Scoob!

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To be honest, neither of us was exactly looking forward to the new Scooby Doo movie. I’ve got nothing against it but I also have no nostalgia for it or interest in it. But these pages don’t fill themselves so we shelled out our 30 bucks(still cheaper than going to the movies) and prepared to be whelmed. But you know what? We were pleasantly surprised.

Or certainly Sean was. We were just minutes into the origin story/meet cute of a young Shaggy and puppy Scoob when Sean was commenting on the interesting animation. He chuckled over many of the references. And he seemed to know some of the characters from outside the Scooby Dooby Doo universe.

Scooby and the gang face their most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world! Which apparently would be quite bad. As they race to stop this dogpocalypse, the gang discovers that Scooby has an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined. You’ll recognize Shaggy (Will Forte), Velma (Gina Rodriguez), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried), and Fred (Zac Efron) as Mystery Inc. mainstays, even their inexplicably psychedelic van, but this time they’re teaming up with super hero Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg) and his super dog, Dynomutt (Ken Jeong) against the obviously evil Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs). This movie is intended as the first in a rebooted, shared Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe, which nobody asked for, but I suppose explains the randos. Unfortunately, they distract a bit from what makes Mystery Incorporated so fun in the first place: exciting but wholesome teenage detectivery. And despite some of the callbacks to the original series, Scoob! doesn’t quite justify itself.

While it may not win over discerning adults, Scoob! is probably perfect for kids and Seans alike. It’s got a string of pop songs, some childishly crude humour, and a talented voice cast. Will Forte may not “sound like Shaggy” to some diehard fans, but as a casual viewer, I enjoyed him very much. I even though Mark Wahlberg fit in well, and to my knowledge he doesn’t do much animation. I felt a little sad for the other 3 non-Shaggy members of Mystery Inc who got the short shrift. I missed the chemistry between them, and with the addition of both super heroes and super villains (not to mention super dogs, villain dogs, and ghost dogs), we really got away from the winning formula that fans have come to expect.

19 thoughts on “Scoob!”

  2. badblokebob

    I’ll inevitably watch this someday (I recently caught up with the live-action Scooby-Doo sequel and Scooby-Doo & Batman, so clearly I’m susceptible), but it doesn’t particularly entice me. Besides which, they’ve not seen fit to release it here in the UK, not that I’d pay what they’re asking for these home premieres (which is more than double the price of a ticket at my local cinema).

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    2. Jay Post author

      Here it was $25 to rent, which is equivalent to the 2 movie tickets we’d normally buy. We paid $30 to own since we have young nieces and nephews. It’s only been released in Canada and the US – perhaps there may be a cinematic release in the UK later. Here we have not been able to rent Capone. Their release strategies are indeed strange.

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      1. badblokebob

        Yeah, I don’t complain too much about the home premiere prices because (a) my local cinema is exceptionally cheap, so it’s almost an unfair comparison, and (b) I live alone, so it’s not worth it to me, but I can see that for a family it’s a bargain.

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  4. Liz A.

    I’ve been seeing ads for this all over. Definitely not worth $30 to me, but then again, not much would be.

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  5. Brittani

    The title of this film makes me angry, it just sounds so stupid.

    Scooby Doo was a show I actively disliked as a kid and thankfully my own child has never shown interest in this, so I think I’ll be spared.

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  6. Paul

    Why does everything have to be a shared universe these days? I know it worked for Marvel, but this doesn’t mean that it’s a good idea for everyone else.

    I enjoyed the original Scooby Doo series but every attempt to reboot it has been disappointing. I shall, no doubt, see this at some point but I don’t have particularly high expectations.

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    1. Widdershins

      Agreed … the Scooby Gang were about solving spooky mysteries. There’s so much to be explored just within that ‘genre’, but no, the ijits with dollar-signs for eyes, decided that it worked for the MCU, (and the failed DCU – with two exceptions – doesn’t count) so it will work for them.

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  10. Teacher Camille

    Woah, I don’t really watch Scooby even when I was little. I only remember playing it on PS2 lol! Thanks for sharing though, looking at it the animation is great but as for the story, you’re right, perhaps kids are the ones to benefit from it. 🙂

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