Scoob!
Shaggy was a lonely kid. He would spend his time at Venice Beach, CA Listening to sad 70s music and Ira Glass podcasts about how to make friends. But one day that all changed, , when a talking dog with a huge appetite tumbled into Shaggy’s life. After getting his new friend out of trouble Shaggy brings Scooby home and presents him with a color and the promise to never leave him, Scooby in turn promises to never take the color off. Jump forward to Halloween night and Scooby and Shaggy are all dressed up like their favorite superheroes, Dynomutt and the Blue Falcon and the boys are enjoying one of their favorite things in life, free candy. When some bullies on skateboards steal their candy and throw it into the neighborhood haunted house the night seems ruined, until Fred, Velma, and Daphne show up to help. While the kids don’t know each other Velma is always up for a good mystery and leads the others to the haunted house. Scooby and Shaggy cower in the back , while Velma Fred and Daphne investigate. They find a ghost, or rather someone dressed as a ghost to keep people away from his house where he kept all his stolen goods. A classic Scooby Doo chase begins and after all is said and done they have pulled the mask off their neighborhood thief, the kids decide they like creepy houses and supernatural villains, so they should find more. Thus began Mystery Inc. and more importantly the friendships that would carry them all the way to adulthood. As adults, the gang wants to start making money off their adventures and decide to start a legitimate supernatural detective agency with inventors. Shaggy and Scooby don’t really care about any of that and just want to keep having fun with their friends. When their investor, Simon Cowell (voiced by the man himself) shows up and tells the gang he wont work with them if shaggy and Scooby are involved, the pair is hurt and decide to let off some steam by bowling. But this bowling alley just so happens to be full of shape shifting robots who attack and just when it looks like Scooby and shaggy are done for, in swoops Dynomutt and Blue Falcon, to save them and tell them that a super villain Dick Dastardly is after Scooby. The two best friends must work with their new superhero friends to keep Scooby safe, stop dick dastardly, and ultimately save the world using friendship, goofy hijinks, kindness and snacks.
Scoob! is a high paced adventure that goes everywhere from old abandoned amusement parks, to a lost prehistoric island with dinosaurs and then back to Greece to unlock the gate to the underworld. When a story moves this fast there are bound to be some little plot holes but Scoob! Has more plot holes than most. Ignoring the fact that Scooby talks and no one is surprised, at all, world travel can happen instantaneously, and there are giant skulls that open a gate to the underworld that no one knows about, oh and that superheroes are real and no one is shocked. This is a wild ride, popcorn flick. where you check your brain at the door and just enjoy the goofy implausible adventure. But honestly that is ok. Not every kids movie needs to be a work of art or storytelling genius. Scoob! Is a really fun movie with a good message about friendship and kindness that might be a little on the nose at times, but it is sweet all the same. The story is enjoyable, and the plot holes are forgivable.
One major problem families especially those with young kids have had with Scooby Doo is that it focuses on ghosts, spirits and the supernatural. While traditionally all the ghosts end up beginning a real person who is trying to get away with a crime, there tends to be talk of haunted houses, Halloween and the spirit realm. Scoob! Does acknowledge that history, Mystery Inc specializes in solving mysteries of that nature. But this movie takes a decidedly more superhero turn with the villain being a real person with a robot army and cool gadgets. Dick Dastardly is trying to open the gates of the underworld, because he accidently sent his dog Muttley through a portal accidently trapping Muttley in the underworld and Dick really wants him back. Now that might not sound like the most evil thing, but Dick is willing to do whatever he takes to get what he wants and also he is happy to unleash Cerberus the three headed hell house and guard dog of the underworld to distract Scooby and the gang while he gets what he wants. While this plot does deal a little bit with the supernatural, ghosts and other undead are left out of it completely. This level of mythos and adventure is on par with other superhero stories, think wonder women or the Justice League Animated series. It pulls from greek mythology without bringing gods or spirits into it. The scene in the beginning with the haunted house is probably the creepiest part of the movie and can easily be skipped without missing anything important.
There are some genuinely funny jokes in the movies and a few that are laugh out loud funny. Scoob! true to form doesn’t take itself or superheroes very seriously which leads to some funny and witty satire alongside all of the classic Scooby-doo slapstick and prop comedy that kids and adults have been enjoying for generations. There are a few moments for crude humor, a joke about F bombs short of falcon bombs, there is a dick joke (but when you name your supervillain Dick, it is inevitable), a joke about pterodactyl poop and a bit of suggestive material when Fred falls hard for a female cop that he sees for 10 second and who turns out to be Dick Dastardly in disguise. This leads to come comments about Fred being confused and questioning . With all of these jokes they come and go very quickly, they give you just enough time to get it or just enough time for adults to get it and then they are off to the next joke.
A quick note about the cast, this movie takes the voice acting in a different direction which caused a bit of a backlash when it was announced in 2019. The choice to cast Will Forte as Shaggy and Amanda Seyfried as Daphne over the traditional voice acting of Matthew Lillard and Grey DeLisle, didn’t sit right with fans. Both Lillad and DeLisle have since come out and verbalized their disappointment at not being asked to be a part of the project at all. This movie also marks one of the only times in Scooby doo animated history that Frank Welker did not voice Fred as well as Scooby, instead Zac Effron voices Fred. All of the voice actors in Scoob! Do a fine job, and their performances were enjoyable, they just are not the voices that fans know and love. At times it does feel like a poor imitation of the original voice.
When Scoob! Was announced in 2016 it was meant to be the launching board for a whole cinematic universe based on Hanna-Barbera characters. After going through several writers, a few co- directors and a complete story overall, Scoob! Is a fun standalone movie that updates Scooby-Doo for a new generation. It is a fun family night film that overall is appropriate for all ages and really tries to give the audience a good time. Whether you grew up with Scooby and the Gang or you are New to the antics of Mystery Inc, if you are in the mood for a fast paced family adventure with comedy, superheroes, a talking dog, and a message of friendship look no further than Scoob!
Content
Language: Zoinks, jinkies and gosh darn is as bad it gets
Violence: There is slapstick comedy left and right so someone is always getting hit and falling, the gang fights bad guys like a hell hound and little robots but in true Scooby-doo fashion no one gets injured and there is never any blood.
Sexual Content: Fred has a moment of heart eyes for a sexy female cop who ends up being a man in disguise (See review for more on that moment)
Questionable content: There are a few intense moments. Scooby and the Gang are often in danger and are threatened by bad guys. Also the haunted house in the beginning might be too much for younger audiences.
