Shout out to Warner Bros for providing a copy of this movie for review. My opinions are my own.
Mystery Inc. is at it again, foiling the plots of baddies that are seeking to scare the crap out of people... only to end up unmasked when the jig is up. Have Scooby and the crew become a little too good for business though? Let's dive into this review of... Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo!
Story: So this all-new film begins with action right out of the gate as Mystery Inc. works together in order to avoid danger and take down another baddie. Nothing new there, but the movie was just beginning, so I knew there was more to it. There was actually even more to it than I anticipated because this time around... they actually took a turn I never saw coming (and I don't think you would either).
After taking down the initial baddie, the culprit appeared to be part of a bigger picture the team was trying to piece together. They connected the dots on the actual person behind all the ghost & monster costumes all the baddies wore in each case!
I don't really need to spell out how this goes with the costume designer, but this film takes an interesting approach to the standard Scooby-Doo films I've seen (though their going after the designer could've been a bit more... deep). Believe it or not, everything mentioned so far began towards the beginning of the movie and sets the stage from there.
Why? Well, the team has gotten so good, they're almost too good to keep the doors of Mystery Inc. open for business, which is one of the angles you see in this film. They go from taking down baddies to doing things like getting cats out of trees, helping average citizens with basic odds & ends... to the point of depression (for Fred).
Of course, Shaggy & Scooby could care less because their sights are set on trick or treating, until... a new set of baddies actually pop up.
Since the team doesn't have a... clue of where to start on this case, they go back to the source of yesterday's culprits in order to take down this new threat. There are plenty of twists and turns in this film to keep things interesting for fans of the Scooby Doo franchise. Even toward the end, you get a twist that brings the story together with Halloween in mind.
At one point (based on how things were looking), I was concerned about how the story took another turn based on what they did for the trick-or-treat segment. I thought it was going to be something like a... reset for the franchise, but it wasn't (at least in this film). Luckily the franchise doesn't stop here, I won't give everything away (I left enough out), check out the full experience in the link below.
By the way, I know I'm not the only one who thought of this, but... I just find it interesting that Scooby is treated like an honorary human while Shaggy is treated like an honorary dog. They both eat human food and Scooby snacks (dog food), which always had me scratching my head (and I won't even get into Shaggy's name).
Also, there was an exchange between Fred and Daphne in this film that was just... weird towards the end. I'll let you check it out, but based on what she said, go back through the film and see if she had it right in terms of switching... roles.
Visuals: Visually speaking, Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo! Hold's true to the signature look the crew has always had. The art is clean and you could tell that some scenes had some extra frames in there to make the animations even smoother for certain scenes.
Audio: In regards to the audio, this film is served up in Dolby Digital 5.1. Dolby Digital 5.1 channel is surround sound audio that lends itself to the shows and films that feature it. I didn't use surround sound to watch this movie, but the audio had oomph for the speakers I did use (it wasn't as flat as it could've been) and outside of the occasional song, you had suspenseful bass thrown in for good measure. If I could add anything to the film, I would've added more background noise for a more immersive experience.
Price + Extras: Pricewise, Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo!, comes in at $19.98 SRP (although you can get it here for less). You might think that this is totally because of the Scooby-Doo brand (because I'd think the same), but... you also get special features in this film.
Extras include:
- El Bandito
- To Switch A Witch
- The Headless Horseman Of Halloween
These extras deliver 3 additional cases for your enjoyment, two are episodes from back in the day + one with an art style that I'm unfamiliar with in terms of the franchise. Overall, I'm not mad at what you get for the price, and if you want to grab... Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo! on DVD it releases October 18, 2022!
Story 4
Visuals 4
Audio 4
Price + Extras 5
4 out of 5 Cool Points
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