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Critic Reviews
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Velma is an often funny take on the classic Scooby-Doo series with plenty of risqué humor. But it’s unfortunate that most of what makes Velma funny is completely unrelated to the character who gets a starring role.
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While the incredible animation and a talented voice cast keep things entertaining, Velma’s inconsistent tone and humor prevent it from unmasking a darn good show.
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The animation is bright, poppy, and fun, the cast is game, and some solid gags do emerge from what’s been seen so far. But even if it could get over its tonal issues in a second season, it’s hard to hope that it’ll have a chance to do so.
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Velma feels a little too pleased with itself to truly capitalize on the opportunity – a fun idea that sounds like a great way to reintroduce those meddling kids but that, finally, isn’t clever enough to get away with it.
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The cast is terrific; Jane Lynch and Wanda Sykes are particularly good as Daphne’s parents, who are terrible cops. The problem is with the writing, which is so concerned with spitting out one hot pop-culture take after another that the convoluted and increasingly bizarre plots feel secondary to the meta humor.
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For every solid crack (“Ranking hot girls is exactly how the Trojan War and Facebook started!”), there’s an observation that feels like a repurposed Twitter draft from some harried screenwriter’s folder.
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Beyond the conceptual wow of half-century-old characters suddenly having definable traits, Velma plays out like any other prequel.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 176
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Mixed: 6 out of 176
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Negative: 164 out of 176
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Jan 12, 2023
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Jan 13, 2023
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Jan 13, 2023