Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob Review

2/23/2021

Note that this review contains spoilers so I would not recommend reading it if you haven't seen the film yet.

I really liked this film a lot! The setting of both the town of Norville and the kingdom of Camelot was really cool and genuinely felt mysterious. I didn't even really mind that the time travel was all fake, to be honest. The explanation for why it was fake made total sense and didn't feel like a cop-out like the two sequel movies from 2019. I did kind of like the twist at the end (both of them, actually), especially the one where no one knew where Merlin came from or who he was. I didn't really like how ridiculous they made Merlin (or the fact that King Arthur has "posh king" jewelry like a rapper would have lol)

The villain was excellent! I loved how creepy she was and how she could shape-shift into a dragon. That Black Knight was genuinely pretty spooky too once he had his helmet off, and I would have liked to see more him!

I liked how they dove into Shaggy's ancestry for this one. It's cool to know a bit more about his family, even if we didn't get to meet any additional members. I assume the Camelot ancestry was on his mom's side though since she gave him the amulet. His dad's side must be the one with the werewolf curse we saw in "Moonlight Madness" (The Richie Rich / Scooby-Doo Show) haha.

Velma was a lot more likeable in this film, IMO. Even though she was still skeptical, it wasn't over-the-top like it has been in the past three films. I didn't really like the characterization of Daphne though. Her quirkiness felt incredibly forced to me, especially how she thinks reality is a simulation. The writers of Be Cool and Maxwell Atoms did a good job, but the writer for this film really just didn't capture the quirky Daphne I like.

Lastly, I felt like all the references were super cool. The ones I caught were the airport guy's name being HB, the gang being from Crystal Cove again (interesting they seem to have switched the location in the main canon), Barney Rubble, and then all the flashback scenes we see when the gang is time traveling. I caught scenes from the following episodes: Moon Monster Madness, Happy Halloween, Where's My Mummy?, Zombie Island, Beach Beastie, the A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! intros, the first episodes of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "A Night Louse at the White House" from The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries. A scene from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels is also shown. I thought it was super interesting how much they made Thundarr the Barbarian a part of it! For those who haven't seen the show though, it's actually pretty dark and is nothing like how silly it's portrayed in the film.

Overall, I found this to be a really good movie and as good as Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!

54 Comments

Shadowscooby

2/23/2021 03:38:37 pm

Just finished watched the movie and I thought it was pretty good. The setting was nice and the gang being sent back in time and showing old Scooby doo movies and shows was cool. Sir Lancelot looked like Jamieson Steven Reaply from Large Dragon at Large. Morgan le Fey was pretty cool as was her dragon form. She appeared in JLU and Batman The Brave and a the Bold. The black knight reminded me of the black knight ghost from monster unleashed. I liked well thought of Thundarr the Barbarian was put into this film.

WildwindVampire link

2/23/2021 08:38:50 pm

He did look a lot like Jamison Steven Ripley, didn't he? I couldn't think of who he looked like when I watched the film, but you're right.

Jayden

2/23/2021 03:57:04 pm

Honestly, some things annoyed me with this film but the beginning is probably one of the best. Like I said, I mostly enjoyed Happy Halloween for the 1st Half an hour, and I feel like this is a film that felt like an episode. I felt like this could've been done in 30-40 minutes. The Oh my gosh's got SO annoying and I don't get how the King didn't fall down that hole when they got to the old castle, it is still enjoyable but these sort of things really annoyed me and I think that Daphne's personality made it feel like an episode of Be Cool. Oh and when there was a scene when Shaggy said "from a score from one to-" then screamed like a girl, I replayed that soooo many times and it made me laugh lol. But unfortunately in the end they were all actors, I feel like they are getting lazy with the explanations at the end. Overall, mediocre film and definitely not better than Happy Halloween in my opinion but it still had it's moments and wasn't the worst film ever.

WildwindVampire link

2/23/2021 08:40:16 pm

Interesting, I didn't find the explanation too lazy or the film to be drawn out. It went by pretty fast for me.

Jayden

2/23/2021 11:32:35 pm

Exactly, that's why I felt like it's an episode. The explenation for Fred getting frozen was a bit lazy.

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 11:55:02 am

Yeah, that was one part I didn't love. It was kind of lazy, but that was the only part I found to be lazy.

Samuel Kirkwood

2/24/2021 08:03:59 am

Agree with you on some points here, did feel like the plot was a little rushed in places and lacked depth.

Becker

2/23/2021 03:58:44 pm

Nice, sounds like we are on a good track with dtvs again. If you had to choose between this and Happy Halloween, which one would it be?

Shadowscooby

2/23/2021 04:27:08 pm

I guess this and Happy Halloween are pretty much the same thing with stuff that seemed real but turned out to be fake and plot twists.

WildwindVampire link

2/23/2021 08:37:00 pm

I'd say this one tbh, but it's super close.

