The scaredy-cat Scooby-Doo-as a dog himself-is the key to the villain’s plan, as well as to stopping him. Shaggy and Scooby get recruited by this preening good guy to defeat the bad guy Dick Dastardly ( Jason Isaacs), who wants to unlock the underworld and unleash the three-headed hound Cerberus upon the unsuspecting masses.

The actual adventure they go on with vapid and vain superhero Blue Falcon ( Mark Wahlberg) isn’t all that compelling. Will Forte (Shaggy), Gina Rodriguez (Velma), Amanda Seyfried (Daphne) and an ideally chosen Zac Efron (Fred) lead the star-studded cast of voice actors who increasingly struggle to make this material interesting. Legendary voice actor Frank Welker-the original voice of Fred-has been playing Scooby-Doo for years now and does so here, as well.

“Scoob!” takes place in the present day, with all the technology and conveniences that affords, but the teens adhere to the franchise’s groovy ethos, down to their clothes, the occasional exclamation of “jinkies!” and the anachronistic, flower-powered Mystery Machine van Fred drives. Sure thing.)īut the breezy fun of the team’s beginnings gives way to overbearing, non-stop antics as they grow into young adults and tackle the film’s central mystery. (Upon meeting on Halloween night, they all promise each other not to make a habit of entering dark, creepy houses. and reveal glimmers of the personalities they’ll all eventually forge: brave Fred, brainy Velma and brazen Daphne, with the nervous Shaggy and sweetly bumbling Great Dane hesitantly bringing up the rear. We also see Shaggy and Scooby connect with the kids with whom they’ll end up forming Mystery Inc. The way he meets and amusingly names a wayward, stray puppy Scooby Dooby Doo is genuinely sweet and heartwarming, and more of the gentle, emotionally authentic mood of these early scenes would have been welcome throughout. We begin when Shaggy is a boy (voiced by “Young Sheldon” star Iain Armitage), hanging out at Venice Beach, despondent despite the beautiful weather because he has no friends. Establishing this world with vibrant color and lively energy actually makes it quite appealing off the top it’s when the actual plot kicks in that things get bogged down. The film from director Tony Cervone, an animation veteran with tons of experience in the Hanna-Barbera world, knows that adults (and probably lots of younger viewers) are already aware of these familiar beats and tropes and has some fun with Easter eggs and meta, self-referential gags. Invariably, the bad guy behind the scheme is someone they already know, disguised in a mask-and he would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids. A bunch of teenagers and a talking dog solve mysteries.

Yoinks scoob