Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery

Scooby-Doo!
WrestleMania Mystery
Scooby-Doo!; WrestleMania Mystery
	DVD cover featuring John Cena and Scooby-Doo on the foreground
Directed by	Brandon Vietti
Written by	Michael Ryan
Based on	Scooby-Doo; by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
Produced by	Brandon Vietti
Starring	Frank Welker; Grey DeLisle Griffin; Mindy Cohn; Matthew Lillard; Charles S. Dutton; Mary McCormack; John Cena; Brodus Clay; Michael Cole; Kane; AJ Lee; Santino Marella; The Miz; Triple H; Mr. McMahon
Edited by	Kyle Stafford
Music by	Ryan Shore
Production; companies	Warner Bros. Animation; WWE Studios
Distributed by	Warner Home Video
Release dates	March 24, 2014 (UK); March 25, 2014 (United States);
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery (also released as Scooby-Doo! The WWE Mystery^[3]) is a 2014 direct-to-DVD animated comedy mystery film, and the twenty-second film in the direct-to-video series of Scooby-Doo films. It is a co-production between Warner Bros. Animation and WWE Studios. The film features Scooby and the gang solving a mystery at WrestleMania.^[4] It was released on March 24, 2014 in the United Kingdom^[1] and on March 25, 2014 in the United States^[2] by Warner Home Video.

Plot

Shaggy Rogers and his dog Scooby-Doo beat the hardest level of the WWE's latest video game and win an all-expenses-paid stay at WWE City to watch WrestleMania. At the pair's insistence, their friends Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley agree to join them. Upon their arrival, the gang meet John Cena, who gives the gang VIP tickets for the next event; his trainer Cookie; and Cookie's nephew Ruben.

As the show gets underway, Mr. McMahon unveils the WWE Championship belt, the title for which was vacated due to Kane's previous match being overturned and is now available over the weekend. Later that night, Daphne and Velma overhear Ruben and Cookie arguing over the latter not becoming a WWE wrestler due to his leg injury. Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby are attacked by a "Ghost Bear". Triple H and Brodus Clay intervene, but the monster overpowers them before disappearing. The following morning, Mystery Inc. learn from WWE executive Ms. Richards that the Ghost Bear has been terrorizing WWE City for the past few weeks. After McMahon asks the gang to solve the mystery to protect the WWE belt, Cena and Sin Cara explain that the Ghost Bear originated over a century prior, when a wrestling bear called Vicious was defeated by Cara's ancestor, Sin Cara Grande, on the land that WWE City would later be built on. Furious over the loss, Vicious attacked the town until Grande banished it to a nearby cave, at the cost of his leg and career. Cara fears that Vicious' spirit was stirred by WrestleMania and is now seeking revenge.

The next day, Scooby is caught stealing the WWE belt, though Velma proves he was in a state of deep hypnosis during the act while Rueben deduces the video game contained flashing lights that implanted post-hypnotic suggestions into Scooby's brain. Despite this, McMahon offers Scooby and Shaggy a chance at freedom if they can defeat Kane at WrestleMania. With Cookie and AJ Lee's help, the pair undergo a crash course in wrestling. Meanwhile, the rest of Mystery Inc. investigate the cave that Vicious was said to have been banished to. Inside, they discover a hidden room containing hypnosis books, schematics for an EMP device, and a calendar confirming the culprit plans to target WrestleMania. Suddenly, the Ghost Bear attacks the group, forcing them into a storm drain, though Cena fights it off before realizing the drain leads directly underneath WWE City. After the gang inform Richards of their discovery, Cookie advocates for WrestleMania's cancellation, but Fred suggests using the event to lure and capture the Ghost Bear.

During Scooby, Shaggy, and Kane's fight, Velma deduces the WWE belt is a fake and contains the EMP device. Cena tries to take it out of the arena, but it activates, shutting down the underground generator. The Ghost Bear soon arrives and wreaks havoc, but the wrestlers use pyrotechnics to illuminate the arena while Scooby and Kane continue their fight. When the Ghost Bear attacks the ring, Scooby and Kane join forces with Ruben, Cena, and Cara to defeat it and unmask it as Cookie. Feeling his career ended too soon, he reveals that he sought to steal the WWE belt, tarnish the organization's reputation, and built an exosuit to help him achieve his plot.

