Scoob! | |
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Directed by | Tony Cervone |
Produced by | |
Screenplay by |
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Story by |
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Based on |
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Starring | |
Music by | Tom Holkenborg |
Edited by |
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Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $90 million[a] |
Box office | $26.3 million[3][4] |
Scoob! is a 2020 American computer-animated mystery comedy film based on Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo franchise,[5][6] produced by the Warner Animation Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is directed by Tony Cervone from a screenplay by Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman, and a story by Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. It stars the voices of Frank Welker as the titular character (the only current television cast member to feature), as well as Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, and Amanda Seyfried as Shaggy, Velma, Fred and Daphne respectively, and also features the voices of Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong and Tracy Morgan as other Hanna-Barbera animated characters.
The film is a reboot of the Scooby-Doo film series, and set in a shared Hanna-Barbera animated multiverse, the film's story follows the formation and the friendship of a group of four teenagers and a dog who solve mysteries named Mystery Incorporated, and, how they are then joined by The Falcon Force, to investigate their biggest and most challenging mystery behind a spooky plot to unleash the monstrous three-headed ghost dog, Cerberus, upon the world, that's in discovery with the secret legacy and the true purpose of their own mascot.
Plans for a new Scooby-Doo theatrical film began in June 2014, when Warner Bros. announced that they would reboot the Scooby-Doo film series with an animated film. Cervone was hired to direct the film in August 2015, with Dax Shepard being brought to co-direct it in September 2016. By October 2018, Shepard was no longer a part of the project. Much of the cast was hired in March 2019, while animation services were provided by Reel FX Animation Studios.
Scoob! was originally set for a worldwide theatrical release on May 15, 2020, by Warner Bros. Pictures, making it the third theatrical film to feature the Scooby-Doo characters, after Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the closure of theaters across the globe, Warner Bros. made the film available to own digitally in the United States on the same date it was planned to be released in theaters. Scoob! topped digital rental charts in its first three weekends of release and when the film was still theatrically released in select countries beginning in July 2020. The film subsequently received a secondary theatrical release in the United States beginning on May 21, 2021. It received generally mixed reviews from critics.
A young, lonely Shaggy Rogers befriends and adopts a talking stray Great Dane young dog, whom he names Scooby-Doo. On Halloween night, Scooby and Shaggy meet three young detectives named, Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley, before venturing into a haunted house. Inside, the kids encounter a ghost, whom they capture and unmask as costumed thief Mr. Rigby. Inspired by the experience, they decide to form a group, Mystery Inc., to solve mysteries together.
Years later, Mystery Inc., having solved numerous mysteries, goes into business, with business entrepreneur Simon Cowell as their investor, but Cowell refuses to do business with Scooby and Shaggy involved. Later that night, Shaggy and Scooby are terrorized at a bowling alley by shape-shifting scorpion robots called Rottens. The pair are rescued by Dee Dee Skyes, and, their lifelong idols: Dynomutt, and Brian, the son of the masked superhero, Blue Falcon, who has recently retired and passed the mantle to Brian. Dee Dee reveals that The Rottens belong to supercriminal Dick Dastardly, who wants to capture Scooby as part of a plan involving the Great Dane's mysterious connection to the supernatural mystery behind Cerberus' three skulls. Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, and Velma discover that Dick Dastardly is after Scooby and Shaggy, and, they head off to Dastardly Demolition to investigate what he wants with them, before he gets to them.
Trapped and terrorized by Dick Dastardly and his shape-shifting scorpion robots at Funland, Scooby, Shaggy, Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, and Dee Dee all discover a clue behind Scooby's importance to be a key to something. Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, and Velma discover a clue behind Scooby's importance relating to his ancestry, and, are also in despair with their bond and team falling apart without Scooby and Shaggy involved, as they reminisce about the good times they all had together. Fred, Daphne, and Velma discover that Scooby and Shaggy are investigating the mystery behind Scooby himself with The Falcon Force, and, Dastardly impersonates a cop to pull the trio over and imprisons them in his airship. Escaping with help from one of the Rottens, they make contact with Dee Dee, via Dynomutt. Velma explains that she and the others are being taken to Messick Mountain, where the last skull is located. The group then finds out that Dastardly's plan is to open the gates to the Underworld, in order to rescue his dog, Muttley, who was trapped during an attempt to steal the Underworld's riches. Dick Dastardly needs Scooby-Doo to unlock the gates, since he is the last remaining descendant of Alexander the Great's favorite dog, Peritas.
Scooby, Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, and Dee Dee arrive at Messick Mountain and head underground to a hidden Mesozoic mystery island. There, they find the last skull being guarded by Captain Caveman. Following a short battle, Fred and Shaggy arrive, but Fred is revealed to be Dastardly in disguise, as he steals the last skull. The Rottens then throw the real Fred, Daphne, and Velma out of his airship and Dastardly destroys the Falcon Fury. Dastardly then captures Scooby and takes him to Athens. After Shaggy speaks out about how he felt like Scooby's importance would change things and tear him and Scooby apart, he gives an inspiring speech, and everyone works together to reconstruct the Mystery Machine, in order to pursue Dastardly.
