I didn’t expect this review to come out as quickly as it
did. It’s funny how inspiration strikes
at the least likely of times.
So in my previous review, I went into full detail about how
movie studios are trying to adjust to the new normal this pandemic brought onto
us. All of the big blockbusters that
were coming out over the next couple months simply got pushed back to a later
release date in hopes that the Coronavirus would be gone by the late
summer/early fall or in some cases 2021.
Yeah….I wish it was that easy too.
Universal Studios was the first studio to find a way to capitalize on
the new normal by keeping some of their projects at their current release date
but releasing them on video on demand streaming (VOD). And some of these projects were recognizable
big name properties that have proven to make hundreds of millions worldwide.
That’s why for a while I was planning to review Trolls World
Tour, the biggest movie to be released in the past two months. All for the historical context because all
the movie studios had their eyes on this.
Waiting to see how it performed and if it was financially successful
enough for other studios to adjust to the new normal or keep pushing their big
properties back until the pandemic was over.
But I just couldn’t do it. I
couldn’t spend my money on a sequel that I have zero interest in seeing because
the original turned me away from ever wanting to see anything else DreamWorks
had in store for it. It’s a kid’s movie
through and through. I like some of the
names involved, but the movie itself is some damn boring and uninteresting for
an adult male like me. I may not be able
to go to the movie theaters for the time being, but I’m still selective with
what projects I want to see when it comes to spending my money.
I assume Trolls World Tour was successful enough. Like the article said, it made nearly 100 million without movie theaters being involved. That’s why Warner Brothers committed to
keeping Scoob at its release date for VOD.
Now this was a film I had interest in.
Because I’ve always been a fan of Scooby-Doo. I love this property with all of my
heart. I became a fan of mysteries due
to this show. This property and premise
can be released in any decade and it will still be chalk full of fresh ideas. Which is why its been rebooted so much for
newer generations no matter how many missed steps. Whether it be two bad live action movies or a
Teen Titans Go inspired flash animation series, the Scooby-Doo property will
always bounce back due to pure simplicity and endless amounts of goodwill built
up over the years.
Keep that last sentence in mind throughout this review
because this movie was infuriating to sit through. To the point that maybe Trolls World Tour
might have been a better movie to review instead. Because say what you will about what I might
have thought about that. At least Trolls
is not embarrassed about the history of its IP.
I can’t think of a movie more embarrassed of its IP’s origins than I
have while watching Scoob.
Let me get the small amounts of positive out of the way
now. I did like that this movie in
essence is about the friendship between a man and his dog. As someone who is such a dog person, I fully
agree with the message of this movie.
Dogs have helped me throughout my life for emotional support and I was
very attached to every dog I’ve had in my life because they are comforting and
have eternal love to share that makes my heart melt. Scoob absolutely conveyed that message not
just with Shaggy and Scooby, but Blue Falcon and his dog Dynomutt, as well as
Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley.
Also, the movie got a few chuckles out of me. There are some clever jokes in there when it
is not hamfisting you with so many pop culture references. More on that later. And Will Forte was a serviceable Shaggy. He proved me wrong because I was absolutely
skeptical when Matthew Lillard was right there for hire. There’s a reason why Casey Kasam gave him the
Shaggy seal of approval. Oh and Frank
Welker (forever so many roles, obviously Scooby in this) is a timeless voice
acting treasure who should be preserved for all eternity.
Okay...gloves off.
Scoob is not a true Scooby-Doo movie.
It touches upon the bare minimum to technically call itself a Scooby-Doo
movie. Shaggy meets Scooby. Those two meet Fred, Daphne, and Velma. They solve one mystery as kids. And that’s it. The rest of this movie is basically anything
but a true Scooby-Doo movie. It
basically becomes a superhero action movie chalk full of those clichés with the
gang separating and a giant portal in the sky from the bad guy. And just like a superhero movie…and all the
other big blockbusters out there now, it is a building block movie for a
cinematic extended universe. This time,
it’s the Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe.
Which honestly, I like the idea of that in premise. There are so many great Hanna-Barbera
cartoons out there that I can see building up to a Wacky Races team up film or
something along those lines. I’m all for
this idea if they execute it correctly.
And I guess they execute this idea more naturally in this movie with
introducing Blue Falcon as an idol for Shaggy and Scooby and having Dick
Dastardly as the villain naturally than say Warner Brothers did with the DCEU
or 2017’s The Mummy did with Dark Universe.
But say what you will about DC or Dark, at least I still got
a sense that they weren’t ashamed of their origins. Part of what makes Scooby-Doo so timeless is
its self-awareness of the time period it started off in. When A Pup Named Scooby-Doo came out in the
80s, at least it was aware of what time period it was supposed to be set in
with its origins of the Mystery Inc. gang.
I have no idea when Scoob was supposed to start off in. When they first introduce us to Shaggy, this
guy plays “California Luv” from his boombox to make you think its in the
90s. But then Shaggy pulls out his smartphone
and it leaves you scratching your head some more. Also when the Mystery Inc gang goes trick or
treating, Daphne is dressed as 2017 Wonder Woman. At least commit to your new timeline for this
property. Jesus.
And then we get to the present, where the stupidest of
things happens to get the gang to split up.
I’ll give you guys a slight hint.
A certain pop culture reference appears as himself and pop culture
references the gang to split up. This
pop culture reference is so fucking dated at this point in time. It was getting old in 2002 and nearly twenty
years after its peak of relevance its getting tired and dated. All these pop culture references are so
fucking tired and dated. I could make an
entire review of how many pop culture references this movie makes. From the obvious references from the trailer
like a dabbing Blue Falcon to dedicating an entire minute to a not funny joke
about borrowing someone’s Netflix login information.
And speaking of tired, let’s talk about the rest of the Mystery
Inc gang. It feels like Fred, Daphne,
and Velma are in this movie for like ten to fifteen minutes tops. And they got some pretty recognizable names
to voice these three characters (Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, and Gina Rodriguez
respectively). I can’t even judge how all three of these did
as their characters really because the sole purpose of these three in this
movie is to figure out where Shaggy and Scooby are. I sure hope they got paid well for doing so
little. In comparison to Mark Wahlberg
who voices the Blue Falcon who probably got paid too much because he’s Mark
Wahlberg, the biggest name tied to this movie.
And I guess he did fine with how over the top his character is to an
annoying degree.
But at the end of the day, all the bad pop culture
references and superhero blockbuster plots can’t mask the fact that Warner
Brothers was ashamed to make a true Scooby-Doo movie. Say what you will about those live-action
movies. At least they weren’t ashamed of
where the IP came from. It made plenty
of good callbacks to its origins, no matter how bad the results ended up. And one of the best reviewed movies of 2019
was a mystery movie. So there is still a
market for those. Hell, an animated
mystery movie based off of Scooby-Doo would be huge in this day and age. If there was a box office, it would make
hundreds of millions. Not to say Scoob
wouldn’t do that too. It still would in
this day and age. But this property
deserved better people making a true Scooby-Doo movie. One that would be everything this IP
represented. Not what we got.
What's my final grade for this misfire? How about a Scooby Dooby D
And that might honestly be too generous.
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