Scoob! (film)

For other uses, see Scoob!

Scoob!
Oh, look, another cinematic universe launching. Let's hope it's as successful as Universal's Dark Universe... Oh, wait.
Production company	Warner Animation Group Reel FX
Distributor	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	May 15, 2020
Run time	1:33:53
Starring	Will Forte Mark Wahlberg Jason Isaacs Gina Rodriguez Zac Efron Amanda Seyfried Kiersey Clemons Ken Jeong Tracy Morgan Frank Welker
Executive producer(s)	Adam Sztykiel Charles Roven Richard Suckle Jesse Ehrman Dan Povenmire Chris Columbus
Producer(s)	Pam Coats Allison Abbate Tony Cosanella Timothy Jason Smith Robin Morrison Hannah Checkley
Music composed by	Tom Holkenborg
Story by	Matt Lieberman and Eyal Podell and Jonathon E. Stewart
Screenplay by	Adam Sztykiel and Jack C. Donaldson Derek Elliott and Matt Lieberman
Director(s)	Tony Cervone
Title card

Scoob!, stylized as SCOOB!, is an American supernatural action comedy film based on Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! TV series with elements of the company's other intellectual properties, effectively making it the beginning of a theoretical "cinematic universe." The film went into official production in 2015 when Warner Animation Group hired Tony Cervone as director. The film had several writers connected, with the final on-screen credits going to a screenplay written by Adam Sztykiel, Jack C. Donaldson, Derek Elliot, Matt Lieberman, and the story to Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. It was also produced by Pam Coats and Allison Abbate. What would've made this film unique among other Scooby-Doo films, is this was the first one intended to be released into theaters by Warner Bros. Pictures on May 15, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they switched it to direct-to-streaming as is the tactic most studios were taking at the time. It eventually received a short theatrical release between May 21-May 23, 2021.

The film chronicles the first encounter between Scooby and Shaggy, and their founding of Mystery Inc. with Fred, Daphne, and Velma, who go on to solve many crimes that usually involve a person wearing a ghostly disguise. Just when they think they've seen it all, the stakes are raised even higher as the world comes under the threat of Dick Dastardly's "dogpocalypse," and are called into action by superheroes Blue Falcon and Dynomutt.

In 2022, HBO Max was to stream their exclusive follow up with the midquel instead of a sequel (so stop calling it that) Scoob! Holiday Haunt. However, it was scrapped near completion due to a budgetary overhaul by Warner Bros. Discovery's new CEO and President, David Zaslav.

Memorable quotes

Dick: I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for you mismatched meddling miscreants!

