Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! review by Bobby Blakey
For years I was never a big fan of Scooby-Doo!, but after some of the recent animated features and the big screen feature Scoob! I guess I am going to have to change my tone since I have been having fun with them. Now the gang is back once again with the new animated Halloween themed feature Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!. Could this latest original animated film once again bring the usual mystery solving antics or will it be a case not worth solving?
Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! follows Mystery Inc. who has cracked the case to top all cases! They’ve tracked down Coco Diablo, the head of the notorious costume crime syndicate that colludes The Black Knight, Space Kook and the Ghost Diver. With Coco and her kitty in prison, Mystery Inc. thinks that they can finally enjoy a break. Wrong! Suddenly, menacing doppelgänger ghosts of the Scooby crew and favorite classic foes show up in Coolsville to threaten Halloween. Now it’s up to the meddling kids – and their unlikely new partner Coco – to unmask the latest scoundrel and save Halloween! For Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, with trick-or-treating on the line – this time it’s personal!
This latest outing features the usual voices of Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo/Fred Jones, Grey DeLisle as Daphne Blake, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers and Kate Micucci as Velma Dinkley who all do great work with the characters. The animation style this time around actually felt closer to the original series to me. Sure there are the updated artistic style in some of the characters and moments, but overall think it will sit well with the hardcore fans.
The story is simple and follows the usual formula of all things Scooby-Doo, but it is a necessity this time around for the story they are going with. There is some clever call backs to not only villains of the original
series, but a new twist that exposes where all these people have been getting those great costumes and props for their various schemes. It’s this element that makes the film stand out more than it might have otherwise. More recently the franchise has been relying a lot on themes and guest stars to make something new, but this is going back to the old school vibe of it all.
There is the element of Velma’s sexuality that is showcased here in a simple family friendly way, but will no doubt piss some people off. It wasn’t overly necessary to the story, but adds something new to the connection to those new additions to the story. Outside of this the film will no doubt be fun for those that love all things Scooby-Doo, but I found it generic at best not being that invested.
Decide for yourself and check out Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! available now on digital and DVD from Warner Bros Home Entertainment.