Ceris' 31 Days of Horror Challenge: Scoob!

It's that time of year again, and for some reason I've agreed to watch the 31 films Adam has chosen and write a review. Like last time this will be interesting as I pretty much hate horror movies. Luckily we're starting out easy... this is my kind of film – a cartoon haha!

Scooby and the gang face their most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this dogpocalypse, the gang discovers that Scooby has an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.

We open with Shaggy and Scooby meeting for this first time and bonding over their love of weird food! Shaggy has always been a bit odd but the first few minutes make me feel really sorry for him. I do love the way Scooby Dooby Doo gets his name and we see that Scoob has always been saying ‘Raggy’.- it does make me wonder why Shaggy doesn’t think it’s weird that Scooby can talk! Pup Scoob is ridiculously cute though!

Whilst out Trick or Treating, Shaggy and Scoob come across 3 other children – Fred, Daphne & Velma, and the group enter a haunted house in search of treats. While in the house they come across a ghost and by working as a team uncover him to be Mr Rigby – a thief, and high on the rush of their capture set up Mystery Inc.

10 years later, the group are brainstorming how to turn Mystery Inc into a proper business, and they have a meeting with a very weird looking Simon Cowell. Shaggy & Scooby’s audition of Shallow doesn’t go down well – I can’t imagine why! The meeting doesn’t end well when Simon tells them he can’t invest in the business while Shaggy & Scooby are involved - at which point they leave the group and head to the bowling alley, where the pins turn into chainsaw welding robot scorpions who are out to kill. Just as it looks like the are doomed, trapped in an alleyway with no way out, a beam from above takes them up to the spaceship – The Falcon Fury.

While on board, they learn that the man behind the robots is Dick Dastardly, but he is going to be stopped by The Blue Falcon, who turns out to actually be Brian, his son. Having managed to escape Dick Dastardly for a second time, Shaggy and Scooby agree to help try and take down the villain. Back on earth, Fred, Daphne & Velma go to the bowling alley and learn Shaggy & Scooby have been taken and collect the remains of one of the robots which they analyse and learn who is behind the chaos. What they don’t realise as they speed off, is that the robot has come back to life.

In his lair, Dick Dastardly is shouting at his robots for being useless, while reminiscing over his previous partner, Muttley, and in his frustration, decapitates a robot as replaces its head with a hoover – cos he is a suck face! The Blue Falcon, Dynomutt and Dee Dee along with Shaggy & Scooby work out they need to get to a skull located in the Gobi Desert in order to stop Dastardly. Brian however falls for one of Dastardly’s tricks and leads the team into danger at an amusement park in Romania. In standard Shaggy & Scoob style, they barricade themselves inside a tower and play Splat the Robot in a bid to stay safe. Dastardly however, breaks down the door and reveals he is only after Scooby Doo who runs into a mirror maze and spends several minutes jumping at his own reflection. Having managed to escape Dastardly’s clutches by making him repeat Dick several times – there is a comical chase scene involving a run-away Ferris Wheel, a loop the loop rollercoaster and Dynomutts rocket.

Back on the Falcon, the team fit Scooby into a uniform, breaking off his collar leaving Shaggy heartbroken that he is losing his friend. Scoob however quickly gets over his upset when he sees what he looks like in his suit, but its okay Brian swoops in with care pack. Shaggy brings it back to earth by pointing out that Blue Falcon is actually shit and nowhere near as good as his father – way to put your foot in it!

The remaining trio of Mystery Inc are driving (and arguing as they are hangry) to try and find Shaggy & Scoob, however they fail to realise that they are speeding and get pulled over by a very pretty police officer who Fred falls for. They try to explain why they were rushing and started describing what Dick Dastardly looks like – and suddenly the police officer IS Dick Dastardly – who knew? I did. I knew! Turns out the robot in the back of the van wasn’t as dead as they thought.