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Harry Perry	Himself
Restaurant owner	John DiMaggio
Scooby-Doo	Frank Welker
Officer Gary	Kevin Heffernan
Squiddly Diddly (artwork)	N/A
Shaggy Rogers	Iain Armitage (young) Will Forte
Harry Nilsson (voice only)	Himself
Bobby Vinton (voice only)	Himself
Ira Glass (voice only)	Himself
Shaggy's mother (voice only)	Pam Coats
Fluid-Man (poster)	N/A
Coil-Man (poster)	N/A
Multi-Man (poster)	N/A
Blue Falcon (photo, poster, etc.)	N/A
David Letterman (photo)	N/A
Dynomutt	Ken Jeong
Secret Squirrel (artwork)	N/A
Snagglepuss Lion (artwork)	N/A
Atom Ant	N/A
Mr. Hyde (artwork)	N/A
Frankenstein Jr. (artwork and hologram)	N/A
Chad	Henry Kaufman
Chet	Henry Kaufman
Fred Jones	Pierce Gagnon (young) Zac Efron
Velma Dinkley	Arianna Greenblatt (young) Gina Rodriguez
Daphne Blake	Mckenna Grace (young) Amanda Seyfried
Wonder Woman
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Judge Judy
Mr. Rigby	Tony Cervone
Officer Frank	Adam Sztykiel
Officer North	Alex Kauffman
Ghost of Elias Kingston	N/A
The Phantom	N/A
Space Kook	N/A
Ghost of Captain Cutler	N/A
Charlie the Robot	N/A
Black Knight	N/A
Simon Cowell	Himself
Rotten robots; Dusty	Vanara Taing
Judy Takamoto	Maya Erskine
Dispatcher Stevens (voice only)	Sarah Lancia
Top Cat
Benny the Ball
Dee Dee Skyes	Kiersey Clemons
Keith (voice only)	Henry Winkler
Blue Falcon (Brian)	Mark Wahlberg
Benjamin Franklin (money print)	N/A
Cerberus	Fred Tatasciore
Dick Dastardly/Officer Jaffe	Jason Isaacs (Dick) Christina Hendricks (Dick as Jaffe)
Mr. Cogswell (billboard)	N/A
Mr. Peebles
Daphne's father
Pedro Sanchez
Huckleberry Hound
Boom Bhurioun
Dick Dastardly's mother
Muttley	Billy West Don Messick
Peritas (painting and statue)	N/A
Hong Kong Phooey (artwork)	N/A
Dusk (poster)	N/A
Thorn (poster)	N/A
Luna (poster)	N/A
Fleegle (poster)	N/A
Drooper (poster)	N/A
Bingo (poster)	N/A
Snorky (poster)	N/A
Butch Cassidy
Jabberjaw	N/A
Biff (poster)	N/A
Bubbles (poster)	N/A
Clamhead (poster)	N/A
Shelly (poster)	N/A
Gérard Depardieu
Alexander the Great (painting and statue)	N/A
Yankee Doodle Pigeon (stuffed)	N/A
Chris Hemsworth
Liam Hemsworth
Kelly Clarkson
Pterodactyl	Frank Welker
Captain Caveman	Tracy Morgan
Kari	Maven Morgan
Ben	Eric Cowell
Old Man Jenkins
Jamie Rivera	Justina Machado
Grape Ape	N/A
Doctor Benton Quest	N/A
R.O.S.I.E. (blueprint)	N/A
Penelope Pitstop (drawing)	N/A
Sergeant Blast (drawing)	N/A
Private Meekly (drawing)	N/A
Gruesome Twosome (drawing)	N/A
Rufus Ruffcut (drawing)	N/A
Sawtooth (drawing)	N/A
Slag Brothers (drawing)	N/A

Organizations

• Los Angeles Police Department
• Kurinsky's (mentioned)
• The Impossibles (poster)
• Walmart (mentioned)
• Mystery Incorporated
• Laziwazs Transport (mentioned)
• Rottens
• IKEA (mentioned)
• Falcon Force
• Cogswell Cogs (mentioned)
• Netflix (mentioned)
• Canine Global Kennel Club
• The Hex Girls (poster)
• The Banana Splits (poster)
• The Neptunes (mentioned)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids (mentioned)
• Vulture Squadron (poster)
• The New York Shopper
• Ascot Weekly
• The Daily News

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles
        • Venice
          • Ruby's Subs
          • Alexander's Great Gyros!
          • Casey's Creations
          • Mystery Incorporated headquarters
          • Rogers residence
          • Rigby residence
          • R&S Coffee Shop
          • Takamoto Bowl
            • Hoagy's Alley
          • Carlton Way
            • Hanna's Barber Shop
            • Barbera's Pizza
            • Peebles Pet Shop
            • Silverman's Service Station
            • Dastardly Demolition
      • Burbank (mentioned)
    • Florida (indirectly mentioned)
      • Palm Beach (mentioned)
    • Bubbleland (mentioned)
    • Jellystone National Park (billboard)
    • New York
      • New York City
        • Times Square
    • Quest Labs
  • Europe (mentioned)
    • England (mentioned)
    • France (indirectly mentioned)
      • Paris (mentioned)
  • South America (indirectly mentioned)
    • Peru (mentioned)
      • Machu Picchu (mentioned)
        • Waka Waka Way (mentioned)
  • West Africa (indirectly mentioned)
    • Nigeria (mentioned)
      • Lagos (mentioned)
  • Canada (mentioned)
    • Quebec (indirectly mentioned)
      • Montreal (mentioned)
  • Australia (mentioned)
    • Melbourne (mentioned)
  • Asia (map)
    • Gobi Desert
  • Balkans
    • Romania
      • Funland
  • North Pole
    • Messick Mountain
      • Mystery Island
  • Greece
    • Athens
  • Spain
    • San Pedro
• The Moon
• Underworld