Arriving in Athens, Dastardly uses the three skulls to reveal the gates to the Underworld and attempts to use Scooby's paw to open it, only to be interrupted by Scooby's friends in a flying Mystery Machine. The Rottens shoot them down, while Dastardly releases Cerberus; unaware that Dynomutt landed them safely. As Scooby, Dastardly, and the civilians flee from the rampaging Cerberus, Scooby runs to the crash site and reunites with his friends, while Dastardly happily reunites with Muttley in the Underworld and they escape while stealing some of Alexander the Great's treasure. While Scooby and Shaggy determine how to trap Cerberus, Fred, Daphne, and Velma discover more of the mystery behind Scooby's ancestry and its connection to the Underworld, and, The Falcon Force keep Cerberus distracted. With help from the Rottens, Mystery Inc. and friends successfully trap Cerberus back into the Underworld, altogether. However, Shaggy sacrifices himself to lock the gate, following the prophecy of Alexander the Great and Peritas' bond. The gang realizes that there is another exit that continues their prophecy, which Scooby unlocks, and Shaggy is reunited with Scooby and the gang.
The Rottens turn on Dick Dastardly, whom is captured and unmasked upon the revelation of stealing Simon Cowell's identity to break the gang up and take advantage of Scooby for his spooky plot against the gang, since the start. Dastardly, along with Muttley, are taken into custody by The Falcon Force, and, are arrested. Back home, at Venice Beach, the gang unveils their official Mystery Inc. headquarters and celebrates with the entire town and The Falcon Force, who in turn gives the gang an upgraded Mystery Machine, before they reignite their team to go solve another mystery together again.
Additionally, Harry Perry and Ira Glass voice themselves, while director Tony Cervone cameos as the voices of Ghost/Mr. Rigby as well as Alice. John DiMaggio voices a restaurant owner.
On June 17, 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that they would reboot the Scooby-Doo film series with an animated film, then being written by Randall Green.[7][8] On August 17, 2015, Tony Cervone, who had previously worked on several Scooby-Doo projects, was hired to direct the animated film, now with a script by Matt Lieberman. Allison Abbate and Pam Coats produced the film, with Charles Roven and Richard Suckle among its executive producers.[9] Dan Povenmire, the co-creator of the Disney Channel series, Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, was set to be involved in a creative capacity, and was eventually also credited as an executive producer on the film.[9]
At the 2016 CinemaCon, the film's official title was announced to be S.C.O.O.B., with a plot involving Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Machine gang working for a larger organization.[10] The film was intended to lead into a cinematic universe based on Hanna-Barbera properties.[11] In September 2016, it was reported that Dax Shepard would co-direct the film along with Cervone, and would also revise the script.[12] In October 2018, it was announced that Shepard was no longer part of the project, and Kelly Fremon Craig was set as a screenwriter instead.[13] Ultimately, Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman received screenplay credit, with Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart having "story by" billing.
In an early version of the final film's story, Atom Ant, Jabberjaw, and, Grape Ape, were all considered to appear. Tony Cervone confirmed that they were cut, because, they served no purpose to the movie itself, cluttered the film's storytelling and events, and, had many tendencies of stealing the spotlight from Scooby-Doo.[14]
In March 2019, Frank Welker was revealed to be reprising his role as Scooby-Doo, while Will Forte (an avid fan of the Scooby-Doo! franchise and of Shaggy Rogers), Gina Rodriguez, and Tracy Morgan signed on to voice Shaggy, Velma, and Captain Caveman, respectively.[15] Later that month, Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried joined the voice cast as Fred and Daphne, respectively.[16]
Matthew Lillard and Grey DeLisle, the current voices of Shaggy and Daphne (outside the Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe), both expressed their disappointment at not being contacted about the decision to recast their roles.[17][18] Efron's casting as Fred also marks a rare occasion in which the character has not been voiced by Welker, who has played Fred in most incarnations since the show's debut in 1969.[19]
In April 2019, Ken Jeong and Kiersey Clemons were announced to be joining the cast.[20] In May 2019, Mark Wahlberg and Jason Isaacs were added as well, with Mckenna Grace, Iain Armitage, Ariana Greenblatt and Pierce Gagnon set as young versions of Daphne, Shaggy, Velma and Fred, respectively.[21][22][23] In March 2020, Simon Cowell joined the cast voicing a fictionalized version of himself.[24] In May 2020, days before the film's release, it was revealed that voice acting veteran Billy West had reprised his role as Dick Dastardly's sidekick, Muttley, and that Cowell's son, Eric, also has a voice role.
