Mystery Inc. is at it again.
It seems like every generation has to make the Scooby Squad their own in some way. For me, the crime-fighting crew was depicted in a live-action island fantasy starring Sarah Michelle Geller and some other ’90s icons. Reinventing these classic characters is not new, but the way Scoob! does it is totally original. The film solves the mystery on how to reboot a movie in a fun, fresh way — and it couldn’t have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids.
For parents who grew up watching Scooby-Doo, it’s a familiar scene: About two seconds into the new film Scoob! — the latest take on the lovable pup and his crimefighting friends — he’s already causing mass chaos in the name of food.
The then-unnamed dog is chased by a police officer for stealing a giant mound of Gyro meat and runs into a young, lonely Shaggy, who names him after Scooby Snacks and saves him from heading to the pound. Soon after, the two swear to be best friends forever. It’s an untold glimpse into how the duo formed and it doesn’t end there.
When they’re out trick-or-treating, some heath-conscience bullies throw their candy into a haunted house, and who comes to the rescue other than Fred, Daphne, and Velma. The kids save the candy and solve their first mystery. The rest is history — just not one we’ve been told before.
The story jumps forward to modern-day (actual modern-day, there are iPhones and everything), at which time Mystery Inc. is in full swing and looking to expand. When Simon Cowell (do kids know who he is?) doesn’t want to invest in the company because Shaggy and Scooby aren’t serious enough about crime-solving, the pair runs away to eat and forget their sorrows at a bowling alley. It’s all fun and games until robots attack.
This is where families will get the first glimpse that this isn’t what parents used to watch on Saturday mornings as kids — this is a new generation of hijinks for a new generation, and something fresh for adults who thought they’ve seen all the stories Scooby had to offer.
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are saved, not by the Mystery Inc., but by Blue Falcon (the son of a superhero with some powerful shoes to fill) and his (way more helpful) sidekicks Dee Dee Sykes and Dynomutt. The best friends learn that the villain Dick Dastardly wants to kidnap Scooby by any means necessary. Meanwhile, the rest of Mystery Inc. is on the case to find their friends.
Dastardly wants to use Scooby to unleash a Docapolyspe upon the world and the gang needs to work together to stop him. It’s not the mystery of the week we’re used to — but it’s an inviting story with funny jokes along the way. Kids will fall in love with Dastardly’s Minion-like companions and laugh at the means by which the gang and the heroes save the world. Constant banter and puns are met with an overarching story about self-growth and the power of friendship.
New voice actors — Will Forte (Shaggy), Gina Rodriquez (Velma), Zac Efron (Fred), Amanda Seyfried (Daphne), and Frank Welker (Scooby) — meet new animation to fully cement that this isn’t your mom’s Scooby-Doo. Instead, it’s a shiny, three-dimensional take that brings the classic characters to a brand new generation of meddling kids.
