Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

LEGO Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood Blu-ray Movie Review

Blockhead

Reviewed by Michael Reuben May 11, 2016

Warner and LEGO continue their franchise frappé with this feature-length, direct-to-video sequel to the 2015 TV special, LEGO Scooby-Doo!: Knight Time Terror. The special is included with the disc's extras (though only in standard definition).

After solving the mystery of a haunted lighthouse, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo decide they are tired of being used as ghost bait by Fred, Velma and Daphne. A timely contest win sends the entire gang on a trip to Hollywood, where the highlight is a tour of Brickton Studios, famed for its classic monster movies but now fallen on hard times. Only the studio head, Chet Brickton, and his jack-of-all-trades, Bryan Lakeshore, remain.

Business executive Atticus Fink wants to buy the studio so that he can tear it down and re-develop the property. Chet Brickton's only chance to avoid bankruptcy is a current film in production, a cookie-cutter rom-com. Unfortunately, the property appears to be haunted by the ghost of its former star, Boris Carnac, whose manifestations (including the Mummy, the Headless Horseman and a zombie) terrorize everyone on the lot and bring production to a halt. To save the day, the gang must not only solve the haunting but also finish the film. The ever-ambitious Fred leaps at the chance to direct, and Daphne lobbies for the lead but loses it to an unlikely competitor: Drella Diabolique, hostess of a late-night TV program that features old horror movies.

The script for Haunted Hollywood doesn't so much tell a story as set up repeated opportunities for inside jokes, one-liners, bad puns, frantic flight from monsters and, of course, massive consumption of food by Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. The film relies heavily on the novelty of seeing the familiar gang in LEGO format, but that device loses its impact over a 72-minute running time, especially since the translation into LEGO makes these familiar characters look more alike than in their usual incarnations. Haunted Hollywood too often feels like a half-hour plot padded to feature length. Even kids should be able to spot who's "haunting" Brickton Studios long before the final reveal.

LEGO Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The computer-generated animation is bright, sharp, shiny and basic, with only minor banding to mar the presentation. If Warner hadn't left 6 GB of empty space on the BD-25, achieving a low average bitrate of 14.93 Mbps, such artifacts might have been avoided.

LEGO Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray's track is nominally 5.1 (encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA), but the cartoon action remains firmly in front, with good left and right directionality but no meaningful surround presence. The dialogue is clear and distinct; so are the roars of the monsters.

LEGO Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Scooby-Doo! and LEGO Too! (1080p; 1.78:1; 8:49): Building the Mystery Machine.



• Scooby-Doo's Sleuthing Secrets (1080p; 1.78:1; 6:38): With writer Jim Krieg.



• LEGO Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror (480i; 1.78:1, enhanced; 22:40): The first LEGO Scooby-Doo cartoon.



• Vintage Cartoons
• Scooby-Doo! The Headless Horseman of Halloween (480i; 1.33:1; 24:17).
• What's New Scooby-Doo?: Fright House of Lighthouse (480i; 1.33:1; 21:13).



• Trailers:
• Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:19).
• LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Cosmic Clash (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:34).



• Figurine.

LEGO Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kids may enjoy these toy renditions of the original Scooby gang, but longtime fans of the Scooby-Doo franchise are likely to be disappointed with this formulaic transposition of the characters into LEGO-world.