Daphne & Velma - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Daphne & Velma



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
After watching Scooby-Doo for nigh on 20+ years (sorry, I’m a big kid at heart), we’re FINALLY getting a spin adventure, starring our two female leads of the 5 man group (well, 4 if you don’t include Scooby himself as a human). And by FINALLY, I mean that I’m really surprised that it took them so long to separate off the two females and make a Scooby-Doo adventure squarely aimed at young females. Produced by the Tisdale Sisters (Ashley, the young Disney kid who everyone knows from Highschool Musical, and her older sister Jennifer), Daphne & Velma is a goofy little girls adventure that really thrives on being DIFFERENT than the rest of the Scooby movies. By that I don’t mean that we are devoid of mystery, secret ghosts, and mystery reveals, but more due to the fact that it changes up the origins of Daphne and Velma themselves, and has the audience reimagine them outside of the Scooby game

After living as pen pall friends, solving mysteries and crimes together via long distance, Daphne Blake (Sarah Jeffrey) and Velma (Sarah Gilman) FINALLY meet when Daphne gets enrolled in a high tech school run by the mysterious Tobias Bloom (Brooks Forester). Bloom is your typical internet billionaire, complete with being a total recluse (I’m sure you can all see where this is going before it even starts) who no one has seen in years. When Daphne shows up mysterious things start to happen, as the super intelligent members of the class get whisked away into dark hallways and become mindless zombies. Trying to figure out what is happening, Daphne and Velma start digging in deeper and...well… I’ll let you figure out the rest.

Daphne and Velma is a goofy adventure that takes off of the standard Scooby-Doo tropes, complete with “gadzoinks!” style humor, nerdy and hot girls, mysterious ghosts, and a secret reveal that everyone saw coming a mile away. Basically you average adventure in the series sans the rest of the boys. The big changes come from the fact that the girls are no longer their “hot and not” personas that they usually are. Daphne is a good bit smarter, and not nearly so obsessed with her looks, while Velma is a nerdy underachiever who has a few secrets of her own (which are explained later on in the movie). So instead of the normal “ditz and smarty pants” personas, they’re completely reinvented for a new audience.




Rating:

Rated G for general audiences by the MPAA




Video:

Daphne & Velma was shot digitally, and as is the case with MOST modern digital films, (especially digitally shot films that are DTV, where there’s very little color grading or stylistic tweaks) it looks resplendent on disc. Colors are bright and vibrant, with strong shades of pink, blue and red intermingled with a cornucopia of other primary and secondary colors. Detailing is excellent through, with good close ups and really impressive wide angle shots. You can see the little bits of make up on Daphne’s face, as well as the stitching in Velma’s famous orange sweater. Blacks are deep and inky, and despite some mild, to moderate, banding the disc is devoid of any digital artifacting as well









Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is more than adequate for the kiddy adventure film. Dialog is well placed in the center track and the surrounds are evenly balanced with the mains, adding in a mildly encompassing feel during the more boisterous moments. The sound effects during those boisterous moments are seemingly intentionally exaggerated, bringing crashes, bangs and booms to the foreground during those scenes. LFE is tight and punchy, with just enough mid range LFE to give you that rumble in the chest when desired. The dynamic range is actually pretty impressive for a DTV film, and the whole mix is way overkill for the type of film it is.







Extras:

• Daphne & Velma: A New Ambition
• An Updated Classic Mystery
• Iconic Styles of Daphne & Velma Reimagined
• Gag Reel

Final Score: ​

Daphne & Velma isn’t exactly canon Scooby-Doo and it’s really not in line with the tone and theme of most of the Scooby-Doo films (live action OR animated), but this is a movie that’s really aimed at young girls more than rabid Scooby-Doo fans. It’s G-rated, fluffy, made by the Tisdale sisters, and includes all of the goofy tropes from their type of sensibilities. I’m not the target audience of the film by ANY stretch of the imagination, even as a solid fan of Scooby-Doo in general, but it makes for a decent babysitter if you have young ones in the house. Rental area most likely.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Sarah Jeffrey, Sarah Gilman, Vanessa Marano
Directed by: Suzi Yoonessi
Written by: Kyle Mack, Caitlin Meares
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: G
Runtime: 75 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: Own on Digital, Blu-ray and DVD on 5/22

Recommendation: Rental

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Velma's sweater is, was and always will be orange.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out as a rental.