Objects

• Shelby and Sandy
• Scooby Snacks
• Hanna-Barbera Presents #1
• Dogfancy
• Time
• Blue Falcon Funko Pop
• Dynmomutt Funko Pop
• Police Code Book
• Pitstop (billboard)
• Nstergrand
• Tinder (mentioned)
• Phooey Phighter
• Laff-A-Lympians
• Space Stars
• Questpad (billboard)
• Blue Falcon Confidence Pack
• Blue Falcon Nutrition Guide
• No Falcon Around
• Just Falcon Around
• Winchell's Motor Oil (photo)
• The New York Shopper newspaper
• Velma Dinkley's Eye Cement (billboard)
• The Daily News newspaper

Vehicles

• Falconcar (toy)
• The Mystery Machine
• Falcon Fury
• Mean Machine ship
• Mean Machine car
• Compact Pussycat (drawing)
• Creepy Coupe (drawing)
• Army Surplus Special (drawing)
• Buzz Wagon (drawing)
• Boulder Mobile (drawing)

Production

Development

In 2013, Matt Lieberman pitched the idea of the movie as S.C.O.O.B., which stood for Special Covert Organization of Otherworldly Beasts. This involved Blue Falcon leading several other Hanna-Barbera characters, including Grape Ape, Jabberjaw, and Atom Ant. This was altered because there were too many to service.

In 2014, Randall Green was hired to write a new movie, with Charles Roven returning to produce after 2002's Scooby-Doo and 2004's Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. It's unclear if this was intended to be the same movie or not, but Roven was an executive producer on SCOOB!

In 2015, Warner Bros. announced Matt Lieberman as writer, Tony Cervone as director, producer Richard Suckle, who had previously worked with Roven on the aforementioned films, along with Dan Povemnire and Allison Abbate (who coincidentally just happens to be Cervone's wife). Warner Animation Group was announced as handling the movie's production, which they hoped to be the beginning of a series of movies starring other Hanna-Barbera characters, with Greg Silverman, president of creative development and worldwide production, declaring that Scooby-Doo was one of their most "famous brand ambassadors." Their target date was September 21, 2018.

At CinemaCon 2016, the first title was revealed to be S.C.O.O.B., with the plot revolving around the gang working for a higher organization. Again, this was intended to be the beginning of "unlocking" the wider Hanna-Barbera universe.

In late 2016, Warner Bros. felt very confident with Dax Shepard's CHiPs, so he was brought on board SCOOB, so he could add his unique flare as co-writer and co-director. Yes. This is true.

In May 2017, the release date was pushed back to September 18, 2020.

Casting

At the beginning of March of 2019, Frank Welker was revealed to be reprising his role as Scooby-Doo, with newcomers, Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, and Tracy Morgan assuming the roles of Shaggy, Velma, and Captain Caveman, respectively. By the end of that same month, Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried were announced to be playing Fred and Daphne, respectively. Efron was chosen over Glen Powell.

In 2018, even before the cast was selected, Matthew Lillard, the current voice of Shaggy in TV series and animated DTV movies, had no expectations that he would be in SCOOB, as he believed they would want someone bigger than him. Very grown-up and realistic expectations. And then, of course, when Will Forte was announced as Shaggy, Lillard backtracked by ignored his previous comment and rushed to complained on Twitter about not being told personally. Still, on opening day, he wished the film would do well.

