Jul 28, 20202 min read

SCOOB! (2020)

Updated: Aug 3, 2020

This movie was major fan service, and I loved it. Overall, the story was a little weak and the power of friendship cliché seemed unnecessary in a franchise that has existed for more than 50 years. However, in spite of that, it is a really cute film. The song choices seemed a little out of place, except for the Scooby-Doo Where are You! theme song, which had animation to match the film, but also followed the actual scenes from the original theme. The opening where Scooby and Shaggy meet for the first time had some really ridiculous laughs and slapstick which are all over the franchise and were most welcome in this film. I also loved the other Hanna-Barbera character appearances, some more obvious and some only living in the credits images. I have to discuss voices. Once I got past that fact that Matthew Lillard was not voicing Shaggy, I thought Will Forte did a great job. Most of the voices, I would say, contributed to the overall success of the characters. They did not stray too far from what I have come to expect of these characters, but they still allowed for some new interpretations of the characters backed up by their design and actions. (And of course, Frank Welker did amazing as Scooby-Doo as always). For all of its shortcomings, this movie sent me back to my childhood and reminded me of why I fell in love with the franchise in the first place. A sequel to this film, in my mind, would be most welcome, maybe they could even go back to Scotland! (Ah, a fan can dream…)