As Cookie is arrested, Cena recovers the real WWE belt and McMahon offers Ruben a place on the WWE roster before awarding the belt to Scooby and Shaggy.

Voice cast

Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo, Fred Jones
Mindy Cohn as Velma Dinkley
Grey DeLisle Griffin as Daphne Blake
Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers
Charles S. Dutton as Cookie
Mary McCormack as Ms. Richards
John Cena as himself
AJ Lee as herself
Santino Marella as himself
The Miz as himself
Triple H as himself
Michael Cole as himself
Mr. McMahon as himself
Brodus Clay as himself
Kane as himself
Corey Burton as Bayard and Announcer
Bumper Robinson as Ruben
Fred Tatasciore as Ghost Bear

Additionally, Sin Cara, Jerry Lawler, Sgt. Slaughter, Jimmy Hart, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, Cameron, Naomi, and the Young Justice incarnations of Wonder Girl, Artemis, Zatanna, and Miss Martian all make non-speaking cameo appearances.^[5]^[6]

Production

On August 14, 2012, Warner Bros. and WWE Studios announced that they would co-produce a Scooby-Doo animated feature that will find Scooby and the gang solving a mystery at WrestleMania.^[4]

Soundtrack

The original music score was composed by Ryan Shore. The film also features the WWE entrance music themes of The Miz, Mr. McMahon, John Cena, Kane, and AJ Lee.

Critical reception

Matt Fowler of IGN gave the film a "Mediocre" score of 5.0 out of 10, citing that "Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery will most definitely delight your children, whether they're fans of one, or both, properties. It's well-meaning, snappily animated, and it's fun to hear the [wrestlers] do their own voices."^[7]

Television retitling

In its television premiere on Cartoon Network on Saturday, July 26, 2014, the film was retitled Scooby-Doo! The WWE Mystery^[8] and the event the gang are in WWE City to witness was renamed "SuperStar-Mania". This film is the first of the animated films to get a TV-PG rating for "violence" due to the plot of the film involving wrestling. All previous Scooby-Doo animated films received a TV-Y7-FV rating.

Sequel

On September 15, 2014, WWE and Warner Bros. announced a direct sequel to WrestleMania Mystery to be released in 2016 by the name of Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon.^[9] Hulk Hogan was billed to be prominently featured.^[10] However, on July 23, 2015, WWE terminated their contract with Hogan due to racist comments, leaving speculation as to his appearance in the film.

In the UK, the film was released on August 8, 2016.^[11]

Follow-up film

Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy was released on August 19, 2014.

References

^ ^a ^b "Scooby-Doo: WrestleMania Mystery on Amazon.co.uk". Amazon UK. March 24, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Scooby-Doo: WrestleMania Mystery on Amazon.com". Amazon. March 25, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
^ "HBO Max". HBO Max. Archived from the original on October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Scooby-Doo's Mystery Machine pulls in to WrestleMania!". WWE. August 14, 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
^ Zechs. "'Scooby Doo: Wrestlemania Mystery' Stuns Viewers With a 'Young Justice' Easter Egg". Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
^ "'Young Justice's' Brandon Vietti Pairs Scooby-Doo & WWE, Hints at DC Return". March 25, 2014. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
^ Fowler, Matt (March 31, 2014). "Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery Review". IGN. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
^ Gray, Richard (July 21, 2014). "WWE On Cartoon Network, John Cena Sneakers, Orton Stopped By Police". Wwe Wrestling News World. Wrestling News World. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
^ "WWE News: WWE Announces Next Animated Venture". September 15, 2014. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
^ Graser, Marc (November 13, 2014). "WWE Studios Producing 'Scooby-Doo' Sequel with Warner Bros". Variety. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
^ "Scooby-Doo! & WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon". August 8, 2016. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2017 – via Amazon.