Likewise, Grey Griffin also expressed disappointment in not being able to portray Daphne in the movie as she had been in the current TV series and DTV movies, even going so far as to say that it made it impossible to watch the film and hear Daphne with someone else's voice after playing Daphne for over 19 years 20 years, although she wished Seyfried her best.

Continuing with April 2019, Ken Jeong and Kiersey Clemons were confirmed to be playing Dynomutt and Dee Dee Skyes, respectively. Finally in May, the cast had been rounded out with Mark Wahlberg and Jason Isaacs as Blue Falcon and Dick Dastardly, respectively.

In May, additional casting revealed younger actors playing the parts of Mystery Inc. in the opening of the movie, with Iain Armitage and Mckenna Grace as Shaggy and Daphne, respectively and Ariana Greenblatt and Pierce Gagnon as Fred and Velma, respectively. These actors along with Welker will reprise their roles in SCOOB! Holiday Haunt.

When Billy West was cast as Muttley, he suggested that the crew should use Don Messick's wheezing laugh as he was unable to do it justice.

There was also the celebrity cameo of Simon Cowell, who excitedly mentioned it on the November 2, 2019 episode of The X-Factor: Celebrity.

Filming

During the making of the film, several scenes were cut:

• The opening of the film was different concerning how Shaggy met Scooby. We see him and his family recently moved into their house, with Shaggy having difficulty making fitting into his new school, and having trouble with the bullies who later took his candy. So his parents take him to a farm where he picks the not so different Scooby. Even then he's not named Scooby, but Shaggy tells him they'll figure out his name later.
• There was more of Shaggy and Scooby at Halloween, with Shaggy pointing out where all the best houses for candy are, such as Mrs. Renaldi's, who has cataracts and the worst houses to avoid, which includes a dentist's.
• Dick disguises himself as an archaeologist Dr. Fitzhugh, so he can steal the first skull in Machu Picchu. The archaeologist who was helping him, Sandra, tells Dick that Blue Falcon will stop him.
• Scooby and Shaggy make a sandwich.
• Dee Dee sees what's inside Scooby and Shaggy's brains to know why Dick would want them. It turns out the inside of their brains is something we shouldn't see.
• Dick tries to groom his wild mustache.
• Shaggy discovers Grape Ape locked away on the Falcon Fury. Grape Ape, who talks like a regular monkey, convinces Shaggy to release him for a little while. The intention of Grape Ape was that he was a little monkey who could transform into a giant sized version of himself.
• Fred, Daphne, and Velma try to bait Dick with his own robot, but they fail and get captured, instead.
• A montage of Mystery Inc. and Falcon Force attaching the engines of the Falcon Fury to the Mystery Machine. Interestingly, Captain Caveman helps them and comes along for the ride, just as the other cavepeople swarm in. Keith is left behind and his voice is heard asking, "Where did everybody go," which is noticed by the cavepeople.
• When the gates of the Underworld open, Cerberus's army of night hounds come out to attack Mystery Inc. and Falcon Force. This is where Fred attacks in vengeance for the Mystery Machine's "death," but instead of attacking Cerberus, he attacks a soldier, defeating him through sonic vibration, as they can not be defeated through ordinary means. The rest of the heroes then create each of their own noises to defeat the army.

The film was copyrighted in 2020.

Music

Main article: SCOOB! Album

The music was produced, programmed, orchestrated, and mixed by Tom Holkenberg. Original songs have also been written and performed for the film, including "Summer Feelings" by Lennon Stella featuring Charlie Puth, and "On Me," by Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown, featuring Ava Max.

In 2019, YouTuber CG5 was approached by Artist Partner Group of Warner Music Group to audition a song, which didn't make the cut. On May 8, 2020, he uploaded "Mystery Machine," the uploaded the finished product of what could've been in the film.

