Big Top Scooby-Doo!

Big Top Scooby-Doo! (2012)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

There's no question that the Scooby-Doo features have been up and down throughout the two decades that they've been made. This one here has the gang arriving at the carnival to find out that it has been taken over by werewolves who are stalking it for an unknown reason. The gang agrees to go undercover and join the circus so that they can find out what's really going on. BIG TOP SCOOBY-DOO is without a doubt one of the best features to be made in the series and it might very well be the best. There's so much that works here that even someone who hates Scooby Doo could probably love this film. Fans of the original series when it was meant as a dark, creepy and atmospheric ride will certainly enjoy this film because it really goes back to its roots. The monsters are all extremely well-made but even better is that the film allows them to be dangerous and I'm sure scary to many of the younger viewers watching. The werewolves are all excellent looking and come across quite menacing at times. The atmosphere is about as thick as any animated feature in history with a certain bleak darkness running throughout the film. The entire visual look of the film is wonderful as the darkness just really soaks up everything going on and makes it all the more memorable. The animation is another major plus as this is probably the best looking feature I've seen from the series. All of the main characters are quite memorable and they're really brought to life by their vocal actors. Scooby is pitch-perfect here as is Shaggy as the two share many great scenes together. Even the new characters are quite memorable. Best of all is that the actual mystery really works well and keeps you guessing right until the end. BIG TOP SCOOBY-DOO has all the horror and comedy that the best episodes in the television series had.