Scoob! review

SCOOB!:

NOT THE TITULAR TALKING CANINE’S STRONGEST MYSTERY, BUT AN ENJOYABLE ENOUGH AND NOSTALGIC THROWBACK TO CLASSIC SCOOBY-DOO ENTERTAINMENT! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Velma, Fred, Daphne, Dee Dee Sykes, Dynomutt, and Blue Falcon in Scoob!

            The world of Scooby-Doo returns to the big screen…sort of…not really in Scoob!, the new film from Warner Animation Group and based on the iconic Scooby-Doo cartoon characters created by Hanna-Barbera. While this is Scooby’s debut in a mainstream animated feature (The TV and direct-to-video movies don’t count); the lovable talking dog had already made his theatrical debut with the live-action Scooby-Doo movie released in 2002 which featured Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Geller, Matthew Lillard, and Linda Cardellini as the Mystery Inc. gang; and even spawned a sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed in 2004. 

            As a kid I enjoyed a lot of Scooby-Doo cartoons and animated movies, but it wasn’t really something I was obsessed with like Sonic the Hedgehog, SpongeBob Squarepants, Pokémon, and Cartoon Network shows such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Ed, Edd n Eddy, and The Powerpuff Girls. Not that it was bad, but Scooby-Doo didn’t quite have the same appeal to me as some of these other shows and nostalgic properties. 

            Nevertheless, I still have a handful of Scooby-Doo memories such as watching some of the cartoons like Scooby-Doo: Where Are You?, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, and a little bit of What’s New Scooby-Doo?; as well as several of the TV and direct-to-video animated movies most notably Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders, and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase to name a few. Not to mention I also saw both of the live-action Scooby-Doo movies in theaters when they came out and even revisited them decades later prior to watching this one. 

            Quick thoughts on the live-action movies, I enjoyed them as a kid but objectively and especially after revisiting them now they are terrible movies with inconsistent tones, awkward humor, confused direction, and completely sinful CG animation from the same year that gave us Gollum. However, with that said they do have some genuinely funny and even clever moments of satire and self-awareness sprinkled in there and the main cast is well portrayed, they’re better than most live-action films based on cartoons, but not by much. 

            Now we have the gang’s first CG animated mystery (If I’m missing a previous CG Scooby-Doo project then I apologize!) with Scoob!, and the first of a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe because if Marvel and DC are doing it then why not them too? I guess this is in response to Hollywood’s butchering of Hanna-Barbera cartoons in the past. 

            So, is this the film that saves the Scooby-Doo legacy and make up for the sins of the past? Eh, it’s okay. 

            Saying this is an improvement over the live-action movies would be an understatement but it doesn’t really do anything new with the formula. It’s pretty much like watching a Scooby-Doo cartoon in CGI with characters like Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, and Dick Dastardly thrown in which could be enough to satisfy kids and longtime fans of the source material. 

            The Mystery Inc. gang consisting of Shaggy Rogers (voiced by Will Forte-MacGruber, Nebraska, The Lego Movie 1 and 2), Fred Jones (voiced by Zac Efron-High School Musical trilogy, Hairspray, Neighbors 1 and 2) Velma Dinkley (voiced by Gina Rodriguez-Jane the Virgin, Annihilation, Smallfoot), and Daphne Blake (voiced by Amanda Seyfried-Mean Girls, Mamma Mia! 1 and 2, Les Miserables (2012)) have been solving mysteries across the globe accompanied by Shaggy’s pet dog Scooby-Doo (voiced by Frank Welker-Transformers, Futurama, The Garfield Show) and unmasking some of the most infamous ghouls and ghosts ever. However, their greatest mystery begins as Shaggy and Scooby are abruptly beamed up to the Falcon Fury and are befriended by superhero, The Blue Falcon (voiced by Mark Wahlberg-Three Kings, Transformers 4 and 5, Instant Family) and his crew Dee Dee Sykes (voiced by Kiersey Clemons-Dope, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Lady and the Tramp (2019)) and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (voiced by Ken Jeong-The Hangover trilogy, Community, Transformers: Dark of the Moon) who are trying to stop evil-doer, Dick Dastardly (voiced by Jason Isaacs-Harry Potter franchise, Peter Pan (2003), Brotherhood) from causing a global “Dogpocalypse” by unleashing the Ghost of Cerberus onto the world with Scooby being the last descendant of Alexander the Great as well as the key to saving the world…Zoinks!

            The film also features the voices of Iain Armitage (Big Little Lies, Young Sheldon, Our Souls at Night) as Young Shaggy, Newcomer Ariana Greenblatt as Young Velma, Pierce Gagnon (Looper, Extant, The Boss Baby: Back in Business) as Young Fred, Mckenna Grace (Crash & Bernstein, Designated Survivor, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) as Young Daphne, Tracy Morgan (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Rio 1 and 2) as Captain Caveman, and Billy West (The Ren & Stimpy Show, Doug, Futurama) as Muttley.  

            Overall, Scoob! is an entertaining Hanna-Barbera nostalgia trip filled with many references and callbacks to their cartoons, but as a Scooby-Doo movie it’s one of the gang’s weaker mysteries. In a way it’s sort of like the Sonic the Hedgehog movie where it’s a very standard and predictable story with a lot of fan service and Easter Eggs scattered throughout the film including a spot-on recreation of the original show’s theme song intro and a small cameo by Hong Kong Phooey. 

            I found the humor to be very hit-or-miss; while I laughed at most of the jokes that satirize the Scooby-Doo and Hanna-Barbera franchises, the typical dumb kids’ movie gags and desperately trendy dialogue (References to Netflix and Hashtags for example) got nothing but silence out of me. Hate to admit it but as bad and confused as the live-action movies were I probably laughed more at those compared to this. 

            The plot is a generic Scooby-Doo story, but I was very disappointed by the lack of screen-time with all the Mystery Inc. members together which was a huge part of the original’s charm. Shaggy and Scooby are separated from the rest of the gang for a good chunk of the film and the other members don’t have much development; and the mystery isn’t all that great. 

            Most of the voice cast do a solid job portraying the characters especially Will Forte’s impersonation of Shaggy, granted he’s far from being a replacement for Matthew Lillard he does faithfully capture the spirit of the character through his voice. 

            Scoob! isn’t a perfect adaptation of Scooby-Doo but it has enough charm, nostalgia, and laughs to satisfy kids and longtime fans of the source material. Case Closed!