REVIEW: SCOOB! is More of a Who’s Who of Hanna-Barbera Characters Rather Than a Scooby-Doo Movie

Those meddling kids and their dog are back for a new adventure in WB’s new animated movie, SCOOB!. Featuring the voices of Will Forte, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Gina Rodriguez, and Mark Wahlberg, the new story follows Shaggy (Forte) and Scooby-Do as they try to prove that they can save the day without their friends, Fred (Efron), Velma (Rodriguez) and Daphne (Seyfried). When the duo teams up with Blue Falcon (Wahlberg), Dee Dee Sykes (Kiersey Clemons) and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder to take down Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs), who is kidnapping canines in hopes of accessing the treasure hidden in the gates of he**, the whole gang realizes that it will take all of them to take down Dastardly.

SCOOB! lacked what I loved most about the original Scooby-Do story and that was having the original gang all together. I always enjoyed the stories where the whole gang was working together to solve the mystery, like in the original animated series, and this movie didn’t have that same feel. Instead, the group spent a majority of the movie separated. Plus, it felt like the creators tried to include too many Hanna-Barbera characters into the movie rather than focus on the mystery at hand. If you can even really call it a mystery. Also, I enjoyed Dick Dastardly when he appeared in other Hanna-Barbera productions, but having him as the villain just didn’t fit into this Scooby-Doo movie.

With that being said, Isaacs is the clear stand out among the voice actors. He does such a nice job bringing to life Dastardly that you almost end up rooting for him in the end. Forte was okay as Shaggy, but something was missing from his performance. Maybe it was because his voice wasn’t high enough for the character or because it had too much of a surfer feel to it, but whatever it was it just didn’t work. Efron, Seyfried and Rodriguez were good choices as Fred, Daphne and Velma, while Walhberg is very convincing as Blue Falcon.

SCOOB! may not be a movie for Scooby-Doo fans, but it will definitely keep younger audiences entertained. The music is a little distracting at times, but the movie has a lot of great colors and some funny moments. Fans of Scooby-Doo, I would recommend watching the older series or one of the older Scooby-Do0 movies if you are looking for something to watch this weekend.

Grade: C