Scoob! (4k Ultra HD + Blu-Ray + Digital HD)

Blu-Ray Reviews | Jul 28th, 2020

Scoob!
Image used with permission for review purposes.

Starring: Will Forte, Frank Welker, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan
Written By: Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, Matt Lieberman
Directed By: Tony Cervone
Studio: Warner Bros
Buy On Amazon.com

The latest attempt to revitalize Scooby Doo was a reboot that is entertaining but misses the mark a little. It tries to be more of a franchise-builder than bare bones origins story and doesn’t really work.

The movie is about a lonely kid Shaggy Rogers (older version played by Will Forte) who befriends and adopts a talking stray dog who he named Scooby (Frank Welker). On Halloween, Shaggy and Scooby meet Fred (Zac Efron)), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried), and Velma (Gina Rodriguez) and join forces to solve mysteries. They start Mystery, Inc. and years later, need an investor and that person wants them to ditch Scooby and Shaggy. They are excluded but then they get attacked by some robots but are saved by Dee Dee Skyes (Kiersey Clemons), Dynomutt (Ken Jeong), and the Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg). They find out Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs) is up to no good and they all try to uncover what he’s up to.

I’ve been a Scooby Doo fan for a long time, at least when it comes to the original cartoons. I particularly like the silly ones with Batman and Robin, the Harlem Globetrotters and those episodes. I went into this movie with an open mind but somewhat weary mind and while I enjoyed Scoob, I thought it was definitely a misfire in a way.

I think Warner Brothers missed the whole point of Scooby, which is Scooby and the gang solving mysteries on a small scale. Maybe they wanted something bigger but felt forced in a lot of ways. The movie tried to do this Avengers style movie with Blue Falcon, Dynomutt and even Captain Caveman. In the end credits, Japperjaw and other HB cartoon IPs were in there too. It felt very forced and trying too much to be a MCU style of movies. It started out as an origin story which was cute and fun, but it didn’t last long. I would have liked to have seen more of that.

It took a bit of time to get used to Will Forte as Shaggy. I know, Casey Kasem isn’t around anymore, so they have to do what they can but I eventually warmed up to his styling of the character. I like Forte though and loved him on SNL, MacGruber and Last Man on Earth. I didn’t really have an issue with the other actors but they weren’t really noticeable either. Mark Wahlberg was generic as Blue Falcon and not really a good fit in my opinion. Was Patrick Warburton busy? Jason Isaacs was great as Dastardly I thought. I think my main issue with the movie was there were some funny jokes, but even for a kid movie it felt like something was missing. Some things felt dated, the overall story could have been done a lot better and more simple. Things fell flat, the story was all over the place and in the end, just wasn’t that good. Have it just be about the group and how they do ghost hunts and solve mysteries. They didn’t even need to bring in Blue Falcon and all of the other characters. I’d rather Warner Bros just do a separate Blue Falcon/Dynomutt stand-alone movie. It felt like the movie was more about him anyway.

If you enjoyed the movie, the extras on the 4k/Blu-Ray include bloopers, deleted scenes, how to draw Scooby, and a few other smaller featurettes. The one complaint I didn’t have for Scoob was the animation itself or how the movie looked on 4k. The animation style looked great. The rest of the stuff is a bit concerning and I wish they got the story right and didn’t try this updated version of a beloved cartoon franchise. Start small and then go big when you have a winning formula. That didn’t work here. I guess it all comes down to, if kids will enjoy this or not. I’m an old school Scoob fan and I only found this slightly enjoyable.

Features:
Bloopers
Deleted Scenes
How To Draw Scooby Doo
New Friends, Newer Villains
Puppies!!

Video:
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10+
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)

Subtitles:
English SDH, French, Spanish

Bottom Line: I had high hopes for this but was sadly disappointed with it.
Running Time: 90 mins
Rating: PG
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating:

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