Scoob!

Scoob! is a 2020 American computer-animated comedy mystery film produced by Warner Animation Group and based on the Scooby-Doo franchise.[3][4] The film is directed by Tony Cervone from a screenplay by Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman, and a story by Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. It stars the voices of Frank Welker as the titular character (the only member of the original cast to reprise one's role), as well as Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, and Amanda Seyfried as Shaggy, Velma, Fred and Daphne respectively, with Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong and Tracy Morgan as other Hanna-Barbera animated characters. It is a reboot of the Scooby-Doo film series, and is intended to be the first installment in a series of films set within a Hanna-Barbera shared cinematic universe. The film's plot follows Mystery Inc. as they join forces with Blue Falcon and Dynomutt to stop Dick Dastardly's plot to open the gates of the Greek Underworld resulting in the unleash of Cerberus.

Scoob!
VOD release poster
Directed byTony Cervone
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
Based on
Starring
Music byTom Holkenborg
Edited by
  • Ryan Folsey
  • Vanara Taing
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • May 15, 2020 (2020-05-15) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$11.8 million[1][2]

Plans for a new Scooby-Doo film began in June 2014, when Warner Bros. announced that they would reboot the Scooby-Doo film series with an animated film. Cervone was initially hired to direct the film in August 2015, with Dax Shepard being brought to co-direct it in September 2016. By October 2018, Shepard was no longer a part of the project. Much of the cast was hired in March 2019. Animation services were provided by Reel FX Animation Studios.

Scoob! was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release on May 15, 2020, by Warner Bros. Pictures. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic causing theaters across the globe to close, Warner Bros. made the film available to own digitally in North America on the same date it was planned to be released in theaters. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, it topped the digital rental charts in its first three weekends of release. The film was then released in select theaters in international countries, beginning in July 2020.

Plot

A young Shaggy Rogers befriends and adopts a talking stray dog, whom he names Scooby Dooby-Doo. On Halloween night, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy meet three young detectives named Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley before venturing into a haunted house. After the kids encounter a ghost, whom they capture and unmask as costumed thief Mr. Rigby, they become inspired to solve mysteries together as they all decide to befriend and join forces with each other to form Mystery Inc., as Scooby-Doo and Shaggy also agree to join.

Ten years later, Mystery Inc. goes into business with entrepreneur Simon Cowell as their investor, but Shaggy and Scooby are excluded as Cowell refuses to do business with them; claiming that friendship is useless as they are to be involved in Mystery Inc. since they are judged in failing to live up to what forms a successful team altogether. Later that night, Shaggy and Scooby are attacked at a bowling alley and chased after by small robots called Rottens, though they are rescued by Dee Dee Skyes, Dynomutt, and the Blue Falcon. They reveal that the Rottens belong to super criminal Dick Dastardly, who wants to capture Scooby for personal gain as part of a plan involving the mystery behind the three skulls of Cerberus.

Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, and Velma discover that Shaggy and Scooby are with Blue Falcon before Dastardly captures them. They later escape with the help of a vacuum-headed Rotten and make contact with Dee Dee via Dynomutt. Velma explains that she and the others are being taken to Messick Mountain, where the last skull is located. After they discover Dastardly's plan to open the gates to the Underworld, Dastardly captures them again after revealing that his plan is that he wants to rescue his dog Muttley after he became trapped inside the Underworld during an attempt to steal the Underworld's riches. It is revealed that he needs Scooby-Doo because only he can unlock the gates to the Greek Underworld so that he can steal the treasure from the Underworld.

Blue Falcon, Scooby, Dee Dee, and Dynomutt arrive at Messick Mountain and head underground until they reach a hidden Mesozoic island. They find the last skull being guarded by Captain Caveman. Following a short battle, Fred and Shaggy arrive, but Fred is revealed to be Dastardly in disguise as he steals the last skull. His robots throw the real Fred, Daphne, and Velma out of his airship and destroys the Falcon Fury before capturing Scooby and taking him to Athens. Fred and Blue Falcon argue while Velma, Daphne, Dee Dee, and Dynomutt try to break them up, but Shaggy stops their argument and takes the blame for Scooby's capture after letting his jealousy strain their friendship. After giving an inspiring speech, everyone works together to reconstruct the Mystery Machine.

