Scoob!: A Movie That Doesn’t Focus on the Main Characters

Scoob! was released digitally on May 15th from Warner Bros and is a reboot of Scooby-Doo. It features a new origin for the gang and also introduces other Hanna-Barbera characters such as Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Captain Caveman, and Dick Dastardly. It has a voice cast including Frank Welker, Will Forte, Amanda Seyfried, Zac Efron, Gina Rodriguez, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, and Ken Jeong. But the movie seems more intent on setting up a bigger shared universe than focusing on its title characters.

The movie starts out with a young Shaggy who is lonely. Scooby is a stray dog running away from people and runs into Shaggy and they form a connection. A cop asks Shaggy if the dog is a stray and he says it’s his dog and the cop asks his name. Shaggy comes up with the name Scooby Dooby Doo on the spot, getting the name partly from a box of Scooby Snacks. This part is interesting because it establishes that Scooby Snacks existed before Scooby was born. In the original cartoon, it was assumed that Scooby literally had his own snacks. Cut to Halloween and Shaggy and Scooby are trick or treating and meet Freddy, Velma, and Daphne. The group form a friendship and Mystery Incorporated is born. There is a great montage of the group solving mysteries with a remake of the where are you song and the original cartoon intro is recreated. These beginning scenes are heartwarming and fun.

Scoob! is full of references to the cartoon and other Hanna- Barbera cartoons as well. It seems the movie is trying to setup a shared universe by having Dick Dastardly be the villain and Blue Falcon and Dynomutt help the gang. But unfortunately the movie is more focused on the other characters and big action sequences to pay attention to Scooby and the gang. Fred, Velma, and Daphne are barely in the movie at all. It focuses too much on Blue Falcon who is actually the son of the original. This feels like it should be more about Falcon then Scooby.

The movie tries to force a message about friendship, but it is lazely put in. The movie feels all over the place and that may be attributed to the movies SIX writers. It seems none of the six could focus on Scooby Doo. Sccob! has the same problem that The Addams Family had in my opinion. One of the writers of Scoob! wrote The Addams Family. The movie doesn't know what audience it wants to be for. Now it does succeed the sense that it will draw in the older crowd who knows classic Hanna- Barbera, but only with quick references. It will bring in the late eighties and nineties crowd but with yet again references. Children watching this won't really get a sense of who Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, and Fred are at their core. Every previous iteration of Scooby Doo, whether its the original cartoons, live action movies and current cartoons are, at their core, about the gang solving mysteries. Unfortunately, Scoob! isn't about that. Its substituted for big action sequences and other characters holding the spotlight which is disappointing. 🍔 and 1/2 🍔