Scoob! 4K/Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros)
Scoob! is a 2020 comedy directed by Tony Cervone (Scooby-Doo! And Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery, Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo, The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown, & Tom and Jerry franchise). It was written by Matt Lieberman (The Addams Family, Playing with Fire, The Christmas Chronicles, & Free Guy), Adam Sztykiel (Rampage, Due Date, Undateable, & Black Adam), Jack Donaldson (Once Upon a Time in Venice), & Derek Elliott (Norm of the North). It was produced by Chris Columbus (Fantastic Four, Harry Potter franchise, The Witch, & The Lighthouse) & Allison Abbate (The Iron Giant, Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie, & Fantastic Mr. Fox). This is the first time since 1988’s A Pup Named Scooby-Doo that Fred Jones is not voiced by Frank Welker. It had a big theatrical release planned before the Covd-19 situation but it was changed straight to video. It had a limited theatrical run overseas & it grossed $5.2 million.
A lonely Shaggy Rogers befriends & adopts a talking stray dog, whom he names Scooby Dooby-Doo. On Halloween, they meet Fred Jones (played by: Zac Efron from Dirty Grandpa, Neighbors 1/2, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, & Baywatch), Daphne Blake (played by: Amanda Seyfried from Twin Peaks, Ted 2, Jennifer’s Body, & Red Riding Hood), & Velma Dinkley (played by: Gina Rodriguez from Miss Bala, Annihilation, Jane the Virgin, & Carmen Sandiego) before venturing into a haunted house. After the kids encounter a ghost, whom they capture & unmask as costumed thief Mr. Rigby, they become inspired to solve mysteries together as Mystery Inc. Ten years later, Mystery Inc. goes into business with entrepreneur Simon Cowell (as himself) as their investor but Shaggy (played by: Will Forte from SNL, MacGruber, The Brothers Solomon, & Beerfest) & Scooby (played by: Frank Welker from the Scooby Doo franchise, Transformers franchise, The Jetsons, & The Smurfs) are excluded as Cowell refuses to do business with them. Later that night, Shaggy & Scooby are attacked at a bowling alley by small robots called Rottens.
They are rescued by Dee Dee Skyes (played by: Kiersey Clemons from Dope, Neighbors 2, & Flatliners), Dynomutt (played by: Ken Jeong from The Hangover Trilogy, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, & Community), & the Blue Falcon (played by: Mark Wahlberg from The Departed, Boogie Nights, The Big Hit, & Mile 22). They join their team but they take a stronger liking to Scooby & Shaggy gets left in the background. Their new friends reveal that the Rottens belong to super criminal Dick Dastardly (played by: Jason Isaacs from Brotherhood, Star Trek: Discovery, A Cure for Wellness, & Resident Evil), who wants to capture Scooby as part of a plan involving the three skulls of Cerberus. Mystery Inc. makes contact with Dee Dee via Dynomutt. They also start to realize how important Scooby & Shaggy is to their work after struggling with certain aspects of their investigations. Velma explains that she and the others are being taken to Messick Mountain, where the last skull is located. Blue Falcon, Scooby, Dee Dee, & Dynomutt arrive at Messick Mountain. They head underground until they reach a hidden Mesozoic island. They find the last skull being guarded by Captain Caveman (played by: Tracy Morgan from SNL, 30 Rock, Cop Out, & The Last O.G.). Can they all reunite & save each other from this evil plan????
Scoob! was released at the wrong time unfortunately, I think it would have done great in theaters worldwide if this Covd-19 breakout would have never happened. Scoob! is a reboot & origin story for the classic Hanna Barbera characters. They basically started over from scratch & replaced everyone that’s been voicing these iconic roles forever except for Frank Welker as Scooby but he even took a backseat for this because he was replaced as Fred Jones.This caused lots of controversy when it was announced. I really enjoyed the overall look of the film, it was a completely different style compared to all the other recent direct to DVD films from the Scooby Doo franchise. The script here was very hit or miss, I think it had way too many writers involved so everything got mixed up. I thought Scoob! started really strong & it had lots of heart for the origin part of the feature. Then it got really silly & it kinda drifted away from all of that towards the middle. Thankfully, the final act made up for all of that. It’s definitely not a perfect & it has a decent amount of issues. It’s weird because this version of Mystery Inc. feels like it’s aimed more at adults than it’s usual kid fan base. It has funny moments every once in awhile but the comedy falls flat for the most part. Legendary voice actor Frank Welker is great as the classic Scooby Doo. Will Forte was solid as Shaggy but it kinda felt like he was just trying to do an Matthew Lillard impression for most of the feature rather than his own take on the role. I can’t believe Mark Wahlberg has never done an animated film before this. He has the perfect voice for it. He was the best thing about Scoob! & his Blue Falcon character was hilarious. The supporting cast was top notch here which includes Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Ken Jeong, Jason Isaacs, Tracy Morgan, Kiersey Clemons, & Gina Rodriguez. Scoob! was fun & entertaining for the most part. If you are a fan of the legendary cartoon & franchise, this is worth checking out. Since everything got messed up with it, not sure if they will do a sequel but I’d love to see one.
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Warner Bros! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with HDR10+ looks amazing in 4K. It’s the best looking Scooby Doo production made so far. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 & Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 on the UHD. This sounds fantastic on home3 video. All of the dialogue us very clean, all the adventures are elevated, & the music has a killer boost to it. It also has English SDH, French, Spanish subtitles.
Let’s discuss the special features from Warner Bros! No extras on the UHD, they are all located on the blu ray disc. Almost 4 minutes of “Bloopers” featuring some hilarious outtakes from the movie. You get to most of the main cast members goofing up here. Almost 20 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” featuring 10 deleted & extended scenes. They include “Shaggy and Scooby Meet”, “Dastardly in Peru”, “Mischievous Mustache”, “Chef Shaggy”, “Night Hounds”, & 5 others. The little over 10 minute “How To Draw Scooby Doo” with director Tony Cervone. It’s a very detailed instruction video on how to draw your own version of the iconic dog. “New Friends, Newer Villains” is a little over 6 minutes. It has interviews with the cast & director. It has a variety of behind the scenes footage & actors recording their roles. They chat about the history of a few characters re-introduced into the Scooby Doo universe. They chat about the actors who played them & what they brought to the character. They go over some new additions to Scooby Doo & this feature. “Puppies!!” is a little over a minute. It shows the main cast which includes Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Gina Rodriguez, & Will Forte playing with some puppies. It also includes a slipcover, a digital code, & a blu ray copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