Arriving in Athens, Dastardly uses the three skulls to reveal the gate and attempts to use Scooby's paw to open it, only to be interrupted by Scooby's friends in a flying Mystery Machine. The Rottens shoot them down while Dastardly releases Cerberus; unaware that Dynomutt landed them safely. As he, Dastardly, and the civilians flee from the rampaging Cerberus, Scooby runs to the crash site and reunites with Mystery Inc. while Dastardly reunites with Muttley in the Underworld and they escape with by stealing some of Alexander the Great's treasure. While everyone is coming with a trap to distract Cerberus, Velma discovers more of the mystery behind Scooby's ancestry and its connection to the Underworld, including that in order to lock the gate, someone with a close connection to their dog must close it from the other side. With help from the Rottens, they trap Cerberus and get him back through the gate while Shaggy sacrifices himself to lock it. The gang realize that there is another exit, which Scooby unlocks, and Shaggy is reunited with them. The Rottens turn on Dastardly and Muttley, who are arrested and taken into custody.

Back home at Venice Beach, the gang unveil their new Mystery Inc. headquarters and celebrate with Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, and Dee Dee, who in turn give the gang an upgraded Mystery Machine before Mystery Inc. get called away on another case.

Cast
Main article: List of Scooby-Doo characters

Additionally, Harry Perry and Ira Glass voice themselves, while director Tony Cervone cameos as the voices of Ghost/Mr. Rigby as well as Alice. John DiMaggio voices a restaurant owner. Don Messick appears as the voices of Space Kook and Muttley via archival laugh recordings.[6]

Production

Development

On June 17, 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that they would reboot the Scooby-Doo film series with an animated film being written by Randall Green.[7][8] On August 17, 2015, Tony Cervone was hired to direct the animated film on a script by Matt Lieberman, while Charles Roven and Richard Suckle would produce the film along with Allison Abbate.[9] Dan Povenmire would be involved in a creative capacity and would also serve as an executive producer on the film.[9]

At the 2016 CinemaCon, the film's official title was announced to be S.C.O.O.B., which would be about Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Machine gang working for a larger organization.[10] The film was intended to lead into a cinematic universe based on Hanna-Barbera properties.[11] In September 2016, it was reported that Dax Shepard would be directing the film along with Cervone, whilst he would also revise the script.[12] In October 2018, it was announced that Shepard was no longer a part of the project and was replaced by Kelly Fremon Craig as screenwriter.[13]

Casting

In March 2019, Frank Welker was revealed to be reprising his role as Scooby-Doo, while Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, and Tracy Morgan signed on to voice Shaggy, Velma, and Captain Caveman, respectively.[14] Later that month, Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried joined the voice cast as Fred and Daphne, respectively.[15]

Matthew Lillard and Grey DeLisle, the longtime voices of Shaggy and Daphne, respectively, both voiced their disappointment at not being contacted about the decision to recast their roles.[16][17] Efron's casting as Fred also marks a rare occasion in which the character has not been voiced by Welker.[18]

In April 2019, Ken Jeong and Kiersey Clemons were announced to be joining the cast.[19] In May 2019, Mark Wahlberg and Jason Isaacs were added to the cast, with Mckenna Grace, Iain Armitage, Ariana Greenblatt and Pierce Gagnon cast as young versions of Daphne, Shaggy, Velma and Fred, respectively.[20][21][22] In March 2020, Simon Cowell joined the cast voicing a fictionalized version of himself.[23] In May 2020, days before the film's release, it was revealed that voice acting veteran Billy West is reprising his role as Dick Dastardly's sidekick, Muttley and that Cowell's son, Eric joined the film.[5]

Music

On January 28, 2020, Tom Holkenborg signed on to compose the film's score.[24]

On May 5, 2020, it was announced Scoob! The Album would be released on May 15, 2020, featuring the song "On Me" by Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown, featuring Ava Max, and "Summer Feelings" by Lennon Stella, featuring Charlie Puth.[25]

The original score was released digitally on May 29, 2020.

