There’s no finer crime caper for kids than one in which a team of young people band together to solve tricky crimes. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the greatest crime-solving squads and individuals, that have ever appeared on the silver screen to celebrate the release of Scooby-Doo: Haunted Hollywood, available to own from 24 October.
Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood (2016)
The Scooby gang reunite after they discover a popular but aging film studio, famed for the creation of classic horror films, is in trouble. The shooting of their latest movies are being sabotaged by what appear to be monsters straight out of their own films. The studio risks being bought out by malevolent property developers unless the gang can solve this mystery.
The Famous Five (1995)
Enid Blyton brought the Famous Five to life back in the 40s and this series was made for TV in the 90s. Five youngsters, Anne, Dick, George (Georgina), Julian and Timmy the dog, discover a shipwreck with a hidden treasure map, and the five hope this will circumvent the sale of their beloved Kirrin island to some roguish characters.
Spy Kids (2001)
Unbeknownst to them, Carmen and Juni’s parents are retired spies, working desk jobs in their old spy organisation. When they are called back to active duty, they are kidnapped. Floop, an evil robot creator, needs their Dad to help animate his robot army. It is up to the children to embark upon an adventure to rescue their parents by finding Floop’s hidden lair.
The Goonies (1985)
Nefarious property developers are raising their beloved neighbourhood to the ground, and misfit pals gang together to try to stop the destruction of their way of life. After discovering a treasure map to the missing gold of pirate One-Eyed Willy, they encounter the Fratelli’s, a family of criminals, and stumble across the way to the missing pirate ship under their restaurant.
Swallows and Amazons (1974)
Set in the 1920s, the Walker siblings on holiday in the Lake District, set sail in their boat ‘the Swallow’ and discover an island recently claimed by their rivals, the Beckett sisters, in their ship ‘the Amazon’. But the island is already inhabited by could-be pirate Jim Turner, and when he goes missing, the children out aside their differences to try to find him.
Monster House (2006)
There’s something not right with DJ’s neighbour’s house. Once a peaceful, innocuous dwelling, the house has turned into a monster that longs to feed on children. As Hallowe’en approaches, and the neighbourhood’s children prepare for a night of trick or treating, it looks like the Monster House will get what it wants unless DJ and his friends can stop it.
Hugo (2011)
Orphan Hugo lives in the walls of a Parisian train station in the 30s, working for his drunken uncle to repair the station’s clocks. His late father left behind a notebook and a broken robot, and Hugo devotes his time to trying to find the heart-shaped key to bring the robot back to life. Could the toymaker and his niece be the missing piece of the puzzle?
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
The three orphaned Baudelaire children are sent to live with their cousin Count Olaf after their parents are killed in a fire. The dastardly Olaf plots to steal the children’s inheritance, seeing off numerous relatives who try to rescue the children, and attempting to kill them for their money. The resourceful trio are not easily defeated by Olaf, as his attempts increase in viciousness.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
During the war, three London siblings are sent to a rural village where they move in with Eglantine Price, an apprentice witch. When the final part of her witch training manual appears missing, the children and their new guardian set off to London to try to find her course’s creator, Professor Emelius, to try to stop the impending war with her ‘substitutiary locomotion’ spell.
Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)
Tony and Tia are orphaned siblings who can communicate telepathically and move objects with their mind. When a millionaire obsessed with the paranormal discovers their extraordinary abilities, he lures them to his mansion to experiment on them. They escape, hitchhiking with an embittered widower, following a map they discovered in Tia’s possession, to try to find home.
Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood out on Blu-ray and DVD October 24