On Dick Dastardly’s ship, the trio are locked in a cell trying to figure out a way to escape, when they find the robot, whose head was changed for a vacuum cleaner, and Daphne helps him stop sneezing by emptying the filter. This causes the robot to fall in love with Daphne and want to help the gang escape. Dick Dastardly and his band of creepy robots are unaware that they have escape their cell and are more caught up that the final skull is on Messick Mountain – their next stop. With the help of Vacuum-bot, they find a communications device to contact the Blue Falcon ship. This causes Dinomutt to glitch out while they are relaying the message, but the Falcon team get the message.

Velma, Fred & Daphne work out that Scooby is a descendent of Alexander the Great, and Dick Dastardly wants to use him to open the gates of the underworld. Just when they uncover a picture of Muttley, Dick bursts in on them, and tells them the story of how Muttley got trapped in a back entrance to the underworld which Muttley had been stubborn enough (or forced) to go through. Velma tries to explain the terror he will unleash if he opens the gates, but the robots take Daphne & Velma away while Dick keeps Fred separate.

The Blue Falcon ship are on their way to Messick Mountain – I’m not convinced Shaggy is enjoying the ride, especially as he isn’t strapped in. Once they have landed, Shaggy tries to convince everyone that he and Scooby are safer on the ship and makes Scooby choose between him or the Blue Falcon team. Scooby doesn’t choose Shaggy. Blue Falcon explains to Scooby that he made the right choice, and he understands how he is feeling as he just needs a hero moment to prove he is as good as his father.

Scooby uses his nose to sniff out the skull as Dee Dee’s reader isn’t working – and he does sniff out something – not a skull but a small hairy man…. hey, it’s Captain Caveman! Scooby jumps up on Blue Falcon as he is scared but falls to the floor and says ‘Raggy’s never missed’ – I think he’s realising he made the wrong choice. Cap proceeds to speak very slowly to them as he thinks they can’t understand him but talks normally when they tell him they can understand him perfectly. They tell him they are looking for a skull or a slaghoople as he calls it.

Back on the Blue Falcon Ship, Shaggy finds Scooby’s collar and reminisces about the time they have together. Suddenly his thoughts are interrupted by a car horn, and who should it be but Fred! Shaggy asks him where Velma & Daphne are, and Fred’s explained Dastardly kidnapped them and are holding them on his super cool ship – anyone else worked it out yet? Fred explains Scooby is in danger and Dick is on his way to get Scoob, and asks Shaggy to take him there – again, anyone spotted the issue yet.

Captain Caveman, Scooby & Brian have found the skull/slaghoople, and Brian asks for a hand taking it back to the ship but is told he has to battle the protector of the skull – who turns out to be small hairy man. Brian says this is his hero moment and is convinced he can win the battle and tells Cap he may want some help – at which point lots of small hairy men & women descend into the arena and the doors are locked. This is where Brian makes his first mistake – he calls him little – which Scoob tries and fails to fix. Suddenly Captain Caveman throws Brian against the wall – which is the moment Brian realises he isn’t his father. Scooby tries to use the super suit he is wearing but it ends with him being naked again. Dee Dee and Dinomutt try to save the day but also fail. Suddenly Shaggy & Fred arrive in the Mystery Machine, and everyone is confused as to how Fred got the van to the island – when Dick reveals himself to be in a Fred suit – shocker! He kidnaps Scooby, and sets his robot dragonflies on everyone, steals the skull, and throws Fred, Velma & Daphne out. The team, back at the broken ship realise they are stuck and Brian tries to blame Shaggy for leading Dick to them. Fred & Brian get into a fight and it’s up to Shaggy to stop the fight, explaining he was jealous and that clouded his judgement and caused the issue. Shaggy tells everyone he promised Scooby he would never leave Scooby and convinces the team – through a slightly weird and incorrect motivational speech – to go and save Scoob.

