Daphne & Velma was an unexpected treat even if it’s not exactly a necessity to really exist but I did have a fun time watching and at least actresses Jeffery and Gilman encompassed the characters nicely and it did feel like a Scooby-Doo film.
Daphne & Velma
(2018)
Genre(s): Comedy, Mystery
Warner Bros. | G – 75 min. – $19.99 | May 22, 2018
Date Published: 05/27/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 3.0/5 |
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No doubt it would seem the Scooby-Doo brand is a cash cow for Warner Brothers with several television series, countless number of animated movies, a couple theatrical live action flicks and a couple live action prequels. Daphne & Velma is the latest and although I can’t say it’s technically good per se, I can’t lie, it was actually wasn’t half bad either. The story tells how the first of the four “Scooby Gang” came together. Daphne Blake (SARAH JEFFERY) has lived and traveled with her globe-trotting parents but has been online friends with Velma Dinkley (SARAH GILMAN). But now the Blake’s are settling down in Ridge Valley for Daphne’s mom’s new job. Ridge Valley High is technologically advanced with all the gadgets, some in prototype form, they could ever want courtesy of billionaire Tobias Bloom. But something is afoot when students begin… changing. After a rough start to their IRL friendship, Daphne and Velma eventually team up to uncover what is really going on. My initial reaction when seeing there even was a Daphne & Velma movie, I thought “why?”. I really had low expectations going in as I’ve never been a huge Scooby-Doo fan outside of just finding the original series entertaining growing up, watching it in syndication. To my surprise, this film actually wasn’t half bad, with only a couple cringe-y scenes, but otherwise, I did manage to chuckle a few times and appreciate some of the family-friendly humor and good message (albeit in-your-face) about the addiction to technology. The performances were fine. Both Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman were perfectly adequate, just as well as their other live action counterparts, I guess. Never seen anything else either have done but for the most part, they had good comedic timing and did their characters justice, even with the changes to their respective histories, although I was concerned early on when they made Velma a bit on the emo end of the spectrum. Also noteworthy, the film was produced under the “Blondie Girl” productions, led by Ashley Tisdale. I don’t mind admitting, I actually wouldn’t mind it if they did make a Daphne & Velma 2, which the filmmakers did sequel-bait at the end. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5 |
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This release comes with a glossy slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. Daphne & Velma: A New Ambition (4:58; HD) is a short featurette with some on-set interviews with members of the cast and crew and how it was re-imagined. An Updated Classic Mystery (5:22; HD) looks at bringing some of classical elements of the cartoon to this incarnation. Iconic Styles of Daphne & Velma Reimagined (6:11; HD) focuses on the costume designs for the new movie and a callback to the original wardrobe. Gag Reel (5:39; HD) |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Warner Brothers releases Daphne & Velma onto Blu-ray presented in its original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer, and in keeping with the light-hearted nature, colors are brilliantly bright while detail is sharp and well defined throughout. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The movie comes equipped with your standard yet effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dialogue levels comes through the center speaker with good clarity and the fun music/score makes up most of the audio for the front and rear channels, with some modest ambient noise making up the rest. Nothing amazing but efficient. |
OVERALL – 3.25/5 |
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Overall, Daphne & Velma was an unexpected treat even if it’s not exactly a necessity to really exist but I did have a fun time watching and at least actresses Jeffery and Gilman encompassed the characters nicely and it did feel like a Scooby-Doo film. The Blu-ray has good video and audio transfers along with some throwaway EPK-like featurettes. |