Scoob! (2020)

Scoob! arrives as a reboot of a franchise that has already survived two live-action features, several animated series, and the collective indifference of a viewing public that knows exactly what it is getting. The 2020 model hands the Mystery Machine to a younger ensemble and asks them to launch a shared Hanna-Barbera universe, an ambition the finished product wears like an oversized coat. The plot concerns a dog with a secret lineage, three skulls, a trip to the underworld, and a villain who has disguised himself as Simon Cowell. It is busy. It is also, in its quieter moments, about two friends who cannot figure out how to stay friends while one of them is being recruited by a superhero agency.

On the matter of cultural consciousness, the production made a handful of deliberate choices. Gina Rodriguez voices Velma as a Latina, a decision she and the director discussed in terms of sneaking the character's heritage past the gatekeepers, which is a candid way of describing a casting decision. Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, and Tracy Morgan fill out the supporting roster with a diversity that the screenplay never bothers to notice. Velma gets a few sharper lines. Daphne gets competence. Dee Dee Skyes gets a job. The film gestures toward a more inclusive Hanna-Barbera without ever arguing for one, and the Simon Cowell investor scene offers a mild sneer at corporate men who cannot price a friendship, which is as close to a thesis as the movie comes.

The moral, that friendship outlasts destiny and merchandising, is delivered through running, shouting, and a flying van. No speeches. No lectures. A viewer hoping to be scolded will leave unsatisfied, and a viewer hoping for a coherent plot will also leave unsatisfied. We are left with a brightly animated product that occasionally remembers it is about a boy and his dog. We have graded worse.