Greybishop

2/23/2021 04:29:14 pm

Well, Daphne might not have been quirky in this one, but the girl kicked ASS. I'm pretty sure I've never seen any of the gang throw a punch (or I'm old and can't remember) but I'm dead certain I've never seen Daphne throw a combination and roundhouse kick solid enough to seriously dent a suit of armour! Best moment of the entire series in my humble opinion.

That girl finally gets to unleash!

Velma's "object in motion" moment was pretty sweet too, but Daphne definitely won this movie. The line up of guys she pummeled into submission iced that cake nicely.

WildwindVampire link

2/23/2021 08:37:59 pm

Glad you liked Daphne. I absolutely agree she was an amazing badass in this film but the quirkiness felt off to me.

Amber noel

2/23/2021 05:12:04 pm

I really enjoyed this movie I thought that it was really funny I liked the twist and I like that velma is toned down here and I hope tbey keep it that way and tbh I didn't mind merlin or daphne here J thought they were fun and that is what this movie is to me fun if their were any complaints I wish the movie was a bit longer because I thought that the movie went a little bit too quickly at parts and I found some things a bit cringy like the posh king jewellery and the part where shaggy screams like a girl but apart from that I really enjoyed this movie.

Shadowscooby

2/23/2021 05:20:43 pm

I too also thought the the movie went buy way to fast. I was like wow this movie is halfway done already. I just couldn’t believe it.

Amber noel

2/23/2021 05:45:32 pm

yeah I thought that the scene where they rescue shaggy would have lasted longer and when they defeat morgan la fey as a dragon I was like thats it and then then the person in the morgan la fey costume steals the mystery machine and the gang and thundarr have to ride a machanical dragon to stop her what! don't get me wrong I enjoyed the movie but I excpected more.

WildwindVampire link

2/23/2021 08:39:36 pm

The movie did go by super fast! The posh king jewelry bit was really cringey lol.

Amber noel

2/23/2021 09:32:52 pm

You know what I take back everything I said about shaggy screaming like a girl being cringey because looking back I find it pretty funny not just because he screamed like a girl but because of how unexpected it was to me.

Bigscoobydoofan

2/24/2021 04:16:54 am

Idk man......I guess I expected a lot more.
Yes, some of the scenes went wayyyyy too fast, which is one of the flaws in this movie. It made me enjoy scenes less that shouldve been longer like the dragon battle and the morgan la feye scenes. Heck, those morgan la feye scenes felt like something out of a normal episode at the start where the monster turns up, makes itself known, and leaves.

They made more hints of Fraphne in this movie, which I LOVE. I think we need more of that.

Daphne was pretty funny, I like her, probably because I loved be cool. I like how she was just dancing when the witch summoned herself, I laughed a lot.

Shaggy had a sweet friendship with Arthur (the barbarian) too. I'm surprised he wasn't kidnapped for long, I think they rushed that part of the story. Apart from his ancestry (which is done so well in this movie btw like wow) he didn't really do much. I liked seeing him and Arthur react to the knight games.

There's people who say that all of the gang had their moment to shine in this movie, but I feel like Fred was just there. I mean, the Fraphne stuff kinda counts for his shining moments but at the same time not really. I mean, he was in this weird trance from Morgan La Faye, I feel like that was a downright plot device so that Daphne could fight instead, and also the trance was explained very poorly like you said.
BUT, his traps were awesome too so thats a plus.

VELMA. Just.....just......**groans**.
I mean, she wasn't as skeptic as she was in the last few movies, it has toned down alot but she was annoying in this one. I have to admit, I loved the scene with her and Merlin where she's like 'I am having a day man and I don't know what to believe.'
UNPOPULAR OPINION: I was disappointed that the time travel was fake. And Velma sure was happy about that.
But Merlin just svaed this whole movie with that ending.
When Velma was like 'No...it can't be..' instead of being shocked with Velma, i was like 'YA SEE IT NOW!!?? YA SEE IT!?'
But putting that aside, Velma I feel was also more pleasant in this movie.

Tbh, I don't have much to say about Scooby. This was more of a Shaggy movie. I liked that he built up the courage to save Shaggy though.

The dragon and the knight were great villains, but Morgan herself.....not so much. For all of the time that the dragon was there, even when they were riding it, I could feel the action an the atmosphere. And when Velma attempted to unmask the black knight and it was a skeleton head, that was unexpected and it felt more threatening from then on.
Morgan La Faye felt forced. Kinda silly too. She tried to be scary but failed for me, maybe it's just the fact that she looks more cartoony than the others, I don't know.

