'SCOOB!' Review

 
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
PG: Some action, language, and rude/suggestive humorRuntime: 1 Hr and 32 MinutesProduction Companies: Warner Animation GroupDistributor: Warner Bros PicturesDirector: Tony CervoneWriters: Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, Matt LiebermanVoice Cast: Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan, Simon Cowell, Frank WelkerRelease Date: May 15, 2020 (VOD)
"SCOOB!" reveals how lifelong friends Scooby and Shaggy first met and how they joined with young detectives Fred, Velma and Daphne to form the famous Mystery Inc. Now, with hundreds of cases solved and adventures shared, Scooby and the gang face their biggest, most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this global "dogpocalypse," the gang discovers that Scooby has a secret legacy and an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
No matter how hard you try, you can never put down good ole’ Scooby-Doo. Out of the many Hanna-Barbera properties, Scooby-Doo is one of the most iconic with endless iterations that has existed for over the course of 50 years. It’s a timeless classic that never dies. After all these years, it was about time to give the franchise a new (intentional) theatrical film with good CGI, because God knows those James Gunn-penned/Raja Gosnell-directed live-action movies are awful. Let it be known, first and foremost, that Scoob is marginally better than the live-action Scooby-Doo flicks... but does that really mean anything? Because let’s be honest, they already set the bar so low.Tony Cervone has worked on several Scooby-Doo projects, ranging from the Mystery Incorporated series to some direct-to-DVD movies. Thanks to his prior experience and love for the franchise, you feel his passion throughout Scoob. There’s a huge field faithfulness to the many iterations of the franchise integrated into the film. It retains the classic Hanna-Barbera sound effects for a ton of the action sequences and slapstick for comedic effect. Though it’s a big-budget Scooby-Doo movie, it still retains the tone of a classic episode of both A Pup Named Scooby Doo given it’s beginning where it introduces the Mystery Gang’s origins as kids and then follows the fashion of the The New Scooby-Doo Movies/The Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt Hour series where the Mystery Gang (well, mostly just Shaggy and Scooby) is paired up with another Hanna Barbera character and they go solve a mystery together. Here, Shaggy and Scooby have to team up with Blue Falcon and Dynomutt to take down Dick Dastardly, who wants to capture Scooby-Doo for his own diabolical plot. I really like the visual style of the movie. While it’s standard CG fare, the designs of the classic characters translate well into the third dimension. A ton of classic Hanna-Barbera characters are given the 3D treatment and they all look good. I appreciate the liberties they take with some of the character designs, particularly Dick Dastardly, who is made to look taller but still retains his hunchback. Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, and Dee Dee Sykes are made to look like the glorified superheroes you’d see in a modern superhero flick. Also, the talented voice cast delivers solid performances. Will Forte makes for a good Shaggy. Frank Welker, who is always a great Scooby-Doo, delivers a proper vocal performance. I love how they made him more articulate for the movie so the back-and-forth he has with the other characters feels fresh and breathes a new life to the franchise.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
All of the settings tend to feature an Easter egg or two, referencing a bit of Hanna-Barbera history in either the foreground or the background. Die-hard fans will find themselves pausing the flick ample times to catch the many references that the film has to offer. For example, Shaggy and Scooby go to a bowling alley called “Takamoto Bowl,” which is a reference to classic animator Iwao Takamoto, the original designer of Scooby-Doo. The various places that the characters travel to have their own distinguished looks and color palettes that make it feel like environments from the classic shows in a fully thought-out 3D world. From a visual standpoint, the film does a great job setting what is intended to be the start of a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe.
While I favor this over the Raja Gosnell live-action Scooby-Doo movies from the early 2000s — and I can’t believe I’m saying this–– at least those movies had focus. The primary issue with Scoob lies tremendously within the story department, for it tries to stuff one too many story elements within its short 92-minute run time. Due to the four credited writers, you can feel the tug of war in regard to what the studio envisioned it to be. On one hand, you have Warner Bros. executives forcing the beginning of a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe, and on the other, you have a straight-up Shaggy/Scooby buddy comedy. The result is a globe-trotting adventure that often misses the marks it tries to aim at. Because of the variety of elements presented, the overall plot feels overstuffed. 
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
While I did crack up laughing a lot during this movie, there are major duds of humor that are as cringeworthy as the dated humor in the early 2000s films. I swear, one of the writers must have done a “punch-up” on the script and added a ton of pointless modern pop culture references as jokes that just fall flat. There are jokes relating to Netflix, Tinder, and references to nearly every single property Warner Bros. owns. I’m sorry WB, but you peaked with your own commercialism with The Lego Batman Movie. You’re not being clever when your characters are spewing out jokes regarding Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or A Star is Born. It’s just lazy at this point. What makes it frustrating is that there’s an abundant amount of surprisingly clever humor in Scoob and none of those jokes are pop culture references. In fact, it delivers self-aware and observational comedy that works. This movie has so many glimpses of cleverness, but it’s never consistent because one writer just had to add his stank of modern references and potty humor. Whoever is responsible, I WILL HUNT HIM DOWN AND— I’m just kidding, but the inconsistent humor is excruciating.The film works best when it relies on the dynamics of the characters without pop culture references. When Shaggy and Scooby are being their classic goofy selves, there’s a great mileage of jokes. The dynamic between Dynomutt (who is honestly the best character in the movie) and Blue Falcon made me laugh a ton. You have a cynical deadpan robo-dog who is paired up with the clueless, social media-obsessed man-child son of his old crime-fighting partner, who is now retired. Their set-up is so damn funny that there’s room for a potential feature just about them. The inclusion of Dee Dee Sykes is fun, too, but these characters oftentimes get in the way of the story between Shaggy and Scooby. We spend so much time hanging with the Blue Falcon crew that Velma, Fred, and Daphne are reduced to supporting characters who don’t really get much to do, while the truth is that they have some of the best jokes.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Most of the emotional beats fail to land because the conflict is either forced or rushed. They do a good job establishing friendship as the film’s emotional core, especially in the beginning when introducing a young Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, but the fall-out they have later on in the film truly feels out of left field. Blue Falcon has an arc that often feels underdeveloped. The only character whose arc is fully realized and well-executed is Dick Dastardly and he’s the antagonist! The movie is 92 minutes long and honestly, it could’ve been longer in order to fully develop the character arcs instead of doing a straightforward, fast-paced globe-trotting adventure that so many animated movies have done. Seriously, if the script was given one more pass to tighten and balance the story, throw away the numerous jokes that didn’t work in exchange for more character growth, there would’ve been a really good Scooby-Doo movie that would also make way for future Hanna-Barbera movies.I believe a Scooby-Doo movie can soar on its own merit. I wish Scoob had just believed in itself a bit more and gotten rid of that one damn screenwriter who kept adding pointless pop culture references that will eventually become dated as hell. Scoob often shows glimpses of potential through its non-referential humor, the solid, colorful animation, and the fun set pieces. While this is a fun diversion for the whole family, especially during these hard times, and much more age-appropriate than the live-action movies, it’s far from the best that this long-running franchise has to offer.   Rating: 3/5 | 67%