Blog:Review - "SCOOB!" is a beautiful love letter to Hanna-Barbera and to its source material

"This is what the live-action Scooby-Doo movies should have been." — Doug Walker/Nostalgia Critic

This is my sixth time rewatching the film, and this is one of those movies that genuinely gets better and better on repeat viewings to this extent. In a world where Warner Bros. now has TWO cinematic universes to deal with (the other improving very much lately especially with since "Wonder Woman" to very recently with "Birds of Prey"), here I am basically spoiling the verdict, that "SCOOB!" is an underrated bonkers of a cinematic gem. After re-watching the film for the sixth time, it's still as bonkers as I seem to remember it from the first viewing.

Addressing the elephant in the room, this is the movie that the live-action Scooby-Doo movies should have been. Unlike those films, this movie not only makes a great origin story for how the main characters would develop and form altogether based on Scooby-Doo and Shaggy's friendship that would tie together to their relationship with Fred, Daphne, and Velma to form Mystery Inc. since childhood (let alone its overall concept; hence the clever choice of titling the film "SCOOB!"), but on top of that, this movie is very faithful to the franchise it was based on, while only doing some minor changes to fit the lore of the movie. With the setting resembling exactly what a modern city in the Hanna-Barbera animated universe would look like, including a very complex mystery that involves the origin of the titular character and why he is important, tying in with the mystery behind the three skulls of Cerberus. In fact, this movie is also a love letter to both Hanna-Barbera and to its source material, as it also includes an infinite amount of Easter Eggs, inside-jokes, and references to the franchise and Hanna Barbera's legacy throughout the entire film: Ranging from being subtle to in-your face (including Simon Cowell's humorous but noteworthy cameo as a nice homage to "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" as the benefactor who helps Mystery Inc. turn their mystery-solving hobby into a viable business also serving as a very important plot development) and also wonderful tributes to many people involved in the legacy of Scooby-Doo and Hanna-Barbera as part of the film's in-jokes as worthy of a mention, such as Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Nicole Jaffe, Heather North, Iwao Takamoto, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and even the creators: Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. Believe me when I am implying that those are just examples, as the list goes on, and on. <3

The film may be jump-starting the Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, but the film proves that it does so much more than just that as it puts many creative ideas put into good use, such as the inclusion of other Hanna-Barbera characters that would fit in the same universe but has never received the same cultural ubiquity of the Scooby-Doo franchise, such as Dynomutt, Blue Falcon (the first two first appearing in "The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour" and its series premiere guest starring the Mystery Inc while being revealed to be Scooby and Shaggy's idols), Dee Dee, and Captain Caveman. It's also rather unexpected to see the right amount of fan service enough to satisfy classic fans without turning off mainstream fans, even as the start of the Cinematic Universe with even additional cameos from Atom Ant, Jabberjaw, Grape Ape, Dr. Benton Quest, Frankenstein Jr., Rosie the Robot (from The Jetsons), and Captain Caveman who additionally makes an appearance in the film right before the third act, all from the end credits that also includes a throwback to the episode "Go Away Ghost Ship" from the original series. And lastly, Dick Dastardly is also finalized as the villain of this movie, which is an outright pure genius move to befit Dastardly's status within pop-culture as one of the company's most well-known and beloved villains ever since he became a kind of go-to villain for various Hanna-Barbera specials and series' (now potentially in movies as part of the Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe) owing to his easy recognizability.

Just in case: Before any of you smart alecks attempt to strawman me for having a nostalgia bias on an animated reboot with mixed-to-negative (otherwise inaccurate) scores on abysmal websites such as IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes (hence the latter's name), I'll have y'all convinced that "Smurfs: The Lost Village" is also an underrated cinematic gem that ended up being what its live-action films should have been, and that film faced its malarkey from "critics" and those sites too despite its faithfulness to the source material, so thheere! (Got eem!) Bob's your uncle.

With that out of the way, let's still dive in. First things first, the 3D/CGI animation, provided by Reel FX, looks and feels astonishingly great with very expressive yet fluidly cartoony movements, detailed character designs (while taking a risk at refreshing the designs of a few characters such as Velma, Dick Dastardly, and Dynomutt without being radically different), and gorgeous overall visuals with some spooky-themed aesthetics as one of the main attempts to spice up its horror genre. It even inspires its animation from 2D animation legends such as Milt Kahl, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and Richard Williams in a 3D finish while replicating a classic vintage feel, and that is saying a lot: Also including newly-implemented Looney Tunes-esque slapstick, while capturing the memorable Hanna-Barbera sound effects from the source material that also balances the cartoony dynamic very well. Hence from the nostalgia factor.

