Will This ‘Scooby-Doo’ Have Legs?

What’s not to love about a dog--especially when the dog is Scooby-Doo, the cartoon canine who gained fame in all those Hanna-Barbera cartoons?

Well, Warner Bros. will find out this weekend, when it releases its new family comedy caper, “Scooby-Doo,” scheduled to hit theaters nationwide Friday.

By some accounts, the movie--featuring the animated Scooby-Doo and his live-action, crime-solving cohorts--could be a surprise hit. Advanced tracking appears strong, indicating the film could take in $25 million or more in its opening weekend.

Although it features two high-profile young actors in Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred and Sarah Michelle Gellar (of TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) as Daphne, the real star of this picture is Scooby-Doo. The film also features Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and Linda Cardellini as Velma.

Hollywood has had mixed success transforming TV cartoons into big-screen, live-action films.

“You never know which of these TV properties is going to resonate strongly enough with the moviegoers,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. “ ‘The Flintstones’ did it, ‘Dudley Do-Right’ didn’t.”