In Athens, Dick Dastardly’s ship causes the ground to shake and all the tourists wonder what is happening. Dick brings the 3 skulls together and suddenly they emit a green light that restores the ruins of Athens to their former glory – but with a slightly dark and supernatural edge to it. Mystery Inc/Blue Falcon – let’s call them Mystery Falcon – have managed to salvage a ship made from the Mystery Machine and the engines of the Blue Falcon and have come to save the day. Dick orders is robots to blow them up, however on the camera vacuum-bot spots Daphne and tries to stop them but fails. However, Dinomutt was flying behind and manages to soften the van’s landing, saving its occupiers.

Dick forces Scooby to put his paw on the door of the underworld and opens the door – to find a large 3 headed dog staring out at him – and realises he has taken on more than he bargained for and promptly runs away. Scooby finds the van and the gang have a lovely moment together – before taking the ‘three headed hound down to the pound’. Oh and vacuum bot is happy because Daphne is still alive! While the rest of the gang celebrate – Fred stands clutching the remaining part of the Mystery Machine.

Inside the underworld – Dick finds Muttley – who he thinks is dead and he spend time crying over him – only to be stopped by Muttley’s signature laugh confirming he is alive. The Mystery Falcon team are hidden inside a large pot considering their next move, when they realise he is missing. Fred decides he is going to avenge the mystery machine and runs at the 3 headed hound but gets kicked away by their big toe. Shaggy and Scooby tell the team to figure out how to shut the gates to the underworld while they distract the dog.

Daphne tries to distract the doggy by giving him Scooby snacks, however this doesn’t work because Scooby steals them before she can hand them over – claiming to be weak. Dinomutt tries to save the day but also fails, however help is at hand – in the form of Daphne’s admirer and his army of friends. Dinomutt find Brian hiding and calling his dad because he can’t do it. Dinomutt uses Shaggy & Scooby as an example, and Brian realises being a hero isn’t about winning but about trying your best. Having realised his suit has wings – and crashing into the ceiling – Brian manages to save Scooby & Shaggy from the three headed dog.

Velma, Daphne & Fred use the clue from Dick Dastardly’s ship and realise they need a man and a dog friendship to close the door to the underworld. With the robots turning into bowling balls, the team manage to distract the dog and make him slide on the balls, forcing him back through the door and crash landing onto the treasure – just as Dick and Muttley come running out with arms full of treasure. Velma tells Shaggy and Scooby that one of them needs to close the door from outside the underworld and one from the inside. They fight over who it will be, and it ends up with Shaggy trapped in the underworld telling Scooby he is the best friend he has ever had. Scooby then puts his paw against the door and locks the underworld, returning the ruins to normal.

The gang are all upset and try to work out if they have worked out the riddle right, when suddenly a statue to Alexander the Great and his Dog appears. They read the inscription and Scooby then says ‘Raggy you promised you’d never leave. Come Home’ – I won’t lie this got me in the feels! The bottom of the statue opens, and Shaggy is kicked out of the underworld by the three headed dog and the team are reunited.

The robots have managed to find Dick Dastardly and Muttley and bring them back to face up to their crimes. However, Shaggy pulls off Dick’s mask to reveal Simon Cowell as Dick …. or is it? Velma pulls off Simon Cowells masks to reveal it was in fact Dick Dastardly – who is taken away by the Blue Falcon crew.

Back in Venice Beach, the team have a headquarters opened, and the Blue Falcon team return as the DJ for the party and give the team a new Mystery Machine – which Fred is especially happy about. Velma receives a call from someone in San Pedro, telling them there is a ghost ship they need to investigate – Dusty (vacuum bot) minds the shop while the team head out to see what’s going on.

I very much enjoyed this film – it was light-hearted and easy to follow. I enjoyed the fact this included a lot of throwbacks and nods to previous Scooby Doo series and films as well as bringing in other classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. I can imagine this would be a great way for some kids to become Scooby Doo fans!