And as mentioned, the film has a really captivating setting and a very strong premise with regards to the film's plot about Scooby-Doo and Shaggy's friendship that would tie together to their relationship with Fred, Daphne, and Velma to form Mystery Inc., that includes a VERY complex mystery about Scooby's decent origin story that contains the sensible amount of clues and explanation included in the right moments from the middle of the second act through very closely to the third act with Fred, Daphne and Velma's subplot matching the fair amount of screen time given with reveals of the mystery behind the skulls of Cerberus as it unleashes the three-headed ghost dog itself along with the gates of the underworld (with more in the third act about Scooby's legacy that connects to the Greek Underworld), making it feel unpredictable due to the clever use of foreshadowing, such as Scooby-Doo's lineage is being foreshadowed just 43 seconds into the movie (including the year date of the original show's premiere; bonus in-joke), the montage sequence at the start of the film which also previews how complex the mystery is in this film compared to the usual masked villain plot point (Kudos to Best Coast for such a fantastic take on the original Scooby-Doo theme song, by the way), the mystery behind the Cerberus skulls as questioned by Shaggy within the relevance they have with him or Scooby, and hints of what actually happened to Muttley. The endless heartwarming moments also do follow with it which are all cute and very well-done, such as the childhood origin story of how Scooby and Shaggy then the rest of which who already are children detectives, Fred, Daphne, and Velma (also a great homage to "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo") all meet and come together as well as the strongest representation of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy's bond that does build up during the emotional mystery, alongside the rest of the crew that also do demonstrate a side of their relationship that has never been shown before as it takes the time to express how the characters feel, especially in Shaggy's character arc that can easily be relatable with appreciating his emotions and look forward to his goals as he was also close to almost losing Scooby again, with Shaggy and Scooby's character traits also being fully explored in this film whereas its meant for humour in the cartoons. And it is all thanks to its expansion to two of the source material's main themes: Friendship and teamwork. The movie faces a very positive influence to its characters and character development representing how friendship can live on even if people grow and how teamwork can lead to more than just for the sake of pairing up with one another only for the love of hard work and determination, and also asking for help whenever it's necessary to help live up to its standards. This even does apply with Blue Falcon (Brian)'s sub-character arc based on his relationship with Dynomutt who never seemed to trust him in becoming a good successor to the original Blue Falcon, Dick Dastardly's love-hate relationship with Muttley after successfully risking his life to save Muttley from the gates of the Underworld in which he was then revealed to be trapped in for years right before the climax: The main reason as to why Scooby is important through his legacy in Greek history based on him being revealed to be the last descendant of Alexander the Great's dog with him being able to unlock the gates to the Underworld, and paired with a heartwarming backstory of how he lost Muttley in the gates of the Underworld. Though at times (if thankfully in very rare occasions), it can rather backfire through a few fiction clichés, such as the "jealous best friend forces friend to choose sides" cliché when Shaggy and Scooby-Doo's friendship breaks apart when something a bit more dramatic yet powerful could have otherwise backed up the conflict better for enhanced execution.

