Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you? That’s what fans of the mystery-solving mutt have been saying for the past 15 years, since Mystery Inc. were last on the big screen. But now Scooby, Shaggy and the gang are back in Scoob!, an animated reboot of the franchise that will draw from other classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, as well. And we finally have the first trailer for the movie.
Scoob! features a talented cast taking over the roles of the iconic spook-seeking teens. Zac Efron is team leader Fred Jones, Amanda Seyfried’s frequent damsel in distress Daphne Blake, Gina Rodriguez voices brainbox Velma Dinkley while Will Forte plays eternal hippie Shaggy Rogers. Franchise veteran Frank Welker, meanwhile, returns as Scooby-Doo.
The USP of Scoob! is that it creates something of a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe as Mystery Incorporated will team up with the likes of Captain Caveman (Tracy Morgan), Blue Falcon (Mark Wahlberg) and Dyno-Mutt (Ken Jeong) in order to stop Dick Dastardly (Jason Isaacs) in whatever evil scheme he’s up to nowadays. Going by his past offenses, it could be something to do with fixing a race or catching pigeons.
We received our first stills from Scoob! last week which revealed the character designs for the team. Scooby and Shaggy are spot-on, with their looks hewing very close to their traditional appearances. Velma, Daphne and Fred, meanwhile, have been tweaked a little, which may prove a tad disappointing to fans. But mostly the film seems set to be a blast for lovers of Saturday morning cartoons.
Scooby made his cinematic debut with 2002’s live-action Scooby-Doo movie, which was soon followed by its 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed. Due to the follow-up underperforming, the live-action series switched to straight-to-DVD films from then on and Warner Bros. held off on further theatrical releases. Here’s hoping they’re onto a winner with this one, though, and Scooby’s here to stay on the big screen.
Scoob! hits theaters on May 15th, 2020.
