'Scoob!' Is Disappointingly Messy and Mediocre

The Scooby-Doo! franchise has been regularly producing movies for a while now (and I’ve been watching each new one), but the latest one, Scoob!, is different from the usual.  While the standard Scooby-Doo! movie is for the direct-to-video/VOD market, Scoob! is intended to be a contemporary animated blockbuster.  That means: a.) its animation is 3D instead of 2D; b.) its characters are voiced by recognizable Hollywood stars instead of professional voice actors; c.) it was marketed extensively; and d.) it was meant to have a wide theatrical release.

However, due to the corona virus pandemic, that last one didn’t happen.  Instead, the studio decided to release Scoob! on digital.  And it might as well be.  As it turns out, it’s pretty mediocre.  Honestly, there are better direct-to-video Scooby-Doo!movies than it.

Scoob! actually starts off rather delightfully.  It shows a 21^st century origin story of the Scooby Gang, how they met as kids and teamed up for their first case, which is utterly endearing.  It then recreates, in 3D animation, the classic Scooby-Doo Where Are You! intro.  So far, so good.  But then, once it gets to the 13-minute mark, wherein Simon Cowell – yes, an animated version of Simon Cowell, voiced by Simon Cowell himself – pops out, it becomes atypical and weird.  And not in a good way.

The bulk of the movie doesn’t feel like a Scooby-Doo! story at all.  It doesn’t feature a zany crook-in-a-monster-costume mystery adventure.  Instead, what it has is a generic, superhero storyline that also involves characters and elements from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder; Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels; and Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.

The writing is all over the place.  As a result, the narrative feels random and chaotic.  Things happen just because.  Simon Cowell has a cameo just because.  Non-Scooby Doo! characters from other Hanna-Barbera properties have roles in the movie – several of which are maddeningly inconsistent with their original cartoon characterizations – just because.

In relation to this, the script reeks of studio meddling.  It feels like the movie’s primary concern is to kick off a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe – to create a new product to sell – instead of telling a good story that’s true to the property.

To sum it up, Scoob! is a letdown in general.  Sure, there’s some fun to be had from it.  There are a couple of jokes that work, the voice acting is decent, and the novelty of being a computer-animated Scoob-Doo! movie is a favorable aspect.  But in the end, it’s a very basic animated film that will only please very young audiences.  Long-time adult fans of Scooby-Doo!, however, won’t really find it rewarding.