Danielle Solzman
Scoob!, now available for audiences to purchase on Digital/VOD, offers a contemporary update that fans of the Scooby-Doo cartoons will enjoy.
Everyone’s favorite animated dog lives to see another day. Given the family appeal, it makes perfect sense for Warner Bros. to offer this film through VOD rather than wait until theaters to re-open. In a perfect world, we’d be sharing our laughs and screams in a theater right now. When it comes to animated films, they’re either a cinematic film or direct-to-video. I also think the film could go either way. It’s an entertaining enough to watch at home. At the same time, I’m finding myself wondering whether a cinematic platform would have been right. A star-studded cast–as this film features–certainly required the cinematic release.
Scoob! starts off with Shaggy Rogers (Will Forte as an adult) meeting Scooby-Day (Frank Welker) when they were younger. While trick or treating, the full Mystery Gang becomes complete when the teen versions of Fred (Zac Efron), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried), and Velma (Gina Rodriguez) save the day. Together, the meddling children solve their first mystery.
The big case in this film is preventing Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs) from unleashing ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. The Mystery Gang isn’t at it alone. They team up with Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg) and his gang, including Falcon Fury pilot Dee Dee Skyes (Kiersey Clemons) and Dynomutt (Ken Jeong).
There is no shortage of pop culture references, be it Simon Cowell, Wonder Woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harry Potter, etc. If movies and such are referenced, they are almost always a WB property. Though Simon Cowell also has a bit of a part in the film…
Unfortunately, renting the film will not be an option for a few weeks or months. In order to watch it, you have to purchase the film. The bonus features certainly make such purchase worth your while. I’ll have more on that in a few. If you think you’ll watch Scoob! several times, it’ll be worth the cost of admission–otherwise, you should wait until prices come down to earth for rentals. But again, Scoob! is just entertaining enough of a film with an appeal to the Scooby Doo fanbase.
BONUS FEATURES
- Bloopers
- Deleted Scenes
- How to Draw Scooby-Doo
- Puppies!!
DIRECTOR: Tony Cervone
SCREENWRITERS: Adam Sztykiel and Jack C. Donaldson & Derek Elliott and Matt Lieberman
CAST: Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez. Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan, Simon Cowell, and Frank Welker