Release

Scoob! was originally set for a September 21, 2018 release,[9] before being pushed back to May 15, 2020.[26] On March 24, 2020, the film's theatrical release was delayed indefinitely due to movie theaters closures since mid March because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.[27] It was later announced on April 21, 2020 that Warner Bros. would release Scoob! digitally in the United States and Canada through Premium Video on demand on the originally scheduled date instead of in theaters.[28] Variety wrote that releasing the film digitally was "a big risk — and an almost certain loss — for Warner Bros." but noted the success of Trolls World Tour could be a positive sign.[29] In July 2020, Warner Bros. confirmed the film would still play in theaters in select countries with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions.[30]

On June 18, it was announced Scoob! would be available for streaming on HBO Max beginning June 26, 2020.[31] The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 21, 2020.[32]

Marketing

The first official trailer was released on November 11, 2019.[33] A second and final trailer debuted on March 5, 2020.[34] A novel based on the film was released on April 7, 2020.[35][36]

Reception

Box office

Scoob! was released in theaters on July 10, 2020 in five countries (France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Vietnam) and made $1.8 million in its opening weekend. Warner Bros. announced plans to eventually release the film into 20 markets.[37] Over its second weekend of release, the film made $243,000 from the Netherlands and $266,000 in Spain, as well as finishing third in France.[38] Over the weekend of July 31, the film made $1.3 million from 13 countries.[39] In Spain, the film had a four-week running total of $1.6 million.[40] As of August 9, 2020, the film has grossed a total of $9.9 million from international territories.[1][2]

VOD sales

Scoob! was the top-rented film on Prime Video, Google Play, FandangoNow, Spectrum, and the iTunes Store in its opening weekend. Although Warner Bros. did not report actual figures, the film had a higher sales count than Trolls World Tour, which made $40 million over its first three days.[41][42][43] It remained the top-rented film across all services in its second weekend, then on three of four services in its third.[44][45] In its fourth week it remained #1 on FandangoNow, while falling to second on Amazon Prime and fourth on the iTunes charts.[46][47]

In its fifth weekend of release Warner Bros. lowered the price from $19.99 to $14.99, and the film finished second on FandangoNow, Amazon Prime, and Spectrum, and fifth on iTunes.[48] While no official numbers were released by Warner Bros., Deadline Hollywood estimated that by mid-June the film had made about 35–40% less than Trolls World Tour (which had itself totaled at least $100 million in sales over its first month).[31]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 49% based on 139 reviews, with an average rating of 5.22/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Scoob! is fun enough for youthful viewers and some hardcore fans, but never quite solves the mystery of why audiences shouldn't watch old episodes instead."[49] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[50]

In his review for The Mercury News, Randy Myers wrote, "Scoob! is a goofy and bright surprise - an imaginative reboot that respects its shaggy dog TV roots but is smart enough to add dashes, not shovelfuls, of wry pop-culture and movie references.[51] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and said, "I'm reasonably happy to report that it's a reasonably diverting reboot. It's also ridiculously overpacked, crammed with Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters from various TV series beyond Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!".[52] USA Today's Brian Truitt, who also gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, found the opening "super-fun" but thought everything else was “Ruh-roh” after that.[53] Peter DeBruge of Variety wrote that "this attractive but calculated attempt to connect Scooby-Doo to other Hanna-Barbera characters abandons the show's fun teen-detective format."[29] RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars and found the origin story to be "confounding and convoluted for a pretty straightforward Saturday morning cartoon."[54]

References
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