I know the title sounds harsh and I really hope that you will bear with me when I say that I did not hate this movie. I just had some things I didn't care for. However, with all things "Meh" comes some good qualities which there were a few of here.
Starting with the bad first, to just get all that negativity out of the way!
The Trailers were deceptive.
That's right. The trailers were really fun! And made it seem like this movie was going to be an origin story with a mystery that ties a mystery from younger Mystery Inc. to the older ones. It seems like there is a mystery afoot as the Falcon Fury zaps Shaggy and Scooby into their ship! And the rest of the Mystery Gang has to find them.
However, this wasn't case. Which leads me to my next point
There was very little mystery.
The movie was advertised as a Scooby Doo movie, but gave off none of the Scooby mystery. The movie served as a way to set up a multiverse using cameos to establish other characters from the older Hanna-Barbara canon who may not have been as successful as Scooby Doo was. But it fell bland in some of those areas. It focused on more action-packed battles, and dramatic twists than it did on relying on the things that has made Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo...
Not to say that some of these characters were not fun to see. However.. Warner Brothers dropped the ball when it came to my next problem with the movie.
Captain Caveman
For those of you who don't have a clue who this is, I wouldn't blame you. He is one of the main characters in a mystery comedy series (much like Scooby Doo) that aired from 1977 to 1980 called Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. Now this is not a bad cartoon or a bad character. But there are very specific details the movie just didn't follow. Captain Caveman was not the most literate character, and his catchphrase is very distinct! I am not going to bash Scoob's Captain Caveman voice actor Tracy Morgan. The man is hilarious and did what he could. But it wasn't true to Captain Caveman.
The Main Mission/Gate to Hades Story?
Not that this was a horrible story, but it seemed kinda redundant for that sacrifice to be made and gone through, only for it to have a cliche resolution at the end. And the mission to find skulls just sat weird with me, but it gives the main baddie a motivation which is not too bad.
SIMON COWELL'S CAMEO
I am all for a good Simon Cowell cameo. (Shrek is Life) But his cameo infuriated me. It was the entire setup for the story of the movie and the basis for the fights! Even if it wasn't truly Simon Cowell, I still can't shake the fact that it infuriated me. UGH.
Now that that is out of the way! The Good!
The Gang/ Voice Actors
Scoob! brought on new more A-List voice actors for the four teens in the Scooby Gang (Again, not from Buffy) as the movie probably had a bigger budget. And I had my doubts about them before I saw it. (except for Amanda Seyfried and Gina Rodriguez. I was sure those were perfect fits) But I was even more impressed with the way they sounded. Yes I am used to the voice talents of the animated shows, but these gave a new voice to them and made them sound like actual teenagers.
Fred's a huge goofball that is not very bright and even more of a jock than in the cartoons, but it mirrors his Mystery Incorporated/What's New/Be cool variations of the character so well. His love for his van, his eccentric behaviors. Zac Efron's voice behind him made this more believable. And I loved it.
Daphne seems to be the moral compass of the group in this. She is very in touch with her emotions and is actually one of my favorite characters in the film. She has that little side story with the vacuum-head robot friend which was so cuteeee! Amanda Seyfried did such a good job with her!
Velma! She's just as smart as usual, not really much difference here. Except that she uses her hacker skills more than she has in the past. I loved the fact that they gave the mystery machine some of the old features like a lab in the back where she can work. She has a few great one-liners in this one, in true Velma fashion. Gina Rodriquez also gives us a Velma that is Hispanic, which confused other fans but I actually liked it. It was something different.
Shaggy's voice, provided by Will Forte, threw me off the most, but his voice was pretty Shaggy. Aside from that he had an okay arc in the movie. It was a friendship arc and it was just okay tbh.
Frank Welker was the only voice actor from the show who was in the movie and his Scooby was perfect as usual.
All the Cameos from other Hanna Barbara characters
Blue Falcon (Sort of), Dynomutt, Dick Dastardly, Muttley. These were the on-screen cameos we got in this movie that I really enjoyed.
Blue Falcon in this isn't actually the actual Blue Falcon, but his son Brian, who is under the unapproving eyes of his father's old partners Dee Dee and Dynomutt. The whole growing into his own hero arc was a heartwarming thing to see as both Blue Falcon and Dynomutt had their own issues. (It would have been nice if it had happened in their own origin story tbh and not in a Scooby movie, but who am I to complain.)
Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley were both from the show Wacky Races where they would cause hijinks and capers in order to cheat their way to first place but run into their just desserts each time. In the movie, Dick was an evil yet at points understandable villain. As he told the others his tragic backstory, we as the audience got a funny little side scene where we saw how it actually happened (very differently). But in the end, it's another side story about a boy and his dog. His somehow alive dog who is just trapped in Hades, who later steals gold and breaks him out of prison while he was actually arrested with him in the first place?! I don't know man. This movie...