Songs

• "California Love" - Tupac Shakur featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman
• "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" - Backstreet Boys
• "One" - Three Dog Night
• "Mr. Lonely" - Bobby Vinton
• "Yikes" - Jack Harlow
• "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" - Best Coast
• "Shallow"
• "AT&T Sonic Logo (AT&T)"
• "Tick Tick Boom" - Sage the Gemini (featuring BYG 23)
• "Baby Talk" - Jan & Dean
• "Sirius" - Alan Parsons Project
• "All I Do Is Win" - DJ Khaled featuring T-Pain
• "Also Sprach Zarathustra"
• "On Me" - Thomas Rhett and Kane Brown (feat. Ava Max)
• "Let's Get It On" - Marvine Gaye
• "March of the Winkies"
• "B.O.B." - Outkast
• "I Fly" - Galantis (feat. Faouzia)
• "Summer Feelings" - Lennon Stella featuring Charlie Puth

Release

• United States: May 15, 2020 on digital media; June 26, 2020 on HBO Max; May 21-May 23, 2021 in theaters

Behind the scenes

• In the opening to the trailer released during Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl, Shaggy refers to Scooby playing dead as the greatest death scene since the film Avengers: Endgame.
• Ruby's Subs is named after Joe Ruby, co-creator of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The place sells free spears with its sandwiches, a bonus reference to the series other co-creator Ken Spears.
• Alexander's Great Gyros! has been open since 1969 which is the same year Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! premiered.
• Casey's Creations is named after Casey Kasem, the original voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
• Young Shaggy and Scooby like liverwurst which was common for them in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
• Shaggy says his real name is Norville which is taken from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, the TV series that also had the gang as little kids.
• Scooby and Shaggy meet on October 31st, the date on Shaggy's phone.
• Kurinsky's, who manufactured Scooby Snacks in the film, was named after the designer, Michael Kurinsky. Kurinsky's name is also on the IEC machine Velma uses.
• Shaggy thinks Velma is dressed like the book character Harry Potter on Halloween.
• Scooby says "Ruh-roh" once.
• Daphne says "Jeepers" twice.
• Shaggy says "Zoinks" thrice.
• Velma says "Jinkies" once; Fred also says "Jinkies" once.
• Officer Frank is named after Frank Welker, while Officer North is named after Heather North, the second voice of Daphne in the original series.
• The montage of the kids growing up and investigating spooky places and running into ghosts is a direct homage to the opening theme to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
• The vanity plate of the Mystery Machine is "SCBYSNK."
• R&S Coffee Shop is another reference to Ruby and Spears.
• Takamoto Bowl is named after Iwao Takamoto, who designed the look of each member of Mystery Inc. for the original series. The shape of the building mimics the design of Hanna-Barbera's studio offices on West Cahuenga Boulevard.
• Silverman's Gas Station is named after animator David Silverman, which is on the corner of Eisenberg, named after either animators Harry or Jerry Eisenberg.
• The Rotten robots are named after the Really Rottens, the evil group in the Laff-A-Lympics TV series. Dick Dastardly and Muttley couldn't be in that series due to legal prevention from Heatter-Quigley, forcing Hanna-Barbera to replace them with doppelgangers, the Dread Baron and Mumbly.
• The alley behind Takamoto Bowl has graffitied names of Top Cat and Benny the Ball from the Top Cat, implicating that it was done by them and that the alley is the incarnation of Hoagy's Alley.
• Hanna's Barber Shop and Barbera's Pizza are named after William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, respectively, who founded the Hanna-Barbera studio and directed the original Scooby-Doo series.
• Nstergrand is a parody of Instagram.
• Dispatcher Stevens is named after Pat Stevens, the second voice of Velma in The Scooby-Doo Show.
• Lookyup is a parody of Google.
• Brian breaks the fourth wall by saying they're in a PG-rated film.
• Benton Quest is the inventor of the Questpad, an iPhone parody, and the "Q" laptop Velma uses, presumably a parody of the Apple Inc. logo.
• Nstergrand is a parody of Instagram.
• Messick Mountain is named after Don Messick, the original voice actor of Scooby.
• Winchell's Motor Oil is named after Paul Winchell, the original voice of Dick in the TV series Wacky Races.
• Dastardly apparently has a stuffed Yankee Doodle Pigeon, who was the foil of his Vulture Squadron in the TV series Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines.
• Captain Caveman refers to his skull as a "slaghoople" which is the maiden name of Wilma Flintstone from The Flintstones.
• Shaggy mentions "Middle-earth," which is a setting in The Lord of the Rings books, films, etc.
• Dastardly makes a Cinderella reference when he says, "And the slipper fits," after using Scooby's paw to unlock the Underworld door.
• Cowell mentions the musical Cats.
• Special thanks are given to Joe Ruby & Ken Spears, because that's the best Warner Bros. can legally say, instead of saying "Based on characters created by Joe Ruby & Ken Spears."