On January 28, 2020, Tom Holkenborg signed on to compose the film's score.[25]
On May 5, 2020, it was announced Scoob! The Album would be released on May 15, 2020, including the songs "On Me" by Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown, featuring Ava Max, and "Summer Feelings" by Lennon Stella, featuring Charlie Puth.[26] The soundtrack also includes other songs by various artists, including Sage the Gemini, R3hab, Pink Sweat$, Galantis, Best Coast, Rico Nasty, and Jack Harlow.
The original score was released digitally on May 29, 2020.[27]
Scoob! was originally set for a September 21, 2018 release,[9] before being pushed back to May 15, 2020.[28] On March 24, 2020, the film's theatrical release was delayed indefinitely due to movie theater closures since mid March, because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.[29] It was announced on April 21, 2020 that Warner Bros. had cancelled the North American theatrical release and instead make Scoob! available for digital distribution in the United States and Canada through Premium Video on demand on the originally scheduled theatrical date.[30] Variety wrote that releasing the film digitally was "a big risk — and an almost certain loss — for Warner Bros.," but noted the success of Trolls World Tour in a similar release venue could be a positive sign.[31] As the pandemic receded, Warner Bros. confirmed the film would still play in theaters in select countries with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions beginning July 8, 2020.[32][33] On June 18, it was announced Scoob! would be available for streaming on HBO Max beginning June 26, 2020.[34] The film was eventually reissued in North American theaters for the weekend lasting from May 21-23, 2021.[35]
The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 21, 2020.[36]
Scoob! was released in theaters on July 10, 2020 in five countries (France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Vietnam), and grossed $1.8 million in its opening weekend. Warner Bros. announced plans to eventually theatrically release the film into 20 markets.[37] Over its second weekend of release, the film made $243,000 from the Netherlands and $266,000 in Spain, as well as finishing third in France.[38] Over the weekend of July 31, the film made $1.3 million from 13 countries.[39] In Spain, the film had a four-week running total of $1.6 million.[40] As of November 26, 2020[update], the film has grossed a total of $24.9 million from international territories.[3][4] When the film was reissued in North American theaters on May 21, 2021, it debuted in 8th place at the box office over the weekend with $850,000.[41]
Scoob! was the top-rented film on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, FandangoNow, Spectrum, and the iTunes Store in its opening weekend. Although Warner Bros. did not report actual figures, the film had a higher sales count than Trolls World Tour, which made $40 million over its first three days.[42][43][44] It remained the top-rented film across all services in its second weekend, then on three of four services in its third.[45][46] In its fourth week it remained #1 on FandangoNow, while falling to second on Amazon Prime and fourth on the iTunes charts.[47][48]
In its fifth weekend of release Warner Bros. lowered the price from $19.99 to $14.99, and the film finished second on FandangoNow, Amazon Prime, and Spectrum, and fifth on iTunes.[49] While no official numbers were released by Warner Bros., Deadline Hollywood estimated that by mid-June the film had made about 35–40% less than Trolls World Tour (which had itself totaled at least $100 million in sales over its first month).[34] In October 2020, The Hollywood Reporter said the film was the third-most popular PVOD title amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[50]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 47% based on 148 reviews, with an average rating of 5.30/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Scoob! is fun enough for youthful viewers and some hardcore fans, but never quite solves the mystery of why audiences shouldn't watch old episodes instead."[51] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[52]
In his review for The Mercury News, Randy Myers wrote, "Scoob! is a goofy and bright surprise - an imaginative reboot that respects its shaggy dog TV roots but is smart enough to add dashes, not shovelfuls, of wry pop-culture and movie references."[53] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and said, "I'm reasonably happy to report that it's a reasonably diverting reboot. It's also ridiculously overpacked, crammed with Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters from various TV series beyond Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!"[54] USA Today's Brian Truitt, who also gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, found the opening "super-fun" but thought everything else was “Ruh-roh” after that.[55] Peter DeBruge of Variety wrote that "this attractive but calculated attempt to connect Scooby-Doo to other Hanna-Barbera characters abandons the show's fun teen-detective format,"[31] and RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, finding the origin story to be "confounding and convoluted for a pretty straightforward Saturday morning cartoon".[56]
Year | Association | Category | Recipient | Result |
2020 | People's Choice Awards[57] | Favorite Family Movie | Scoob! | Nominated |
The Soundtrack Song of 2020 | On Me (feat. Ava Max) Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown | Nominated | ||
2021 | 2021 Kids' Choice Awards[58] | Favorite Animated Movie | Scoob! | Nominated |
Music City Film Critics Association[59] | Best Animated Film | Tony Cervone, Pam Coats and Allison Abbate | Nominated | |
NAACP Image Awards[60] | Outstanding Animated Motion Picture | Scoob! | Nominated | |
SXSW Film Festival[61] | Excellence in Title Design | Jon Berkowitz and Brad Colwell | Pending |
Bleecker Street and Topic Studios will also launch Dream Horse as an under-the-radar offering at 1,256 locations, while Warner Bros. is quietly pushing Scoob! to approximately 2,300 theaters based on Showtimes Dashboard projections.
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