Scoob!

An Ode to the Canine

3/5

Spoilers

A week ago I posted a review of Zack Snyder's Justice League. As I made the point then, the successes of Marvel's Cinematic Universe have prompted other studios to try and create something similar. These green-eyed ambitions seem to leave a destructive wake wherever they crop up. Warner Bros. and DC have consistently struggled to get the DCEU into action, but at least that property is still relatively functioning. Less could be said for other attempts by other studios.

Seeing the oncoming trend, and realising that their Silver Screen horror pictures were probably the progenitors of this 'shared universe' construct, Universal Pictures attempted to revive the concept beginning with 2017's The Mummy. Despite rolling out their A-List stars to launch the so-called 'Dark Universe', the film's failure saw the enterprise cancelled. Sony, owning the cinematic rights to the Spider-Man Marvel properties, tried a similar endeavour with their Amazing Spider-Man movies. Again, a disastrous showing with Amazing Spider-Man 2 saw that universe canned and creative dominance returned to Marvel. Although, the Venom films seem to be an attempt to resurrect Sony's unloved monster.

The most perplexing I saw of these was the plan to create a 'Hanna-Barbera' shared universe. Warner Bros. seemingly felt they could corner the youth market, and perhaps challenge Disney, with some form of pumped up version of beloved 60s cartoons. When I first read of this I laughed, my eyes rolling with a sigh of bewilderment. How would that even work? Would Top Cat try to con a bed for the night from The Jetsons? Would Yogi Bear steal Penelope Pitstop's lunch? Was Huckleberry Hound going to be their Thanos? Unsurprisingly, the plans seemed to make little headway and, much like Snagglepuss, exited, stage right.

As the cinemas shut down last year, it became apparent that this universe had not quite been as deeply buried as I had once believed. It was announced that the planned release of Scoob!, surprisingly a reboot of Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, was having its cinematic screening pulled in favour of a streaming release. Scoob!, where did you come from, is the more likely question. With a perverse sense of morbid interest, I looked the film up on Wikipedia. Indeed, it was a reboot, though animated unlike the early 00s travesties. And it indeed was the last surviving vestiges of the Hanna-Barbera Shared Universe.

With growing interest I read that, aside from Frank Welker continuing to voice Scooby, the film had pulled in some big names (Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Amanda Seyfried, Zac Efron, Ken Jeong, and more). More excitingly though, I found to my surprise, they had indeed utilised other HB characters: Dick Dastardly, Muttley, The Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Dee Dee Sykes of the Teen Angels, and, bizarrely...

Captaaaain... Caaaaaaaaavemaaaaan!

Sorry.

With my accidental NOW TV subscription lurking around still, mocking me for that foolish extra month of payment, I discovered that Scoob! was available to watch. With the promise of the Mystery Inc. gang getting into hijinks with Dick Dastardly, Muttley, and Captain Caaaaa... (you get the picture), I was drawn into watching it. And, in all honesty, it's not too shabby.

As a long time fan of Hanna-Barbera, this was a carefully handled product. Although a more modern sense of humour ran through the film and backstories were reimagined, the characters remained true to their original forms. Velma's intelligence, Daphne's compassion, Fred's no-nonsense bravery, and Shaggy and Scooby's sheer cowardice. The other guests, too, maintained their recognisable forms, albeit with newly minted dialogue. Alongside the well delivered characters were a series of Easter Eggs, laid out for all, from the casual viewer to the obsessive observer. Dick Dastardly's flying ship was shaped just like his Wacky Races car. Muttley's shrine was adorned with a model of a pigeon. Shaggy ran past a Hong Kong Phooey arcade game. All were gladly commented upon by myself as they whizzed by.

The animation itself was well designed and thought through. Often with 'blockbuster' animation releases, that aren't Disney/Pixar, the animation is considered more functionally instead of being seen as integral to the art. For this, the director clearly opted to move away from the traditional 'cheap' animation of Hanna-Barbera (however wonderful it actually is) and made a move into 3D effects. But the basis of these models seem inspired by the stop-motion movement rather than three dimensional drawings we see with Dreamworks or the like. There was a certain influence of Aardman and, more likely, Adult Swim's Robot Chicken, with the characters having a near plastic toy quality to their textures. Seemingly the propensity for hilarity that these sources abound with were seen as something that would aid the slapstick nature of Scooby Doo.

At the core of the film's narrative, though, is an ode to man and his best friend. If you boil down the Scooby Doo cartoons, brush aside the fairground owners in masks, turn the lights back on in the old library, you will find a story about a young man and his dog, his old friend, old buddy, old pal. The writers have clearly seen that too; a loyalty that leads them from following each other into situations they would rather not be in, to sharing foot long sandwiches. In comparison, we are given the new Blue Falcon, failing to live up to his father's legacy, most pointedly in his inability to form a relationship with Dynomutt. And then we have the seeming antithesis of Shag and Scoob: Dick Dastardly and Muttley. Seemingly, Dastardly is on a quest to retrieve gold from Hades which he let Muttley perish for some years before. In reality, his bond with his canine accomplice is so strong that he is actually trying to rescue his dog from the Underworld.

As a cat owner, the dog-man bond is not one to which I have any great experience, but it contains a universal message of comradeship, loyalty, and respect for other creatures. Amidst the movie's silliness and internal references, there is surprising message on the virtues of this companionship, modelled by the protagonists as they reach Alexander the Great and his dog's lofty example. Although the joke rate sometimes dips, the message is one we can all appreciate.

Scoob!

Director: Tony Cervone

Writers: Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman

Composer: Tom Holkenborg

Starring: Frank Welker, Will Forte, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Gina Rodriguez, Jason Isaacs, and Mark Mahlberg

Currently available to stream on NOW TV.