SCOOB! Review

Greetings Ladies and Gents! It is I, The Shaman of Animation back once again with a new review! I feel bad for today's movie, because this was supposed to be Scooby's return to the big screen and from the initial character reveals and the first trailer, it looked like it was gonna be a fun time in theaters. Then a global pandemic happened and now everything's gone to hell. But on the bright(?) side, the movie's available digitally to watch, and since Scooby has some history here on this blog, of course I'm gonna talk about it! Let's dive into SCOOB!

Mystery Inc. team up with hero Blue Falcon and his trusted robotic dog Dynomutt to stop Dick Dastardly from collecting items that will cause an apocalypse. That's kind of the briefest summary I've ever done, but that's the best I can do without spoiling stuff.

First thing's first, the movie looks fantastic. I, for one, am super happy about the route CG animated films have taken with properties like this one and the Peanuts film from back in 2015, in the sense that, yes it's still CG, but it's done in a way that comes close to matching how these characters have looked in 2D animation. It's used in a way to wring out some decent gags in general but especially classic gags that one would associate with Scooby-Doo.

Back when this film was in development, I remember reading that this was meant to be the start of a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, and it shows in this film. Me, oh my, are there a good bit of Hanna-Barbera references in the film. It's very impressive and also pretty cool to see all this stuff pop up in a big screen film (sometimes to the film's detriment, but we'll get there). I'd definitely recommend sticking around as the credits roll. There isn't an after credits scene, but during the end credits. you will be treated to a heavy helping of cameos.

I also really dug the 3rd act of this film. It's action packed, it has a really fun reference that got the loudest reaction out of me, and personally I feel it's where the film feels the most like a Scooby-Doo movie. And I guess with that, we can get into what I didn't like.

As I said previously, there are a lot of Hanna-Barbera references in this film, the biggest and most obvious being Blue Falcon and Dynomutt (Who, if you're wondering, work for what the film's going for). All this, no doubt, to help build that supposed Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe. But in its pursuit of all things HB, it feels like Scooby and the gang are kind of tossed to the wayside. For two-thirds of the film, Shaggy and Scooby are separated from Daphne, Fred, and Velma; and it's not bad, there are actually a few jokes and gags that I did like when they were separated. But I feel it says something when the most enjoyment I got from the film is when all of Mystery Inc. is together in the last act, and when it felt the most like Scooby-Doo. Everything else is stuff you've already seen in other superhero films or TV shows.

And now: Things only I probably care about

While I think the voice cast was fine in their roles (The biggest highlight being Jason Isaacs as Dick Dastardly), the one that I just could not fully buy into was Will Forte as Shaggy. It's no fault of his, the guy is doing his best. It's just way too different for me. It's made worse when he's put next to Frank Welker, who's been voicing Scooby for nearly 2 decades at this point. While we're on the topic of Frank Welker, While it's great he was brought in to voice Scooby for this film, the fact that this movie had Welker, who by the way, is the sole living member of the original Scooby-Doo voice cast from the very first series and he didn't voice Fred, the character he's voiced since day one and continues to voice to this very day, is a shame, to put it mildly.

And like a lot of animated kids movies, this one feels the need to jam in modern day pop culture references; and while some may talk about the dabbing or the mentioning of tinder, for me the strangest thing in the movie is its music choices. Maybe it's because I'm too attached to this franchise, but I have expectations in my mind for the kind of songs I'll get in a Scooby-Doo related project. Those songs don't include California Love or anything from DJ Khaled. Hypothetically, it could work. After all, the Gosnell live action movies had OutKast and Busta Rhymes for their films. But at least their songs fit with what was going on in the scene, and you at least had what was going on in the movie to help not give much attention to it. In SCOOB! these songs come out of nowhere and they really stick out, and they almost never have anything to do with what's going on.

And this last thing I'm gonna harp on is very spoilery, so skip to the next paragraph, but Simon Cowell, in 2020, has a cameo in this film. Now Mr. Cowell has never really fallen out of relevancy, In my opinion at least. But the fact that he's here, and he's the reason for the emotional conflict for the very start of the movie is...such an odd placement; and if you wanted a celebrity cameo for this, and this is very much me spit balling, then why not use Gordon Ramsey? One of the most famous chefs in pop culture today not only berating a sandwich Shaggy and Scooby made but telling them they're the weak link of the group would've been funnier to me, at least.

Did I hate SCOOB!? No. While I think the first half is kind of bland, and a little rough to sit through, I did enjoy it more in the second half and left somewhat satisfied by the end. Everything technically works and I'm sure the kids will love it. But for me, a long time Scooby fan,it does a little too much for me to fully connect to it; and that's a shame because if you tweaked a few things, I think you could have a movie that makes older fans happy. But as is? Meh.

I rented the film on Amazon Prime for about 20 bucks. A bit of a steep price if you ask me. If you're craving Scooby movies, you can take that $20 and buy Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, and Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost on AP. If you're desperately craving a Scooby-Doo movie that has the Blue Falcon and a bunch of Hanna-Barbera references in it, then take what's left over of that $20 and check out Mask of the Blue Falcon. It has all the Scooby stuff you love while also being a love letter to Hanna-Barbera.

In fact, I think that's what we're gonna do. I know I usually (And by usually, I mean when I'm not being a lazy ass or there's a family emergency) save covering Scooby related movies or shows for October, but SCOOB! kind of put me in the mood. So next time, we'll be taking a look at Scooby-Doo Mask of the Blue Falcon!

Til then folks, I'm The Shaman of Animation.

Take Care...