Today (May 15th) sees the release of Warner Bros.’ new Scooby-Doo movie Scoob! on VOD. The animated flick, the first big-budget film in the franchise since 2004, was originally supposed to open in theaters, but the studio switched to a straight-to-home release following the coronavirus outbreak. Universal has found enormous success through their similar strategy with Trolls World Tour, so WB will be hoping Scoob! can do big business, too.
If you need some convincing to give the movie a whirl for yourself, though, you can check out the first five minutes in the player above, as the studio uploaded the opening scene today as a teaser for the full thing. The sequence introduces us to a young Shaggy (Iain Armitage), a lonely kid living in Venice, California, and Scooby (veteran performer Frank Welker), a stray pup stealing food from local restaurants, and reveals the true beginnings of their iconic friendship.
This is an effective, sweet opening scene which should appeal to kids who aren’t familiar with these characters and definitely any grown-ups who’ve been fans since childhood. In other words, it should do the job of winning over a number of folks into checking Scoob! out this weekend. A quick glance at the comments beneath the original video on YouTube will also tell you how many like the looks of it based on this extended clip.
Unfortunately, though, it has to said that it’s getting some pretty mixed reviews. WGTC’s own Matt Donato called the film “enjoyable enough,” but Scooby lovers may end up feeling “robbed.” That’s a big shame, as this opening really nails it and seems quite promising.
Featuring a star-studded cast including Will Forte, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Mark Wahlberg and many more, Scoob! is available to buy or rent now. For more details on how to watch it online, head through here.