Scoob! (2020)

'Scoob!' is the latest take on the classic Hannah Barbara series and the first animated feature meant for theaters. Unfortunately, fans and casual guests will have to settle with a direct-to-video release due to the current outbreak, but should you even bother giving it a look? Well, I'd say that while it's entertaining enough especially for the little ones, I doubt fans of the Scooby franchise will get much out of this one.

The movie does open strong by showing a brief origin story of how the gang met up and solved their first mystery together on Halloween. We then get a pretty cool remake of the '69 show's opening in glorious CGI animation and the attention to detail is really impressive here and will make any fan smile. We then are thrust into the main story, which involves Scooby & Shaggy becoming seperated from the rest of the gang and are enlisted to help Blue Falcon and his sidekicks to stop the villainous Dick Dastardly from unleashing an ancient evil.

So first off, the movie's biggest issue is that even for a family film it's simply not that funny and I don't just mean the jokes tend to fall flat, but there's a surprising lack of humor throughout. This was a pretty action oriented story with several big chase sequences and even a big blockbuster finale. They obviously went all out on this one but under the hood, it's still clunky and cliche even by Scooby standards. The same story beats you've seen a thousand times are presented here with no change whatsoever. Friends start out strong, then become distant, then become broken, then get back together to save the day. The television show may have been a basic formula too, but that was in 1969 when this was a new idea and they would update and change appropriately with each new series that came about. Heck, even the more recent 'Mystery Incorporated' show had Lovecraftian horror themes to it so when a big animated blockbuster can't beat the storytelling of a series, it's a more than a little embarrassing.

What I did like with the story was that they did give most characters more depth than we've seen in previous films. While Fred is still portrayed as a doofus (which has always been odd to me because on the show, he creates gadgets and traps to catch the ghosts) and Velma is still the smart, sarcastic one, Daphne is shown to have strong empathy and isn't just a damsel in distress even leading to a major plot change that helps out the gang in the end. Even Shaggy & Scooby get more to do here and are of course central to the overall plot. The cliche issues I mentioned do revolve around them however which does take away from my enjoyment a little. Blue Falcon is one of the worst parts in my opinion and provides the cringe every time he's on screen. He's your typical spoiled and selfish character like Lego Batman and even dabs (it hurt me to write that). My favorite part was Dick Dastardly played by Jason Issacs who was the most entertaining element and I liked that they give him a personal reason for his deeds other than just to be evil.

I will say that on the whole the voice work is good but like myself I didn't quite feel the need for celebrity voices for the gang and we would have been happy to have everyone currently on the show provide their talents here. We do at least get Frank Welker as Scooby Doo which is a plus. I must admit I am a sucker for references in movies or TV shows that have history or nostalgic backgrounds and if you're like me you'll enjoy looking for them in 'Scoob!'. Various background Easter eggs as well as other Hannah Barbara characters are seen or referenced throughout as I guess Warner Bros. is intending to pull a Marvel but we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out.

Overall, 'Scoob!' is fine for the kids and for fans it's fun enough to keep you interested but it feels so hollow and cheap compared to its Television counterparts that it's ultimately a forgettable experience in the Great Dane's 50 plus year run. I'd say rent it for a weekend family night but don't go getting it at full price.

2.5/5