I am currently in that nostalgia of Scooby-Doo after watching this film. You know the fact that I love animations and my main inspiration for it was the cartoons I used to watch. But, lately there have been some adaptations that really butchered the feeling. Yes, I am talking about that live action hybrids The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks and many more like that. You cannot forget the Raja Gosling version of Scooby-Doo don't you. I was low on hope but then I came to know that it was a product of the WAG, who have literally shaken up their animation department with The Lego Movie and since have been giving good to great films. Their new film is Scoob which is now the second animation film after Trolls: World Tour to get a VOD release. How did I feel about the film? Make sure you read my whole review below.
So, Scoob is a 2020 animated film starring Zac Efron, Mark Wahlberg and many talented voice actors. It is directed by Tony Cervone who has previously worked with Spike Brandt on some of the Tom and Jerry direct-to-video films. The story revolves around Shaggy and Scooby, who break themselves from the Mystery Inc. to show that they are not the weaklings. The events which occur after the incident essentially rounds the entire story.
The screenplay of the film is fun for the most part. Let us begin with the positives. The main idea of the film is really good. This film tries to explore the idea of friendship and believing one another with Shaggy and Scooby and two other human-dog pairs. Granted they spell it out for the target audience but still we can forgive it. With this central idea, the characterisations of the film stand out for a family film. The main conflict of Shaggy and Scooby in the film is the best part of the film with their budding relationship and how their relationship grows and they grow as persons. This film has a fun vibe in it and it is mainly for the fans as nostalgia fuels our experience to be a better one. The writing of the film stepping apart from the basic structure of a regular Scooby-Doo episode tries to make a big Hollywood-style adventure film in the unique Scooby-Doo fashion. It works partially. So, let us go to the negatives now. My main gripe with the film is that they give Fred, Velma and Daphny lesser time to shine and mostly the audience wants these characters to get more screen-time than some of the new characters who are just the allies or obstacles. Also, the slapstick comedy of the film used minimally does not work that well. The director of the film clearly did try it with the experience he has with Tom and Jerry films but like in those films, they miss the mark. Also, the dialogues of the film are basically filled with Buzz Words and yes they bring down the quirkiness of those lines. There are some essential elements in a Scooby-Doo film that have to be there like the climax face reveal. This film as it was stepping away from the pattern unnecessarily attaches a joke into the film that feels out of place.
This film's fun vibe comes from its animation. It goes for the cartoony style 3D animation like in Hotel Transylvania or some of the WAG films like Storks. It is very good and the creativity in display is really good. The backgrounds of the film are as cartoony as the character design. To start with, it pops out of the screen with its colour and just the bounciness of the buildings. The character design is good. It stays true to the classic design of the Scooby-Doo cartoon and effectively renders it in 3D. Although, I have complains on this one. The childhood version of Shaggy and Scooby haven't really de-aged well for me and their designs do not really give a feeling that they are kids. The adult version of Fred in the film too just does not render well. The film has some very well choreographed action scenes and their framing makes it even better. They are not amazing but yeah they are very nice. The voice acting of the film too is very solid. Even though the dialogues are ordinary, the voice actors make it work to give the fun feel of the film. Most of the humour in the film is because of the voice acting and their love to these characters. Yeah, one more thing, the Simon Cowell cameo is really good.
This film needs nostalgia to make it a very good watch. It tries to be cool to the audience with its buzz word filled dialogue and due to this it loses its original nature. But, the animation and voice actors step up and make the film a good watch for the most part and a good time with your family. It is available on Google Play Store, iTunes, Amazon UK etc., for VoD.
The screenplay of the film is fun for the most part. Let us begin with the positives. The main idea of the film is really good. This film tries to explore the idea of friendship and believing one another with Shaggy and Scooby and two other human-dog pairs. Granted they spell it out for the target audience but still we can forgive it. With this central idea, the characterisations of the film stand out for a family film. The main conflict of Shaggy and Scooby in the film is the best part of the film with their budding relationship and how their relationship grows and they grow as persons. This film has a fun vibe in it and it is mainly for the fans as nostalgia fuels our experience to be a better one. The writing of the film stepping apart from the basic structure of a regular Scooby-Doo episode tries to make a big Hollywood-style adventure film in the unique Scooby-Doo fashion. It works partially. So, let us go to the negatives now. My main gripe with the film is that they give Fred, Velma and Daphny lesser time to shine and mostly the audience wants these characters to get more screen-time than some of the new characters who are just the allies or obstacles. Also, the slapstick comedy of the film used minimally does not work that well. The director of the film clearly did try it with the experience he has with Tom and Jerry films but like in those films, they miss the mark. Also, the dialogues of the film are basically filled with Buzz Words and yes they bring down the quirkiness of those lines. There are some essential elements in a Scooby-Doo film that have to be there like the climax face reveal. This film as it was stepping away from the pattern unnecessarily attaches a joke into the film that feels out of place.
This film's fun vibe comes from its animation. It goes for the cartoony style 3D animation like in Hotel Transylvania or some of the WAG films like Storks. It is very good and the creativity in display is really good. The backgrounds of the film are as cartoony as the character design. To start with, it pops out of the screen with its colour and just the bounciness of the buildings. The character design is good. It stays true to the classic design of the Scooby-Doo cartoon and effectively renders it in 3D. Although, I have complains on this one. The childhood version of Shaggy and Scooby haven't really de-aged well for me and their designs do not really give a feeling that they are kids. The adult version of Fred in the film too just does not render well. The film has some very well choreographed action scenes and their framing makes it even better. They are not amazing but yeah they are very nice. The voice acting of the film too is very solid. Even though the dialogues are ordinary, the voice actors make it work to give the fun feel of the film. Most of the humour in the film is because of the voice acting and their love to these characters. Yeah, one more thing, the Simon Cowell cameo is really good.
This film needs nostalgia to make it a very good watch. It tries to be cool to the audience with its buzz word filled dialogue and due to this it loses its original nature. But, the animation and voice actors step up and make the film a good watch for the most part and a good time with your family. It is available on Google Play Store, iTunes, Amazon UK etc., for VoD.
IMDb Rating : 7.5/10
My Rating : 6.5/10
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