Multiverses aren't always a good thing to be honest. Especially when you set it up in a movie bearing the name of a beloved franchise. This movie is a moderate 6 out of 10 for me, but it does have rewatchability I guess? O.O It hurts to critique a franchise I love so much, but I had to.
Monday, June 8, 2020
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Hey. How's it going.
So... Present Day! I think I got everything I have been thinking about as far as nerdy culture!
I currently have no job besides college work. Thanks Miss Corona! Maybe getting my degree can open some door for me. It's probably for the best because of all the Corona in the world. To be honest, though... Life's not been the best. Whether it is what is going on right now, or just failing to grasp certain concepts of my studies or writing projects... I don't want this to turn into a post of me venting my frustrations. So I will try to air out as much dirty laundry as I can.
Quarrentine sucks. I mean, I barely went outside anyway before all this but I had a life. I had a few friends. Stuff has changed in this new year and a lot of the change is very scary. 2020 hasn't been kind to me so far. Not because of anything wrong that happened. Some things were bound to happen eventually. But things can get better. When it feels like there is no where else to go, maybe there is a way to higher ground. So instead of the vent post I so desperately want to write here, let's review what good has come out of this time.
I passed all of my FGCU classes.
I found a new college that has a program that is more focused on creative writing.
I have an editing job helping a friend of mine, Maddy.
I have got to witness personal growth in some friends and family members and watched them move on to a better chapter of their lives.
I had the opportunity to go see some of my cousins before the virus became scary.
My little sister finished a first draft manuscript of a story.
I got two short stories accepted into two different anthologies.
One of those two anthologies was released last month, and the other should be published by next year.
I played Skyrim for the first time.
I joined a D&D campaign for the first time and played as a class I not used to. A bard!
I decided to join a gym. (Still working on the physical act of joining it though.)
I was able to follow a schedule of posting writings for a few months!
Heroes Collide hit its first choice which is a super crazy benchmark! I am really excited about it!
I started work on revitalizing some... older projects.
I participated in a peaceful protest.
It's not all whimsical and magical and extraordinary, but I am proud of these things.
And hopefully I can do more things like these.
I currently have no job besides college work. Thanks Miss Corona! Maybe getting my degree can open some door for me. It's probably for the best because of all the Corona in the world. To be honest, though... Life's not been the best. Whether it is what is going on right now, or just failing to grasp certain concepts of my studies or writing projects... I don't want this to turn into a post of me venting my frustrations. So I will try to air out as much dirty laundry as I can.
Quarrentine sucks. I mean, I barely went outside anyway before all this but I had a life. I had a few friends. Stuff has changed in this new year and a lot of the change is very scary. 2020 hasn't been kind to me so far. Not because of anything wrong that happened. Some things were bound to happen eventually. But things can get better. When it feels like there is no where else to go, maybe there is a way to higher ground. So instead of the vent post I so desperately want to write here, let's review what good has come out of this time.
I passed all of my FGCU classes.
I found a new college that has a program that is more focused on creative writing.
I have an editing job helping a friend of mine, Maddy.
I have got to witness personal growth in some friends and family members and watched them move on to a better chapter of their lives.
I had the opportunity to go see some of my cousins before the virus became scary.
My little sister finished a first draft manuscript of a story.
I got two short stories accepted into two different anthologies.
One of those two anthologies was released last month, and the other should be published by next year.
I played Skyrim for the first time.
I joined a D&D campaign for the first time and played as a class I not used to. A bard!
I decided to join a gym. (Still working on the physical act of joining it though.)
I was able to follow a schedule of posting writings for a few months!
Heroes Collide hit its first choice which is a super crazy benchmark! I am really excited about it!
I started work on revitalizing some... older projects.
I participated in a peaceful protest.
It's not all whimsical and magical and extraordinary, but I am proud of these things.
And hopefully I can do more things like these.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Nerdy Obsessions QUARANTINE EDITION
What kind of nerdy stuff have I had access to in quarantine? This post has taken two whole months to write because I have been so busy. And to be honest, it's surprising that I have been able to get back to it now.
Scooby-Doo.
Yeah. I love cartoons. So fun!
With the new Scoob trailers, came my overwhelming desire to revisit the entire franchise as a whole. The movies, the shows, and the comics. The canon itself as a whole is a bit confusing, as it sometimes retcons itself across different variations. I may post later about which ones I like the most and would recommend to people to watch.
But when it comes to the movie itself, I was a bit underwhelmed. It still had all of the characters I love. Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Freddy. And honestly, I was excited to see that it had other cartoon characters from my youth... But other than the idea of characters not every element of the movie was done well.
The idea behind starting a multiverse was great in concept, but if they really wanted do that effectively. Doing it in a Scooby movie may not have been the smartest idea. The movie didn't play off well at all. It was still a fun movie, but it didn't have anything that made the movie a Scooby movie.
(In the future I can do a fuller review of it. Because there is a lot to talk about with this movie good and bad!)
