★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Scoob! had the potential to be something great. The classic cartoon gang of Fred (Zac Efron), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried), Velma (Gina Rodriguez), and of course, Scooby (Frank Welker) and Shaggy (Will Forte) are placed in a modern-day reboot of the Hanna-Barbera universe as they navigate the meaning of friendship amidst an over-the-top superhero adventure. Featuring a star-studded voice cast, the gang’s designs are given an upgrade from their original hand-drawn style and the cutesy new look suits them.

Despite having the ingredients for a great film, the story falls flat. Rather that focusing on the gang’s dynamics, Scoob! instead splits into two stories: the A-plot following Scooby and Shaggy’s attempts to avoid an evil super villain and the B-plot where Fred, Velma, and Daphne drive around, get kidnapped, and reunite with their friends. The film already has too many characters to handle and it suffers for it. Those who aren’t Shaggy and Scooby are sidelined, given little more than a single character trait to build off of. Daphne is nice! Velma is smart! Fred is dumb! It’s quite literally spelled out for the audience in a cringe-worthy scene with Simon Cowell who is in the movie for… some reason. The gang feels so useless, both as characters and in relation to the plot, that they could be combined into a single character or potentially removed altogether with little effect on the film.

Part of the reason Scoob! feels so disjointed and cluttered is because the gang aren’t the only protagonists. Blue Falcon and his sidekicks, Dynomutt and Dee Dee Sykes (who are both as inconsequential to the plot as Velma + co), take centre stage as the characters who actually make things happen. They are the ones who kidnap Scooby and Shaggy to save them from evil super-villain Dick Dastardly. They are the ones with the technology and knowledge to defeat Dick Dastardly. It quickly feels like this is actually supposed to be a Blue Falcon film that features the more popular and recognizable Scooby-Doo characters.

The nods to bizarre pop culture imply the film is trying to go for a Shrek-style comedy that appeals to both adults and children. But unlike Shrek, Scoob! doesn’t have the heart or daring to commit to being unique. The classic stoner humour of the original series is replaced with a myriad of meta references that already feel dated. The bright, colourful world and predictable story imply this was a film for kids but the misplaced attempts at humour coupled with the excessive Hanna-Barbera cameos suggest that older audiences were the target as well. It begs the questions of who this film is for and more importantly, why it had to be made in the first place.

Instead of living up to its promise, Scoob! ends up being an incredibly standard, predictable animated film that has been dressed up to hide its purpose of starting a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe. Maybe younger audience members will be oblivious to this obvious attempt at milking a decades old cash cow but anyone who has seen their share of animated films will be easily bored. What could have been a fun, mystery-filled movie is yet another animated superhero flick that adds nothing to an already oversaturated market. Skip this one and watch the live-action versions if you’re looking for a silly nostalgia throwback.