Good evening everyone! Sorry that it’s been a little too long since at least my previous movie review. I’m not sure how I let so much time pass with that particular activity. Anyway, tonight, we are reviewing yet another movie that, like Dreamworks Trolls: World Tour, Warner Bros. decided to release straight to On Demand, rather than do what many other studios had been doing, and just postponing any movies that were supposed to come out around this time to either late this summer, or even around Thanksgiving or Christmas of this year. It is a certain animated film that’s made by Warner Bros. that was released the same day that 1998’s Quest For Camelot, and 1998’s The Horse Whisperer turned twenty-two years old (which makes me want to rewatch and review the former, finally see the latter, as well as revisit a few other films and review over the course of this year that were also released back in 1998). With that said, let’s all travel with Mystery, Inc., consisting of Shaggy Rogers (Iain Armitage plays young Shaggy, while Will Forte voices the adult version of that character), his dog Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker), Velma (Gina Rodriguez), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried), & Fred (Zac Efron).
Plot: Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, and the gang are back in action in this recent adaptation of the Hanna-Barbera show of the same name. This time, our heroes must team up with Brian/Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg), and his team to stop the villainous Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs) from collecting three ancient artifacts that could endanger the world once joined together.
Now, while this may be more in the high B range than the A range, there is no doubt that Scoob is a really fun film. In fact, unlike with Trolls: World Tour, Warner Bros. should have made the decision to postpone this film’s release date, and release IN THEATERS, especially since many other studios had been doing that with their films. I mean with Trolls: World Tour, that one seemed to feel more like a direct-to-video film. Scoob, not so much. But before we talk about the many good things, let’s first discuss the elements that could have made this film better. To begin, young Shaggy could have maybe been fleshed out a little more when it came to moments before he met Scooby, and his newer friends. Either that, or they could have maybe inserted some flashbacks as to why he seemed to act the way that he did in certain situations. Additionally, there were a couple points, where the dialogue might have been a little corny to an extent. Finally, there were one or two points where this movie seemed to borrow elements from older versions of the Scooby-Doo story.
However, despite the film having these faults, Scoob makes up for it with the many more good things that film has. First off, there is the animation is incredible. Wow, if you liked the animation from more recent films that were made by Warner Bros. Animation, such as Happy Feet, or any of the Lego films that were released in more recent years, it is guaranteed that you’ll love the animation here as well. So much so that it’ll most likely help the viewer get himself/herself immersed in the story. Next, there’s the predictability portion of this film. There are times in this film, where you might find yourself predicting certain events events to occur at different points. However, what we get instead is some really good twists that surprisingly work so well to the point where you will continue to feel engaged, as the movie progresses. Another thing to mention is that if you might think that this is an episode extended to around an hour and a half long, please do not fear. Even if that may feel like that to a degree, there is a great plenty of creativity abounding that you’ll probably care less about something like that being the case here. Also, the casting choice is really interesting. I mean you have Zac Efron from movies such as the High School Musical franchise and The Greatest Showman, Iain Armitage from Sheldon, Frank Welker, who voiced mostly non-talking animated characters over the past two to three decades, Mark Wahlberg, who has played in mostly action roles, and a few others. Honestly, because of these casting choices, and others that I didn’t mention, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this film had been successful at the box-office, if it had just gone to theaters when it was able to. As for the script, while that has one or two corny lines as far as that aspect goes, the rest of it is splendid. Not only is the rest of the script really good, but there are some extremely funny moments that are inserted in the movie. One of these times is a point that let’s just say is so hilarious that you’ll likely be laughing for a long while to come. Finally, Scoob has an excellent message about what makes a true friend, and how it’s best to stay friends to the very end if at all possible.
Well folks, that concludes my review for Scoob. Regardless of whether or not you grew up watching the Scooby-Doo show, or not, this is a film that is a must-see. There is plenty of heart in it, there’s creativity aplenty, extremely hilarious moments, and other really good points that help overshadow any negatives that this film might have. Who knows? Maybe this movie might pique one’s interest in checking out the rest of the Scooby-Doo show, or movies. Definitely check it out ASAP! Scoob is proof that it should have never skipped theaters to go straight to On Demand, unless the company felt that they had a really good reason to do so, such as financial strains, or some other reason. Well, again, see this film soon, and see what you think!
Final Grade: B+
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 