July 16, 2009
I have been to enough pantomimes to know that children and adults are not always amused by the same thing, so usually I’m happy to sit back and think that if the kids seem to be enjoying it, then that’s good enough for me. However, I think Scooby Doo is pushing its luck. Some of the children in the audience – the very young ones, did seem to be having a good time. For under-fives, it is probably great.
The problem is, the show is promoted as family entertainment and in all honesty, it isn’t. I found it tedious beyond my wildest dreams. The woman next to me fell to sleep. Her son, who I presume had wanted to see the show, got out his hand-held computer game after the first 15 minutes and played with that until the end. My son watched it all politely and smiled occasionally, but he didn’t laugh. I asked him afterwards what he honestly thought of it. He said he would give it seven and a half out of ten, which is very generous of him – but he has an extremely generous nature that he did not inherit from me.
The plot was the usual thing, the Mystery Inc gang (Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby) are on holiday and they come across a bunch of crooks disguised as ghosts to frighten the natives. So far, so samey – nothing ever changes and that is fine. In the cartoon series, that flimsy tale can be padded out to fill 30 minutes without any problems, it doesn’t seem that bad. The trouble starts when you try to extend it to 90 minutes.
One of the ways they tried to supplement the action was by including sporadic bursts into song. Had they featured music that young children could relate to – nursery rhymes perhaps, then the audience might have joined in – but for some baffling reason they chose songs by artists that would mean nothing to them. Prince and the Spice Girls were plugged quite heavily and at one point (but for no obvious reason) Elvis wandered on and mumbled a couple of lines.
It said it all for me when the “baddie” came on to the stage and no one said anything. The baddie had to prompt the audience by saying “Don’t you boo at me” – something they never have to do in a panto.
On the positive side the production values were high – the costumes, scenery, lighting and sound effects could not be faulted. The actors looked just like their cartoon counterparts and the chap in the dog suit did a great job – although Scooby is played by two different actors and the second one is a lot shorter that the main Scooby, which does seem rather odd.
As always, there is a stall full of plastic rubbish for sale in the foyer. Trips to the theatre used to involve making sure you had enough money for an ice-cream in the interval (you will need £2.50 for that) but now there are far more demands on the wallet. The t-shirts and battery operated light-up gizmos start at £5 and it seemed like every kid in the audience had one.
Devoted Scooby addicts will probably love it. I can’t imagine that anybody else will.
The problem is, the show is promoted as family entertainment and in all honesty, it isn’t. I found it tedious beyond my wildest dreams. The woman next to me fell to sleep. Her son, who I presume had wanted to see the show, got out his hand-held computer game after the first 15 minutes and played with that until the end. My son watched it all politely and smiled occasionally, but he didn’t laugh. I asked him afterwards what he honestly thought of it. He said he would give it seven and a half out of ten, which is very generous of him – but he has an extremely generous nature that he did not inherit from me.
The plot was the usual thing, the Mystery Inc gang (Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby) are on holiday and they come across a bunch of crooks disguised as ghosts to frighten the natives. So far, so samey – nothing ever changes and that is fine. In the cartoon series, that flimsy tale can be padded out to fill 30 minutes without any problems, it doesn’t seem that bad. The trouble starts when you try to extend it to 90 minutes.
One of the ways they tried to supplement the action was by including sporadic bursts into song. Had they featured music that young children could relate to – nursery rhymes perhaps, then the audience might have joined in – but for some baffling reason they chose songs by artists that would mean nothing to them. Prince and the Spice Girls were plugged quite heavily and at one point (but for no obvious reason) Elvis wandered on and mumbled a couple of lines.
It said it all for me when the “baddie” came on to the stage and no one said anything. The baddie had to prompt the audience by saying “Don’t you boo at me” – something they never have to do in a panto.
On the positive side the production values were high – the costumes, scenery, lighting and sound effects could not be faulted. The actors looked just like their cartoon counterparts and the chap in the dog suit did a great job – although Scooby is played by two different actors and the second one is a lot shorter that the main Scooby, which does seem rather odd.
As always, there is a stall full of plastic rubbish for sale in the foyer. Trips to the theatre used to involve making sure you had enough money for an ice-cream in the interval (you will need £2.50 for that) but now there are far more demands on the wallet. The t-shirts and battery operated light-up gizmos start at £5 and it seemed like every kid in the audience had one.
Devoted Scooby addicts will probably love it. I can’t imagine that anybody else will.