Speaking of its characters, they are still as likable and as memorable as ever. Not only do I love how the film takes a risk of including other Hanna-Barbera characters that would fit in the same universe but has never received the same cultural ubiquity of the Scooby-Doo franchise, but a few of them in general also do have some changes for the more interesting side of things. As said, Dick Dastardly went beyond from being a stereotypical villain into a legitimate supervillain portrayed as a bigger threat than he ever was in any of his other appearances while coming off as quite sympathetic as his primary goal was to reunite with Muttley, with quite some more characters worthy to mention: Shaggy is given more depth in his personality with a sad backstory of how lonesome and timid he was as a kid with no friends while trying his best to make friends before he met Scooby, Dynomutt went from being dimwitted and silly into being snarky, intelligent, yet absolutely hilarious and also receives character development compared to his original counterpart as he is a lot more serious with his responsibilities and slowly begins to trust Brian (the Blue Falcon's son) into trying becoming a good successor to his father and eventually became close, Captain Caveman even receives adaptational intelligence while somehow becoming a lot funnier than he was originally thanks to his added charisma and guardian role (although it sucks that we don't get to see him join the gang in the climax as the film oddly previewed, in which results in a lack of development for him), and even Daphne, the character known for having the least amount of personality typically posing as the rich damsel in distress for fan service, receives some character as she feels a lot more fleshed out as a great supporting role with some genuine moments that are worth a chuckle, including that one scene where she references how it'd be like if Scooby-Doo and Shaggy were around to save them from imprisonment at Dick Dastardly's ship. While Brian Crown (revealed to be the Blue Falcon's son) can come off as rather arrogant and unlikable, at the very least, he does receive character development through his sub-character arc with some additional goofy and funny moments that can or can't make up for it depending on the scenario, with moments of being serious as he continuously fears of not living up to his father in helping out his and Dynomutt's lifelong idols: Scooby-Doo and Shaggy. The main characters themselves also feel more fleshed-out as they even seem to break out of their common stereotypes that have existed for the past 5 decades: Fred doesn’t seem to be leading the entire team his way every single time, Daphne doesn’t get kidnapped, Velma doesn’t lose her glasses and is given more complex dialogue to fit her personality traits better, and Shaggy and Scooby-Doo don’t run away from every problem they face but instead take their advantage to stand up for themselves and for the crew as their character traits are fully explored here whereas it was originally meant for humour, leaving room for more defined and complex characters overall. The way just about every character is written and performed is probably the absolute best they’ve been in a while, and every scene/bit of dialogue with the main is spot on. Everything feels so genuine and wonderful, though Captain Caveman's potential would have otherwise increased with added development if he did join the gang in the third act, which would have been a lot sweeter if it did happen.

The voice acting for the characters by the way are still decent despite some of the polarizing casting choices. While Matthew Lillard has unfortunately not gotten the chance to reprise as Shaggy, Will Forte still managed to be a very decent Shaggy while providing a great reflection to his personality as his traits are fully discovered with a voice that nicely blends familiarity and modernity, and also with the big-top Frank Welker reprising his voice role as Scooby-Doo and with Billy West reprising his voice role as Muttley as both of the top highlights. I especially loved Jason Isaacs as Dick Dastardly and Ken Jeong's take on Dynomutt's new character to fit the lore of his relationship with Brian: The son and successor to the Blue Falcon.

Which brings in to its humour, and the movie is (mostly) very funny. A lot of good laughs do come from its otherwise intelligent dialogue and easily-memorable lines, and even self-aware jokes such as the clever Falcon-bomb joke in which the film itself is self-aware about its PG-rating, and when Brian assumes Dynomutt to be glitching as he tries to finish his sentence of how much he misses the original Blue Falcon from retirement at Palm Beach. ESPECIALLY including the unforgettably hilarious running gag throughout the film with Dick Dastardly being revealed through disguises of characters in the film in which also adds up to his increased charisma and onto the final unmasking sequence. With that said however, some of the humor is occasionally a hit or miss, involving the use of internet memes with Brian Crown (the Blue Falcon's son) dabbing in one scene, as well as a few product placement jokes with the mentions of Walmart, IKEA, Netflix, and Tinder. (though the latter two scenes are sort of worth chuckling, especially one of which does poke fun of Dick Dastardly's stereotypically villainous persona that Hanna-Barbera purists like yours truly still remember and love). There is also one adult joke in the film where Dynomutt calls out on Velma to stay out of his search history when he suddenly got hacked by her. While it was funny, it did seem a little bizarre at the same time as it can also sound inappropriate for its target audience. I also did love how Dynomutt poked fun of Brian for using teen slang in one scene of the movie, in which ironically it's (likely unintentionally) used by Captain Caveman in one part of the movie where he referred the Mystery Machine as some "dope" wheels. There is however a clever choice of pop culture references used in the movie, which can even be references to Warner Bros.' own other properties such as Wonder Woman from DC and Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, and even references of slapstick reminiscent to Looney Tunes and Warner Bros. Cartoons such as Dick Dastardly falling off from the sky in a similar fashion as with how Wile E. Coyote would typically fall off a cliff. The majority of the film's pop culture references are also endless references of the source material and of Hanna-Barbera, such as how Dynomutt imagines Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to take on Cerberus as they are chased by him with the theme song of the original show, with Scooby-Doo's bowling technique reminiscent to Fred Flintstone's signature bowling technique, with the third Cerberus skull being referred as the "Slaghoople" (Wilma Flintstone's maiden name) by Captain Caveman, and with Simon Cowell's guest star appearance being a nice nod to "The New Scooby-Doo Movies", while as said, being an important part of the plot development. Also obvious by the plot twist revealing that he was Dick Dastardly all along behind the plan of forcing Scooby-Doo and Shaggy to quit Mystery Inc. (causing to demoralize the gang) only so that he'd be using one of them for personal gain, as later previewed after being revealed to be the creator of the robots who sent them to chase after them and attack when they are isolated in that bowling alley; hence a humorous way to poke pun of the masked villain plot point and a part of the film's running gag.

