SCOOB! Movie Review

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

As parts of the country still are under stay-at-home orders and others are slowly opening up, Warner Bros. Pictures came to the home entertainment rescue with the at home digital release of SCOOB!, the latest Scooby Doo movie in this longstanding franchise.  With a talented cast and a fancy at home premiere night, hopes were high for this film. . .but does it live up to the expectations?  Let's take a look.

SCOOB! Movie Review

I have to admit, all of this time at home has me really excited when something new hits the digital entertainment world and I was probably more excited about the "newness" of SCOOB! then I was for the actual movie.  I've never been much of a Scooby Doo fan and I actually don't think my kids have really seen much of anything Scooby Doo previously.  Regardless, we all excitedly tuned in and weren't disappointed.

Scooby fans will be excited to get a little backstory at the beginning of the film as to how Scoob and Shaggy become friends then their first interaction with Velma, Fred, and Daphne - the rest of what will become Mystery, Inc.  As the group of friends grow up from kids to young adults, they are taking on more and more cases.  Like many small businesses, they are looking for investors - enter Simon Cowell.  Yes, you read that right, a cameo by Simon Cowell!  In true Simon fashion he critiques the work of Mystery, Inc. - particularly where Scooby and Shaggy are concerned.  Hurt by the meeting, Scooby and Shaggy go bowling and that's where this newest adventure really begins.  The two friends come under attack and then are mysteriously rescued by one of their favorite superhero duos - Blue Falcon and Dynomutt.  While on board, they begin putting pieces together about an evil plot by the villain, Dick Dastardly, who is after Scooby himself!  Meanwhile, Fred, Velma, and Daphne learn of the attack on the bowling alley and the mysterious disappearance of their friends.  They jump into action themselves to try and rescue Scooby and Shaggy.  

The overarching theme of this movie is all about friendship.  Simon Cowell makes a comment when he is meeting with Mystery, Inc. that friendship won't save the day and throughout the movie, that theory is put to the test.  Viewers see Fred, Velma, and Daphne wrestling with the advice of Simon Cowell to distance themselves from Scooby and Shaggy while also wanting to remain loyal to their longtime friends.  But more poignantly is the changing dymanic of Scooby Doo and Shaggy on their adventure with Blue Falcon.  They challenge their beliefs about themselves and each other.  Can people (and dogs!) grow and change while still having their friendship survive?  Without spoiling the details of their adventure, there are many valuable lessons about friendship that you'll find in the film.

Overall, my kids really enjoyed the movie.  We watched it twice in a 24 hour period and they probably would have watched it more if we would have let them!  There are life lessons sprinkled among the laughs and it's a solid choice for family movie night.

Learn more about the SCOOB! premiere and get your FREE activity pack for the movie here!

About SCOOB! (From Warner Bros. Pictures)

"SCOOB!" reveals how lifelong friends Scooby and Shaggy first met and how they joined with young detectives Fred, Velma, and Daphne to form the famous Mystery Inc. Now, with hundreds of cases solved and adventures hared, Scooby and the gang face their biggest, most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world.  As they race to stop this global "dogpocalypse," the gang discovers that Scooby has a secret legacy and an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.