Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon Blu-ray Movie Review

"Come, Dynomutt! To the Falcon Car!"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 25, 2013

At some point Warner Bros. Animation started making Scooby-Doo for my son and his dear, aging dad, and neither one of us could be much happier. This time around it's Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon, a fiendishly clever (if slightly stilted) riff on Comic-Con culture, costumed fandom, the characters of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and Hollywood's knack for reviving (and fundamentally changing) beloved childhood franchises. It's fun. It's funny. It's a blast for kids of all ages, even middle-aged man-children who light up at the mere sight of Space Ghost or Birdman. There are naturally small concessions to be made -- the jokes come at a leisurely pace, kids (rightfully) remain the target audience throughout, and an intimate knowledge of The Halls and Heroes of Hanna-Barbera is something of a prerequisite to getting the most out of the movie -- and parents will enjoy themselves more than non-parents (who are much more likely to grumble over the bits meant for young children). But Mask of the Blue Falcon provides jolt after jolt of wholesome nostalgia, with a solid Scooby mystery to boot.

After bringing the Minotaur of Mainsley Manor to justice, the Mystery Inc. gang -- Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), Velma (Mindy Cohn), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby (Welker) -- heads to the annual Mega Mondo Pop Cartoon-a-Con. Not to crack their next case but to catch the highly anticipated world premiere of Hollywood's next summer blockbuster, a 'splosion-streaked Big Screen remake of the classic cartoon "The Adventures of Blue Falcon" starring 21st century incarnations of Shaggy and Scoob's favorite superheroes: caped avenger Blue Falcon and his trusty but bumbling robo-pup, Dynomutt. But when a vindictive supervillain from the '70s television series named Mr. Hyde (John DiMaggio) descends on the Cartoon-a-Con convention center and begins wreaking havoc, it's up to Scooby and his friends to stop the resurrected evildoer and keep the Con attendees safe. They'll have to face Hyde's wrath, though, and all that comes with it: bats, monster hounds, zombie goo and a city-stomping giant.

So who is this sinister villain? This Mr. Hyde? Is it a visibly enraged Owen Garrison (Jeff Bennett), the under-appreciated, oft-forgotten actor who played the original Blue Falcon? Brad Adams (Diedrich Bader), the hotshot young star of the shiny new Blue Falcon movie? Jennifer Severin (Nika Futterman), a publicity manager excited by the press and attention surrounding the Hyde attacks? Jack Rabble (Fred Tatasciore), an engineer with a knack for building machines? Hank Prince (Gregg Berger), a collectibles dealer raking in a fortune thanks to Hyde's appearances? Ron Starlin (Kevin Michael Richardson), the town's erratic, spotlight-hungry mayor? Or someone else entirely? A convention attendee? One of Garrison's old co-stars? A movie exec? A security guard?

Remember when Scooby-Doo would introduce a tidy lineup of two or three suspects? Those days are gone. Mask of the Blue Falcon will keep kids guessing and even fend off most adults until at least midway through the movie, when the clues take a turn for the obvious. As a mystery, the latest Warner Bros. Animation Scooby outing succeeds. As a self-referential throwback to the original Scooby-Doo series, it does better than most, digging up plenty of old gags while taking playful jabs at everything that's come before. As a comedy, it earns its stripes. (Your kids will bust out laughing on more than one occasion, and you may find yourself chuckling right along with them.) As a faux-supernatural thriller, younger viewers will be biting their nails as Mr. Hyde does his worst. As satire it excels too, teasing Comic-Con regulars, taking a few swipes at the Hollywood Reboot Machine, and indulging in dozens of cameos from just about every iconic and obscure Hanna-Barbera character in TV history.

Not to oversell things too much -- it's too late to dial back the praise now -- but all the competing elements, suspects, crimes and revelations fall neatly into place, which is more than I can say for most direct-to-video family movies. Perfect? No. It has its meddling issues, among them a handful of flat punchlines and a mean predictability curve. Sharp and snappy? Not quite, although it certainly hits the mark at times. No, Mask of the Blue Falcon is simply a solid, fully capable Scooby-Doo mystery designed to connect both with children and their parents. A commendable feat by any standard.

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Like previous Warner Bros. Animation direct-to-video Scooby-Doo! movies, Mask of the Blue Falcon soars high with a crisp, colorful 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation with only one small, arguably negligible flaw: banding. Fortunately, there isn't nearly as much to be found this time around, and even when it appears it's of the static variety, meaning most every instance is inherent to the movie's source animation. The rest of the image brushes perfection, with bright, vibrant primaries, striking and consistent contrast, inky black levels, and clean, nicely defined line art. Artifacting, noise, aliasing and other eyesores are held at bay too, and there really isn't anything of consequence to report. Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon looks fantastic, with very little to complain about.

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mask of the Blue Falcon is pure Mystery Inc. spectacle thanks to a strong, boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that gets most everything it does right. The movie's sound design is often loud and uncompromising, as opposed to convincing or involving, but low-end elements are backed by hearty kick and welcome weight, rear speaker activity is playful and engaging (even aggressive on occasion), directional effects are fun (if not wholly accurate), pans are smooth and dynamics never disappoint. There are several effects that seem misplaced in the soundfield -- a suitably throaty growl, to rattle off just one example, that emits from the front speakers even though Hyde's hound is approaching from the rear -- but none of it amounts to much of a distraction. All in all, Mask of the Blue Falcon sounds as good as it possibly could. I, for one, was pleased.

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Scooby-Doo Cartoons (SD, 44 minutes): Three silver age Scooby-Doo! shorts/episodes are included: "Comic Book Caper" (1982), "The Scooby Coupe" (1983) and "Reflections in a Ghoulish Eye" (1985), an episode of "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" featuring Vincent Price as Vincent Van Ghoul.
• Scooby-Doo Dubstep (SD, 2 minutes): An animation-remix music video.
• Trailers (HD, 3 minutes): Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse and Lego Batman: The Movie.

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon is a fun-filled, cameo-laced trip back in Hanna-Barbera time by way of smartly tapped nostalgia, Comic-Con cosplay and the Mystery Inc. supernatural detectives. Moms and dads will be as entertained as their kids (if not more so, depending on how integral the Hanna-Barbera classics of old were to their childhoods), and most people will walk away pleasantly surprised. Warner Bros. Animation delivers one of its best Scooby-Doo animated movies. Blue Falcon's Blu-ray release is a knockout too. Its supplemental package is lacking, sure. But its video presentation is terrific and its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is a blast. If you have any love for Scooby and the gang or the golden era of Hanna-Barbera, be sure to get your paws on a copy of Mask of the Blue Falcon.