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 June 19, 2002 
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Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo not as good as Spider-Man
Critics call it the movie that didn't need to be made

Arthur J Pais

"I laughed not a single time," complained influential critic Roger Ebert while giving Scooby-Doo a D+ grade.

But even Ebert could not but admit that he "smiled more than once at the animated Scooby-Doo himself."

The animated creature, he warned, was "an island of amusement in a wasteland of fecklessness." The movie that sets the animated Dane amidst live action did nothing for him, he argued.

But Warner Bros, who spent $70 million on the movie version of the popular television series, was more than laughing all the way to the bank with a mindblowing $54 million gross for the movie in just about three days. The number is impressive when you realise that this is primarily a movie for kids and each theatre sells lower priced tickets for children during certain shows of the day.

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The studio which also has two medium range hits currently running across America --- Divine Secrets Of The Ya Ya Sisters ($35 million in 10 days), and Insomnia ($58 million in 24 days) --- has given the green light for another Scooby-Doo film.

Scooby-Doo, which could recover its investment in just about two weeks, may earn more than $150 million in North America alone.

The movie is going to be far more profitable than another summit hit for children, Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, which is expected to gross about $90 million, making it a moderate hit.

Scooby-Doo is also expected to do well in Britain and Australia. This Sunday, The Times (London), ran a lengthy story about how not only yesteryear's generation but today's children continue to adore Scooby Doo. The movie opens across the United Kingdom shortly.

Scooby-Doo But in America most reviewers gave the movie thumbs down, using words such as loud, garish-looking and witless. USA Today declared: "Here's a classic example of a movie that didn't need to be made."

But the young audiences are thoroughly enjoying themselves with the antics of Scooby Doo and the Mystery Inc gang. The movie also offers some lessons about the importance of unity.

As the movie starts gang members, Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy have fallen out and go their separate ways. But they are drawn back together to investigate why kids in an amusement park are turned into members of a cult.

"It is not as good as Spider-Man," ten-year-old Rahul said after he saw the movie in a Times Square movie theater.

Would he recommend to his friends?

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