Errors

• The timeline of young Shaggy doesn't make sense because he owns both a Super Nintendo and Funko Pops. You could say that the Super Nintendo has been passed down to Shaggy, but the existence of the Funko Pops would make the present day actually set sometime in the future even though this clearly isn't the case.
  • The timing of young Velma dressing up as Ruth Bader Ginsburg also has the same problem, since the latter's pop culture presence really didn't become that big until a few years before the movie was released.
• Officer North calls her partner Frank, but the voice credits list him as Officer Casey, which is another tribute to Casey Kasem.

Everlasting influence

• In 2019, Warner Bros. Animation began development of a quickly aborted new Dynomutt series, which included an African American woman, who looked similar to SCOOB!'s iteration of Dee Dee Sykes, in its cast.
• In the film Space Jam: A New Legacy, a poster of the film is on view at Warner Bros.' Burbank studio lot. Later, the models of Mystery Inc., the Mystery Machine, Captain Caveman, Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Dick Dastardly, Muttley, and the Mean Machine are reused for their Serververse counterparts. The characters are summoned to watch the basketball game between the Tune Squad and the Goon Squad, having no personal preference for either team, simply reacting the same way to whatever happens.
• The 2022 video game MultiVersus, based their design of Velma on her design in this movie.

Marketing and promotion

Main article: Scoob!/Marketing campaign

The first teaser trailer debuted on ABC's morning show Good Morning America, on November 11, 2019. It featured the song "Without You" by Avicii. A full-length and final trailer was released on March 5, 2020. Between those two trailers was a special one aired on February 2, 2019, during Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl (a parody of the Super Bowl the same day).

Since the first trailer was dropped, the official social media accounts and the official website have encouraged fans to apply Scooby from the film to their selfies. It also uses social media to make GIFs and memes, seemingly putting more effort into this than the trailers going much beyond the first act.

A small level of merchandise has also been released to coincide, including Basic Fun's two-action figure sets and Mystery Machine toy, and Funko Pops based on the young versions of Scooby and Shaggy, all of which seem to be exclusive to Walmart. Random House have also published books, including a full junior novelization.

#ScoobMovieNight

In anticipation of the early home digital release for SCOOB!, Warner Bros. is hosting a virtual watch party (with a pre-show of SCOOB! moments from the cast and director) at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT.

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • July 21, 2020: Warner Home Video releases Scoob! on DVD.
  • July 21, 2020: Warner Home Video releases Scoob! on Blu-ray Disc.
  • April 11, 2023: Warner Home Video releases Best of WB 100th Anniversary: Scooby-Doo! 10-Film Collection on DVD.
• In the United Kingdom and Ireland:
  • September 28, 2020: Warner Home Video releases Scoob! on DVD.
  • September 28, 2020: Warner Home Video releases Scoob! on Blu-ray Disc.

Trailers

Trailer #1:

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Trailer #2:

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Posters

• 

  Theatrical poster before revision.