''Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery'' (also released as ''Scooby-Doo! The WWE Mystery'') is a 2014 direct-to-DVD

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

mystery film A mystery film is a film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, ...

, and the twenty-second film in the direct-to-video series of ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

'' films. It is a co-production between Warner Bros. Animation and

WWE Studios WWE Studios Inc. (formerly known as WWE Films) is an American film studio owned by the professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor (company), Endeavor Group Holdings. WWE Studios ...

. The film features Scooby and the gang solving a mystery at WrestleMania. It was released on March 24, 2014 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and on March 25, 2014 in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

Plot

Shaggy Rogers Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. He is characterized as an amateur detective, and the long-time best friend of his dog, Scooby-Doo. Character description Shaggy ...

and his dog

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 Velma Dinkley is a fictional character in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange turtleneck sweater, a short red pleated skirt, knee high socks, Mary Jane shoes, and a pair of black square glasses, which she ...

agree to join them. Upon their arrival, the gang meet

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

, 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 Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...

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 April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author, screenwriter and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Mendez began her professional wrestling career in 2007 in New ...

'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

, Fred Jones * Mindy Cohn as

* Grey DeLisle Griffin as Daphne Blake * Matthew Lillard as

* Charles S. Dutton as Cookie *

Mary McCormack Mary Catherine McCormack (born February 8, 1969) is an American actress. She has had leading roles as Justine Appleton on the series '' Murder One'' (1995–1997), as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper on ''The West Wing'' (2004–20 ...

as Ms. Richards *

as himself *

as herself * Santino Marella as himself * The Miz as himself *

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 Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...

, Sgt. Slaughter,

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling ...

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...

, Alberto Del Rio, Cameron, Naomi, and the '' Young Justice'' incarnations of Wonder Girl,

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara (), known mononymously as Zatanna, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman (comic book), Hawkman'' #4 (N ...

, and Miss Martian all make non-speaking cameo appearances.

Production

On August 14, 2012,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

and

announced that they would co-produce a

animated feature that will find Scooby and the gang solving a mystery at WrestleMania.

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 ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

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 restlersdo their own voices."

Television retitling

In its television premiere on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

on Saturday, July 26, 2014, the film was retitled ''Scooby-Doo! The WWE Mystery'' 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''.

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

was billed to be prominently featured. 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.

Follow-up film

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

References

External links

* * {{Warner Bros. animation and comics 2014 American animated direct-to-video films 2014 films 2010s comedy mystery films 2010s monster movies Animated crossover films 2010s English-language films Films directed by Brandon Vietti Animated films based on animated series Direct-to-video professional wrestling films Scooby-Doo direct-to-video animated films WWE Studios films Warner Bros. Animation films WrestleMania 2014 comedy films Films scored by Ryan Shore Animation based on real people American mystery television films Films produced by Sam Register English-language science fiction horror films English-language comedy mystery films