Movie Review: Scooby Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)

The animated movie uses the voices of Frank Welker, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard, Mindy Cohn, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.

My oldest daughter and I have wanted to watch this movie ever since it first came out but didn't have an opportunity to watch it in its entirety until this past weekend. After finally seeing it, I must confess my opinion of it is a bit mixed.

At first glance, a movie combining two icons like Scooby Doo and Kiss sounds pretty neat. And, I did like how the writers managed to make the band members an intricate part of the plot without sacrificing time with the traditional Scooby Doo characters. I also thought this movie had an excellent selection of Kiss songs playing at very convenient times, something I do feel was a great way to introduce a younger generation to their music.

The movie's mystery also proved to be somewhat interesting. It honestly wasn't too difficult to figure out who the Crimson Witch really was. But, the villain's motives for trying to steal the diamond weren't quite as clear as it first seemed and, because of that, it did keep me interested longer.

My biggest complaint about this movie is it does get off track quite a bit by having a weird and somewhat confusing plot involving Kiss being from another dimension and possessing superhero-like abilities (such as being able to breath fire and fly). This had my daughter and I scratching our heads for the majority of the movie because we weren't sure if the events were really happening or if someone was just dreaming them.

To be fair, the movie does at least make an effort to bring things back to reality a bit by giving a somewhat rational explanation. But, I do think the film would have been better had it stuck to the more-traditional Scooby Doo format of having them finding clues rather than fighting supernatural creatures.

The movie is worth watching for the music. But, unfortunately, the plot does end up being a bit too ridiculous (even for a cartoon) and confusing. As a result, despite the potential, this isn't one of my favorite Scooby Doo movies.

My Grade: C