for which Scooby-Doo is known.  Also, some scary moments, including a flashback montage with implied violence, may be too much for some kids.

Conclusion: When I was in sixth grade, my two favorite things in the entire universe were Scooby-Doo and Pokémon.  Even though they're from completely different planets, I combined them, such as drawing Fred, Velma, and Daphne being Pokémon trainers, or doodling the "pocket monsters" beating up on the Mystery, Inc., gang.  Looking back, I agree with the people who said that was an odd pairing...but, so is this movie.  If you're a fan of both franchises, you'll have a blast with this; however, for those who are only keen on one or the other, this is a mixture that won't gel too well.

Score: 3/5