2020 Reviews – Scoob!

Scooby-dooby-doo, here you are! Finally. It’s been a long wait to watch one of my most anticipated movies of 2020. First COVID put it on hold, then it was released digitally in Australia, but it was too expensive. But thanks to the magic of a little thing called the Video Ezy kiosk, my experience with Scoob! awaits. I have to check my expectations; after The Addams Family’s tepid return last year, there’s no guarantee that a movie-length Scooby-Doo reboot is going to cut the mustard. But Scoob! also promises the possibility of the Hanna-Barbara cinematic universe… Yeah! If those four words don’t fill you with any form of excitement (‘Hanna-Barbara cinematic universe’), then get out of town!

Scoob! starts out with how Scooby-Doo first met Shaggy, and then how Mystery Inc. was formed, when Fred, Daphne and Velma, help Shaggy and Scoob rescue their Halloween candy from a spooky haunted house. As they grow older, the teenage gang we know and love wants to expand their operation, but nobody will invest in them without understanding what Shaggy and Scooby really contribute to the team – not even Simon Cowell! Separated, Scooby and Shaggy get beamed aboard a futuristic airship, whilst also getting tangled up with some evil robots and a caper specifically involving Scooby-Doo. Fred, Daphne and Velma are on the case; to rescue their friends, and assist them in saving the day! This movie is directed by Tony Cervone.

It’s never easy adapting something beloved to the modern day, but Scoob! knows exactly what it is; it knows when to include references to the source material and it knows when to take pot shots without it feeling cheap. The overall tone of this movie deserves an A+. Dynomutt (terrifically voiced by Ken Jeong) refers to the Mystery Machine as anachronistic… admittedly, I had to look up what ‘anachronistic’ means, but that’s a funny joke. The movie also has fun with Shaggy’s love of comically large sandwiches, the way he speaks, and the fact that our villain is named…Dick, hehehe. There have literally been fourteen Scooby-Doo TV series interpretations alone, without including the live-action, cartoon movies and crossovers attempts; I’ve seen the source material twisted to play Fred as a dumb jock and I’ve seen Velma recontextualised as sexy and a lesbian. I’ve heard Shaggy interpretations overplay his tendency to say ‘like’, and I’ve seen the costumes come and go, as they never quite know what to do with Fred’s outdated ascot. Every choice here works pretty well for me. There’s a great voice cast (including Will Forte as Shaggy, Zac Effron as Fred, Amanda Seyfried as Daphne, and Gina Rodriguez as Velma), great character designs, and a great respect shown to each iconic character individually. My only minor gripe would be that the Daphne characterisation is not as strong as the others, but it’s still okay. Fred is the brawn and Velma is the brainiac, as always. The movie plays Daphne as the empath, the most personable, and she does play a vital part in pulling off the success of this adventure. Nonetheless, I think a sequel could give Daphne a little more personality; less step-Dad jokes, and a stronger affinity for girly-girl things, like make-up and fashion.

I thought I’d hate Dick Dastardly, from the sneak peek I saw of his bulkier design, but it works. He looks a bit like Captain Hook from Disney’s Peter Pan, but retains the gravelly voice closely resembling his television counterpart. I guessed he was voiced by Jeremy Irons, but it turned out to be Jason Isaacs, who, incidentally, played a live-action Captain Hook in 2003. I’ve never known much about Blue Falcon and Dynomutt the Dog Wonder, but these characterisations worked for me as well, despite coming across as the biggest changes from their original cartoon. A bit of research indicates that this movie swapped the competencies of these two characters, but this Blue Falcon is referred to as the original Blue Falcon’s son anyway. Any Blue Falcon fans upset? I’d like to know. The ships assistant, Dee Dee Sykes (voiced by Kiersey Clemons) is also a great addition, and as for Tracy Morgan getting to voice Captain Caveman…bellissimo!

As far as the story goes… I mean, it’s not a masked mystery situation, which is Scooby-Doo’s bread and butter, but we do get the start of a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe! I love the spotlight put on what Scooby and Shaggy actually contribute to the group, because sometimes it’s not exactly obvious. In most episodes, they are the bait – but more metaphysically, this movie shows how they are also the glue, that hold Fred, Daphne and Velma together; the true force of the operation. By the end of the movie, their new updated van is sick, and now that Scoob and the gang have their own Californian headquarters, they can be the Avengers of spooky mystery-solving. I love the specialised call-backs, like the full recreation of the opening titles of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and the moment when our gang is hiding in the dark, and you can only see their eyeballs – I’d all but forgotten that classic cartoon trait heavily used in Scooby-Doo. And hey, call me daft, but I’ve only just made the connection that Scooby and Shaggy get thought of a lot as weed-smoking hippies, which is why they’ve always got the munchies, and Scooby-Doo’s middle name is doobie. Lol! Coincidence?

Scoob! feels like a 2020 take on the Scooby-Doo legacy, and is able to retain the classic vibes without it feeling cheesy. I had a big smile on my face throughout, and I really hope that Warner Bros. has a few more adventures up their sleeve… I’m sure Dick Dastardly has a pigeon to catch, or a wacky race to win, perhaps? How about a straight-up Penelope Pitstop movie? I’d trust any moviemaker with any of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera’s old productions if they can capture the tone of Scoob!. This is probably a 3.5-star movie, but since it’s such a joy to see Scooby-Doo done well, I’m boosting my score to a 4.0.

4.0