Scoob! (2020) Review

 "I handle our accounting."
-Scooby-Doo


As Mystery Inc. prepares itself to become a legitimate business, Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) and Shaggy (Will Forte) become the targets of the evil villain, Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs).  With killer robots out to get them, the goofballs have to team up with the Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg) to stop Dastardly's evil plans.


What Works:

Surprisingly, Ken Jeong is the best part of this movie.  I like him in Community and the first Hangover, but find him obnoxious in everything else I've seen him in.  Here he plays by far the most level-headed character in the film, Dynomutt the Dog Wonder.  Right off the bat, he is sick of everyone's crap and I could strongly relate.  He has some funny moments and is the only character I never really got annoyed with.

It was pretty fun to see some of these old Hanna-Barbara characters in a movie together.  Not only do we get everyone I've already mention, but also Muttley (Billy West) and Captain Caveman (Tracy Morgan).  Am I excited for them to get their own spin-off movies?  No, but it was fun to see all of these characters interacting.

Finally, the 3rd act was actually fun.  It had our heroes face off again a giant monster and feels like a cinematic Scooby-Doo movie should.  It also has a cool aesthetic and a few heartfelt moments between men and their dogs (and vans).  


What Sucks:

This really isn't a Scooby-Doo movie.  Scooby-Doo is about solving spooky mysteries.  That's what I love the series so much.  This is a superhero movie.  Who wanted this?  Not me.  I'm not against movies trying something new, but Scoob! lost the heart of this franchise along the way.

I will never understand why Warner Bros. didn't bring back Matthew Lillard to play Shaggy.  He's both willing and able and the guy was born to play the role.  Instead they got Will Forte, who I like, but he's not a good fit for Shaggy.

Speaking of Shaggy, he's kind of a jerk for a good chunk of this movie.  He and Scooby get into a fight, like they do in the live-action movie, but the motivation in that one makes sense.  It doesn't work here and is also very one-sided.

In the original series, Fred was not a dumb jock.  In some of the more modern movies, they portray him as an idiot and that has always bothered me.  He's a competent leader whose plans usually go wrong.  He's not a dunce.  Scoob! continues that characterization and it continues to bother me.

Finally, this movie has a ton of pop culture references.  It's bad enough they have the movie take place in 2020 (which is so wrong), but the references made it feel like an episode of Family Guy.  Pop culture references aren't jokes, they're just references.  And it a few years, it's going to make this movie feel extremely dated.


Verdict:

Scoob! isn't really a Scooby-Doo movie.  Ken Jeong does a good job and the 3rd act is fun, but some of the characterization for Shaggy and Fred doesn't work, the pop culture references are overwhelming, it isn't spooky in the slightest, and Will Forte was miscast.  Seriously, why wasn't Matthew Lillard in this?

 4/10: Bad 


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