Dead End Drive-In: Now Showing – ‘Scooby-Doo! And KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery’
Written by Gaz Tidey
Saturday, 08 August 2015 02:30
‘Scooby-Doo! And KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery’ (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
What is this rock ‘n’ roll world coming to? KISS, forever complained about for putting commerce before music, have their bandname attached to an animated spin-off that is easily the best thing about the band since the Alive/Worldwide tour of 1996/97. Don’t be saying it’s because the music is so bad these days, either – it’s just that this cartoon romp is wholly entertaining.
KISS showed up with arguably the greatest dog that has ever lived (kinda) previously in a 2003 episode of ‘What’s New, Scooby-Doo?’ entitled ‘A Scooby-Doo Halloween’. Only Paul Stanley’s voice appeared (it was in much better shape a dozen years ago) in a tale of the gang visiting Velma’s relatives during a Halloween festival headlined by KISS, only for spooky shenanigans to take hold. But you knew that, right?
Well, this feature-length spooktakular follows a similar path but amps it up to eleven and doesn’t look back.
I have to admit, I was sold as soon as I heard the first two voices in the film: Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes voice unnamed workers at KISSWORLD, a theme park dedicated to the hottest band in the world, troubled by a mysterious Crimson Witch who, like most of you I should imagine, screams “I Want Rock!” all the time! Cue the twelve-legged (four hairy) mystery solving gang turning up to investigate on Halloween night when KISS are about to play a musical extravaganza to end all musical extravaganzas; Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Scooby all in KISS make-up (with the dog as The Cat!), but with that square Fred still dressed like he was in the ’60s, and complaining about the music. The dodgy example of his kinda music – ‘Don’t Touch My Ascot’ – finds modern KISS playing a comedy tune that is still better than much of their post-reunion output.
The members of KISS show up, all using character names rather than ‘real’ names, to team up with the gang to solve the mystery and stop this Crimson Witch before she puts the cock rock block on the Samhain shock rock show.
Turns out this nefarious lady-thing is looking to grab the fabled Rock of Kissteria (a black diamond, obviously), in an attempt to draw The Destroyer from the cosmic realm of the same name – where everyone has KISS make-up – in an attempt to destroy the earth! The bitch!
How can KISS and the gang get to the alternate dimension of Kissteria? Why, only by passing through the Star Portal and traversing the lines of reality on the back of a Les Paul-shaped spacecraft!
This film is a massive slap of fun across the senses. Purists like myself who still balk at the thought of Messrs Singer and Thayer as the Catman and the Spaceman will marvel at the wonderful visual homage to Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Bruce Kulick, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss and Mark St. John, and, an out of place Tommy Thayer/vintage KISS quip aside, the current band members (and Doc McGhee) perform their voice work well: Gene Simmons in OTT fashion as expected, Stanley in romantic mood, eyeing up Daphne… no, not Fred…..
The self-referential gags are laugh-out-loud funny at times: the constant advertising of new KISS product – from toilets to binoculars to smelling salts – a recurring rib-tickler, and the constant KISS-related nods will have fans alert at all times; character names include Delilah Domino, Chikara, Shandi Strutter, Beth and Christine. It’s not all about the rock and rollers, though; there is a great riff on the classic Scooby-Doo villain unmasking, too.
Some of the action set pieces will have you chuckling and the kids punching the air (unless you’re a kid reading this, which pretty much makes you the coolest kid ever!) as KISS bunnies come to life in a grabber machine, ‘Shout It Out Loud’ pumps out of the Rockin’ Flume, demonic costumes set for the Halloween gig spring to life, and that’s without even mentioning the awesome Japanese-inspired costume change!
If you’re not a native of the View Askewniverse like myself, it’ll take until the incredible opening title sequence to convince you that you’re in for a thrill-a-minute roller coaster ride as vintage KISS album artwork collides into a pop art masterwork.
Buy this for the kids… but keep it in your alphabetised collection…..