RUR-ROH - cartoon land's leading investigators are back in their Mystery Machine but is Hollywood's latest blockbuster offering worth its weight in Scooby snacks?

Scooby Doo will wow the kids but leave adult fans of the Hanna-Barbera cult show disappointed, writes Sarah Chambers.

The film is purely average. It's colourful, fast moving, the characters look good and the special effects are fabulous but all this failed to hide the fact that the magic of the 1970s hit was missing.

I think the creators may have tried too hard to please both the family audiences, and the older cinema-goers who remember its debut in 1969.

There are the odd references, the marijuana and Shaggy and a handful of jokes for the seasoned fan, but a majority of the PG-rated flick is geared for schoolchildren - who I'm sure will adore the film.

Writers have followed the cartoon's traditional formula and use the setting of a spooky amusement arcade on a pleasure island to resurrect Fred (Freddie Prinze, Jr), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini) and the star of the show Shaggy (Matthew Lillard).

Lillard was born to play this role. His voice and body language are spot on and he interacts superbly with his computer animated canine companion Scooby.

Warner Bros has stuck to the themes of the classic programme and, of course, there is the essential scene when the true identity of the baddie is revealed.

With a running time of 86 minutes the children shouldn't get too fidgety - but I can't promise the grown-ups will sit still all the way through.

Scooby Doo is currently showing at UGC, Great Park, Rubery.

SARAH CHAMBERS