Scoob! (2020)
Scoob! is one of several movies that was slated for a theatrical release this summer but ended up being premiering on VOD instead due to the global pandemic. As a result, it is difficult to ascertain exactly how successful this animated film has been. A lot of trade newspapers have indicated that rentals have been high and that the film has proven more popular than Tom Hardy’s new movie Capone. Some industry sources have estimated a gross of $100,000,000 in a two week period. I suspect that the current lockdown has provided a market of children craving new entertainment and parents happy to pay for 90 minutes of peace and quiet. Hence Scoob! appears to have been in the right place at the right time. Whether that popular success would have happened if the movie had been released theatrically is another matter.
Scoob! is a computer-animated comedy mystery film produced by Warner Animation Group. Canonically, it’s both an origins movie and a soft reboot of the beloved Scooby Doo franchise. The film starts with a friendless young Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, adopting Scooby Doo as a pup. The two subsequently meet Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley while out trick or treating on Halloween. Their subsequent exploration of a local haunted house leads to the unmasking of a local criminal. Hence the friends decide to form Mystery Inc. “I mean, like, how many scary monsters could there be?” Shaggy asks which ushers in possibly the highlight of the entire movie; a loving recreation of the original title sequence from Scooby Doo Where Are You! (Season 2). Sadly, it all goes rapidly down hill after this. Ten years later the gang splits after a business deal with Simon Cowell (yes you read that correctly) displeases Shaggy and Scooby. The pair are subsequently attacked by an army of small robots called “rottens” while bowling but are rescued by Dee Dee Skyes, Dynomutt, and the Blue Falcon. Scooby learns that he is being hunted by none other than Dick Dastardly who needs him to unleash Cerberus (from Greek mythology) from the underworld.
And therein lies the fundamental problem with Scoob! There seems to have been a lack of faith in the basics of the franchise. IE Scooby and the gang solving haunted house mysteries. Hence the production tries to crowbar in other Hanna-Barbera characters in an attempt to pander to the current cinematic vogue for superheroes. Then there’s Dick Dastardly (voiced by Jason Isaacs who is clearly having a lot of fun) and his comedy robot sidekicks which smacks of Gru from Despicable Me and his minions. Captain Caveman also makes an appearance for no real reason. So if you were expecting to see a back to basics reimagining of the adventures of Mystery Inc in Scoob! then you’re in for a “surprise”. Although in fairness, it should be noted that Scooby Doo did team up with the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt in the past but this was during the middle seventies and not during the classic original two seasons of Scooby Doo Where Are You!
The other major issue with Scoob! is the way the screenplay by Matt Lieberman, Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott (yes it took four of them to write this) tries to throw a few jokes, references and homages to the adult viewers. It’s a common enough practise in animated films but the gags are somewhat varied and a few are even questionable. There’s a joke where Dick Dastardly’s crimes are discussed and not paying for Netflix is among them. If you read the list on the police database quickly you'll also find tripping old ladies in Lagos. These quips work well but others fall flat, often referencing the obscure. Plus hasn’t Simon Cowell’s notoriety now faded from popular culture? Wasn’t that all two decades ago? And of course Scoob! suffers from the inclusion of my personal cinematic bête noire; the overlong, excessively loud action sequence. Scooby Doo Where Are You! was all about comedic chases and not explosions.
So upon mature reflection and sobre analysis, I think it’s fair to say that Scoob! is a visually chaotic and tonally mixed viewing experience. It certainly won’t delight lifelong fans raised on reruns of the original incarnation of the show. The film smacks of a production driven by focus group and committee. The kind so brilliantly satirised in RoboCop 2. However, despite the qualms of adult fans and professional critics, it should be noted that I watched this movie (twice) with my 5 year old Granddaughters. They loved it. And that is possibly all that Warner Bros. Animation Group care about. I suspect that there’ll no doubt be a Scoob! 2, in the not too distant future. In the meantime, if you have small children that need to be entertained, then Scoob! will do just that. If you are a fan of the franchise then I’m sure I’m not the first to say Scooby Don’t.
