text_a: while mcfarlane 's animation lifts the film firmly above the level of other coming-of-age films ... it 's also so jarring that it 's hard to get back into the boys ' story .
text_b: the acting is stiff , the story lacks all trace of wit , the sets look like they were borrowed from gilligan 's island -- and the cgi scooby might well be the worst special-effects creation of the year .