Since no film is perfect with a couple of flaws already pointed out, the one big personal issue I have with the film that also applies to a few of Warner Bros.' other animated films ("Storks" being the biggest example despite how much i enjoyed it overall), it's the pacing. It does have a tendency of moving at light-speed thus sometimes making the movie rather hard to follow as those events can seem to happen quicker than expected, which makes it a little all over the place and out of hand. It is a shame considering some of the noteworthy changes to the film while still staying faithful to the cartoon and its charm overall, including the movie's mystery. At the end, it can make its otherwise authentic story feel rather cluttered and hard to follow, meaning at least a second watch a must-do. While it would end up confusing some longtime fans on a first watch for that matter, what else can I say from the many times I had agreed re-watching it?

Speaking of spicing things up, the movie also does have even more creative ideas put to great use. For example, the idea of having an overarching villain (Cerberus; a character mentioned and imagined many times in the franchise even in "What's New, Scooby-Doo?") being put into the Scooby-Doo franchise is very interesting and has rarely ever been done before in the franchise since Mystery Incorporated, and it also spices up a rather suspenseful tone as it isn't actually being debunked as a myth but rather a real monster, helping out with a darker tone for its third act. Speaking of which, there is also spicing up in the horror and suspense genre, such as how frightening Cerberus (and even the robots when hostile) seem to look and render to its target audience and the risks of being trapped in the gates of the Underworld, including its animation creating very spooky-themed aesthetics. It even does spice up the typical chase sequences in the franchise alone through very fast and thrilling action that ties into the cartoony and adventure-like tone of the film, especially the chase sequences of Dick Dastardly in his mission to capture Scooby following up the first earlier chase scene at the bowling alley. Many of them are essentially spiced-up versions of the typical chase sequences with the antagonists chasing after at least Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, and the gang overall. Though it may take time getting used to for some Scooby-Doo fans to get into it and understand it due to quite a few changes, such as the movie's mystery and the idea of setting up a Cinematic Universe for Hanna-Barbera as a whole. As such, the film does expect all of its viewers to know everything about the Scooby-Doo franchise and Hanna-Barbera (including their legacies) to understand the plot and enjoy watching the movie, which is a questionable take, but that likely also wouldn't go against how much of a love letter this movie is to its respective sources adapted from.

Bottom-line, "SCOOB!" is a beautiful love letter to Hanna-Barbera and to its source material, and it's an underrated cinematic gem that also makes for a great nostalgia trip for Hanna-Barbera purists. It's also what I personally consider the best Scooby-Doo movie tied together with "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" (though the film discussed here is theatrical and the latter is direct-to-video) due to its immense heart that goes along with it's plentiful amount of twists and faithfulness to the source material. This is the theatrical animated reboot that the live-action movies should have been and what purists deserve, even if it may take some time to grow on a few. A great blend of heart, comedy, drama, storytelling, suspense, and overall faith to the source material, I highly recommend this film to the true purists of Scooby-Doo and Hanna-Barbera combined overall. It’s clear that the people behind the film are familiar with the franchise, especially considering that director Tony Cervone is one of the top three people that helped bring in Mystery Incorporated, which is already (and arguably) one of the best (and most meta) iterations of the franchise to date. If this really is the kickstart to the Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, then this is really off to a great start. It was a great movie, and I absolutely recommend it. <3

Did I also forget to mention Sheriff Stone's blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo appearance at the beginning of the movie during the moment where he is arresting Mr. Rigby?

RATING: 8/10