So, some main complaints about this movie are the pop culture references and it supposedly having a political agenda. I found the pop culture references to be overall great. They were funny and fun! As far as it having some political agenda; I dug and dug looking for anyone to tell me specifically how and no one has actually really explained, so I call bull. If hearing the words “toxic masculinity” in this movie got you all bent out of shape and disliking this movie in its entirety then perhaps you're being just as stupidly extreme as those whose radical views you are against. You're just looking for something to be offended about; just like they're accused of constantly doing. The statement fit well enough in context to when it was said and it could be amusing either way you feel about it. I think it depends on how you, as the viewer, take it. Personally I'm in the middle about a lot and feel I can understand views from both sides. Is toxic masculinity a thing? Yeah. So is toxic femininity, and sadly, it's been less talked about in today's societal climate. I'll give you that much. But, I'm not about to let that one single completely-relevant-to-the-current-world-around-us comment have me judge the whole movie so harshly. If you can accept that in past movies there were things that admittedly weren't so great that fit right in because of the time period, then you can accept the same here. Anyway! Moving on to what I thought of the movie outside all of that.

I absolutely adored the younger versions of everyone. I kind of wish that the movie went on to focus on a big adventure they had as kids that lead to Mystery, Inc being created as adults, rather than the majority of it being a story unfolding once they were all grown up; but maybe even better would be if a new series based on hundreds of their adventures together as kids were to be made. (Maybe if feedback on Scoob from huge Scooby Doo fans was taken into serious consideration, then a really cool, long-running television series could be done!) I didn't dislike the grown up characters though. [spoiler]Simon Cowell[/spoiler] was an interesting choice that did feel a little outdated, but I guess at least it was unexpectedly humorous. Further into the movie I remember feeling like the music was too much and too loud in some areas. [spoiler]The robotic creatures, when they weren't transformed into scary scorpion, alien looking beings, were quite cute and vaguely remind me of the Grungees from the 1990 Jetsons movie. Considering that Hanna-Barbera characters were a part of this, maybe they were even inspired from there somewhat. I watched and loved many Hanna-Barbera cartoons as a kid,[/spoiler] so that was a fun aspect. Overall, I thought it was a fun film surrounding the bonds of friendship; and it had laughs for both kids and adults.

This movie is Ghostbusters meets Superheroes but no way shape or form is a Scooby Doo and company movie.

It is a prime example of producers not knowing anything about the original material and what made it special and fun, theyjust thought that a talking dog and super heroes would appeal to kids and thats exacly what you get, a lazy writen, directed and voiced movie.

Hannah Barbera characters get trown in just because they coudnt thing of anything else to use and they are completely wasted.
There is no mystery at all and Fred, Daphne and Velma are barely in the movie and they are useless. Shaggy and Scoob only have terrible jokes and they just become unlikable and not like the lovable bafoons of the classic series.

The use of pop culture in this movie makes it feel dated and it is also a massive eye roll everytime something show up become it is not cleverly made. WHY IS SIMON COWELL IN THIS MOVIE AND WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THEY REUSED THE ANIMATION FROM SHREK 2 FAR FAR AWAY IDOL????? Also the ending with the horrible song that comes from nowhere with all the flying discs and DJ FALCON.... please!

It is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen because it really is an insult to what Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. is.

I guess I can commend Warner Bros. for attempting to revitalise their Scooby-Doo brand and give parents something to show their kids while they've been stuck at home, but when there's a plethora of new and old (much, much better) kid's films, the best thing would be to Scooby-Dooby-do your kids a favour and skip this one.
- Ashley Teresa

Read Ashley's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-scoob-mystery-swapped-for-money-hungry-mayhem

Never my favourites of cartoon characters, this sadly doesn't really do much better than the pretty far-fetched, slapstick, animation series from the 1970s. It starts off by way of an explanation as to how the young "Shaggy" and his eponymous canine pal initially hooked up, before jumping forwards to present day where the two, along with the rest of the "Mystery Inc." gang, must work together to thwart an evil plan to unleash the legendary guardian of the Underworld - a spectral form of Cerberus - on mankind. To be fair, it doesn't hang around and the animation quality keeps the style fairly similar to the original television series; it's just that the writing is really lacklustre and cheesy with the characters - for me, at any rate - just downright irritating, playing to just about every stereotype imaginable. The reveals at the end were always pretty silly, and here is no different - it's all just too lightweight and disappointing. I'd have backed Cerberus any day. Perhaps it is just aiming for a nostalgic audience of adults who recall it more fondly than I do? In any case, I really cannot see this resonating with the kids today and maybe this is one cinema release that lockdown did us all favour by restricting.

It was an okay Scooby-Doo movie for the kids. The animation looks great and for the most part the voice talents were good, especially Zac Efron as Fred was great, as were Gina Rodriguez and Amanda Seyfried as Velma and Daphne respectively. However, wasn't that thrilled with Will Forte's Shaggy (still think Matthew Lillard has been perfect thus far, I know they wanted a name, but doubt star power sells movies nowadays).

Anyway, it was a serviceable enough animated flick, personally I'm not a fan of the supernatural plots when it comes to the Scooby-Doo franchise, but fine for the family, so long as you're not an entrenched fan, I can see why some may hate this iteration. **3.25/5**