'Scoob' Review: A joyous tribute to Shaggy and Scooby's timeless friendship and those who grew up with them
For those of us who grew up on a diet of 'The Adventures Of Scooby Doo' never grew tired of the format of the show: Something of great value has been robbed, somebody has been kidnapped (usually Daphne), a house would be haunted, and the gang would set off to solve the mystery. Packed with ghosts and "spooky monsters", after watching the show for years, you could predict who would be the "bad guy", or perhaps even before that.
The episodes would invariably conclude with the gang trapping the monster or ghost, pulling the mask off, and *gasp* realizing it was a human all along. Before the bad guy would be taken to the police, he would famously grumble, "Would have gotten away with it, had it not been for you meddling kids..." The cartoon had more such refrains, like "Jeepers Creepers!" or "Jenkies!" Predictable to the last minute, it was still a favorite.
There have been numerous films, animated ones as well as live-action to pay tribute to the fun series. And now, along comes the reboot released on home video, which is or the millennials, with a side-dish of steaming nostalgia. It's thoroughly enjoyable and quirky, that's the long and short of it. There are some tweaks to the format, however. Along with robots, some twisting of history and epic crossovers from other old animated shows, the film has been made for the woke social-media generation. There is the incessant selfie-clicking, the upload of photos to social media, and the hilarious gasp of 'toxic masculinity' when two men decide to fight it out.
The story rewinds to the beginning of Scooby (Frank Welker) and Shaggy's friendship. Their friendship is the heart of the film. Shaggy (Will Forte) is a lonely and miserably child listening to sad songs till he runs into a stray puppy. And so, he names him Scooby. Later, he becomes friends with Fred (Zac Efron), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried) and Velma, (Gina Rodriguez) and on Halloween night, they solve a mystery.
The gang's friendship starts there, but faces a rough patch when Simon Cowell wants to invest in their agency, but doesn't approve of Shaggy and Scoob. The dejected duo set off on their own, and tumble into a mystery on their own, with another brand of superheroes, including DynoMutt (remember him?) and Blue Falcon. Dick Dastardly (Wacky Races) is the main villain, and let's say he is a really fun one too. Shaggy and Scooby's friendship is put to the test as well, and they come out looking pretty fine at the end of it all. Their love and affection for each other saves the day.
Fred isn't the hero here, though he desperately tries to be. He remains the brawn of the team, and Velma remains the brain. Daphne is well.... there.
This was an ode to the 90's kids — for those who grew up with these characters, sang the theme song of 'Scooby Doo' and watched Wacky Races. Directed by Tony Cervone, 'Scoob' is a just a joyous tribute to those days gone by and for those who remember it.