Spoilers Alert:
It is the first full-length animated film about the popular dog and his friends from Mystery Inc. Yes SCOOBY! FULLY REFINED does not live up to its claim of a contemporary reorientation on the one hand and a loving bow on the other. We reveal why in our review.
Mystery Inc. is facing a new case.
This applies not only to the cramped use of various pop culture references that never really fits in with the rest of the content, but also to the shifting of the plot into space. After Scooby and his friends are kidnapped by a UFO after around 20 minutes and confronted with their rescue mission, the spaceship journey towards saving the world, which borrows from current superhero cinema, consists primarily of hectic slapstick, carried out by robots, dogs and robot dogs. The interaction between Scooby and Shaggy, which was the focus at the beginning, only comes into its own in very few individual scenes; but then also more in the form of narrative clichés. For example, when Scooby has his friendship necklace removed for the mission, even though the prologue said that he would never take it off.
“It’s a truly sweet scene when the two outsiders meet for the very first time and immediately become friends with each other – and the viewer finds out where Scooby-Doo gets its name in the best “Solo: A Star Wars Story” style also.”
In addition, the remaining members of Mystery Inc. are also neglected. And the who’s who of Hollywood could be hired for their voice cast. Zac Efron (“Greatest Showman”)Amanda Seyfried (“Mamma Mia 2: Here we go again”) and Gina Rodriguez (“Deepwater Horizon”) are passionate about what they do. Also Mark Wahlberg (“Spenser Confidential”) likes the role of Blue Falcon, who appears in the form of a superhero and has a lot of fun with gigantomania. Who is completely left behind in all of this? Scooby Doo. And this time the film actually only bears his name.
Conclusion: “Scoob!” shares a problem with various modern animated films. On the one hand, he panders too narrowly to the young target group. On the other hand, the makers try to compensate for this weakness with pop culture references that seem artificial for older people. Not only lovers of the original, but all fans of successful family film fare are left behind.
“Scoob!” will soon be released in USA cinemas.