I went back to one of the first feature-length films of the Franchise. Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. This was back before the voice actors we know and love like Grey DeLisle, and Scott Innes voiced Scooby Doo in the place of the late Don Messick. It was one of the first movies to subvert the classic Scooby genre into true horror. And the three movies that follow it follow this trend in suit. As a fan of the franchise, I used to think of myself as up for anything when it came to these franchises. And these movies are some of the best.
But my favorite product of the whole darn franchise has to be the tried and true, easily rewatchable Mystery Incorporated show. It basically took the Scooby gang (Not the live-action tv show one with Buffy and Willow) and has them growing up in a small town with a strange past.
Speaking of two season, small-town mystery shows Disney's Gravity Falls is another good show. Especially with us being stuck in our homes while Corona is afoot. This show has to be one of the most open ended shows I have ever seen and it is such a BUMMER that it was only two seasons long. This show aired from June 2012 to a sad end in February of 2016. It surround two siblings, Dipper and Mabel Pines, as they are spending the summer in a small town called Gravity Falls with their good old Grunkle Stan. I don't want to say too much about this show because it's a great watch and it's a shame it ended because apparently showrunner Alex Hirsch had a bit more to cover on the show and fans of it (including me) are hoping to see more soon. (Please.)
As far as other things coming out, I caught some episodes of Scooby Doo and Guess Who featuring Hollywood stars like Mark Hamill, Sia, and Whoopi Goldberg to name a few good ones. Also! Ducktales?! AMAZING! I love all the talented voice actors and the stories it tells. I can't say too much because I know nothing of the original lore, but stuff is crazy! The world of anime fascinates me more and more everyday as Beastars came out just a few months prior and I am already so engaged in the lives of every single one of these characters (Well not too engaged.) Warning: Beastars may seem like Zootopia with younger characters and an English dub, but it is a hard show to swallow at points. It is best watched slowly. Also it has a more mature tone so probably best to refrain from it if you are under the age of 18. And under the suspicion that my sister will read this, the current end to the show Miraculous Ladybug is very upsetting to me.
Scooby-Doo.
Yeah. I love cartoons. So fun!
With the new Scoob trailers, came my overwhelming desire to revisit the entire franchise as a whole. The movies, the shows, and the comics. The canon itself as a whole is a bit confusing, as it sometimes retcons itself across different variations. I may post later about which ones I like the most and would recommend to people to watch.
But when it comes to the movie itself, I was a bit underwhelmed. It still had all of the characters I love. Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Freddy. And honestly, I was excited to see that it had other cartoon characters from my youth... But other than the idea of characters not every element of the movie was done well.
The idea behind starting a multiverse was great in concept, but if they really wanted do that effectively. Doing it in a Scooby movie may not have been the smartest idea. The movie didn't play off well at all. It was still a fun movie, but it didn't have anything that made the movie a Scooby movie.
(In the future I can do a fuller review of it. Because there is a lot to talk about with this movie good and bad!)
I went back to one of the first feature-length films of the Franchise. Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. This was back before the voice actors we know and love like Grey DeLisle, and Scott Innes voiced Scooby Doo in the place of the late Don Messick. It was one of the first movies to subvert the classic Scooby genre into true horror. And the three movies that follow it follow this trend in suit. As a fan of the franchise, I used to think of myself as up for anything when it came to these franchises. And these movies are some of the best.
But my favorite product of the whole darn franchise has to be the tried and true, easily rewatchable Mystery Incorporated show. It basically took the Scooby gang (Not the live-action tv show one with Buffy and Willow) and has them growing up in a small town with a strange past.
Speaking of two season, small-town mystery shows Disney's Gravity Falls is another good show. Especially with us being stuck in our homes while Corona is afoot. This show has to be one of the most open ended shows I have ever seen and it is such a BUMMER that it was only two seasons long. This show aired from June 2012 to a sad end in February of 2016. It surround two siblings, Dipper and Mabel Pines, as they are spending the summer in a small town called Gravity Falls with their good old Grunkle Stan. I don't want to say too much about this show because it's a great watch and it's a shame it ended because apparently showrunner Alex Hirsch had a bit more to cover on the show and fans of it (including me) are hoping to see more soon. (Please.)
As far as other things coming out, I caught some episodes of Scooby Doo and Guess Who featuring Hollywood stars like Mark Hamill, Sia, and Whoopi Goldberg to name a few good ones. Also! Ducktales?! AMAZING! I love all the talented voice actors and the stories it tells. I can't say too much because I know nothing of the original lore, but stuff is crazy! The world of anime fascinates me more and more everyday as Beastars came out just a few months prior and I am already so engaged in the lives of every single one of these characters (Well not too engaged.) Warning: Beastars may seem like Zootopia with younger characters and an English dub, but it is a hard show to swallow at points. It is best watched slowly. Also it has a more mature tone so probably best to refrain from it if you are under the age of 18. And under the suspicion that my sister will read this, the current end to the show Miraculous Ladybug is very upsetting to me.
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