The supporting cast was amazing. King Arthur was a lot of fun, I actually felt sad when I saw him get eaten by the dragon but then I went wild when he and Morgan La Faye dropped tot he ground again. I didn't see the barbarian twist coming, but my brother who i was watching the movie with, managed to. And the twists did not disappoint but I'll talk about them later.
Merlin was great too. I loved his design, it was different from others. The burping stuff I hated, but I like how he could shapeshift into a frog like Morgan into a dragon, maybe that was to symbolise that he was the good version of her.
I like how they barely included Lancelot at all, and I thought they would judging by the first title they announced.

The story was awesome, the time travel worked really well. And I love that lockscreen plot, it reminded me of the picture from Back To The Future.
The twist was so so soo good! I did not see it coming! I legitimately thought the time travel would be real! Like you said, it didn't feel rushed and it was explained really well :-)
At first, I thought Morgan La Fey was the queen because she seemed pretty grumpy at first, but then I realized that Morgan La Feye claimed that she was 'after the throne' so it couldn't be her lol. I can't stress enough how cool the Barbarian twist was.
On a side note, I didn't really like whowas ACTUALLY Morgan La Feye, we only saw her for like one minute at the start. It reminded me of the Jason Seudeikis episode of SDGW where it's some randomer whe see for a couple of seconds at the start. Actually, they do that for a lot of episodes there and I am tired of it.

The ending was very good, I loved the Merlin scene. And I like that the librarian tried to escape with the deed (that plot was confusing though), because I'm glad that it wasn't just a group of people doing legal things, that would be boring. I need REAL BAD GUYS in my Scooby movies, and although this one wasn't even that bad, she made a good climax, trying to escape with the mystery machine.

Overall, I loved and disliked this movie at the same time. I'd actually give it a 9/10.

Becker

2/24/2021 12:34:29 pm

Hell no to the Fraphne hints, we do not need more of it, we're tired of that crap.

Bigscoobydoofan

2/24/2021 12:39:34 pm

i respect your opinion

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 12:04:54 pm

I should also add that I liked Shaggy and Arthur's friendship and agree it was really sweet.

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 12:03:49 pm

Surprised you gave it a 9/10 given you kind of disliked it. I actually did guess who it was, just because they sounded very similar. Merlin was okay, but the burping jokes took him down several notches for me. I found it to be kind of obnoxious.

Bigscoobydoofan

2/25/2021 12:20:54 pm

My opinions are confusing

Bigscoobydoofan

2/24/2021 04:17:45 am

Ok, that comment shouldn't have took FOURTY MINUTES TO WRITE!

WildwindVampire

2/25/2021 11:55:49 am

Wow! That's dedication haha.

Samuel Kirkwood

2/24/2021 08:06:24 am

Think you missed a BIG REFERENCE to the library scene reminiscing What a night for a Knight. Glad I wasn't the only one who felt this film was rushed and I liked Merlin personally.

Bigscoobydoofan

2/24/2021 08:17:04 am

same

Shadowscooby

2/24/2021 10:03:52 am

That’s so true when they all gather around a book. They also did that in mask of the blue falcon in the opening. SDMI but it was a laptop instead. It also happened in the opening intro of Scoob. I guess you can also count in WNSD in the opening, Stage Fright Scooby doo and KISS and Silver Scream, where they gathered around the laptop.

Dzsasztin

2/25/2021 11:24:01 am

At this point I hope someone makes a supercut/collection of every time the original library scene was referenced. Because if I have to make it, it'll have to wait a while for me to rewatch the whole franchise to collect them.

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 11:59:00 am

I feel like a supercut video would take a long time to make from how often it's referenced.

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 11:58:19 am

Oh yeah. I guess I didn't miss it more than I feel they've done that reference so many times now that it kinda felt like nothing special lol.

Sdf

2/24/2021 08:42:46 am

I think it was good but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted. I don't know why maybe I have to watch it again in the near future.

I was fine with the time travel being fake (I kinda figured it out very fast), the witch was a coll villan but the coolest was the black knight. I saw some minor changes in the gang's personalities. For example Daphne with all these simulation theories etc that I didn't like at all or Velma who was way cooler with the possibility of the supernatural being real.

There were a lot of throwbacks from older shows and movies as well. They showed mini clips from all these movies and series you mentioned in your review but they also copied the iconic moment of the gang with the book from the where are you series intro.

I also had strong from previous movies. Especially Witch's ghost, Shaggy's showdown and the kiss movie.

Kiss movie: The bad guy dressed as a witch used hallucinations so the gang thought the destroyer etc were real. Here the bad guy dressed as a witch to make the gang belive they traveled time.

Shaggy's showdown: in both movies Shaggy Is well known because of some famous ancestor of his

Witch's ghost: A whole village is trying to revive a myth from the middle ages to attract tourists. In fact I belive they were inspired by that film one way or another I liked that.

Finally something about Shaggy's ancestry. It was pretty much a mess. Now it's a bigger mess lol. But seriously the guy has some remarkable ancestors like a knight, an uncle from civil war and a famous cowboy.

I found a lot of interesting facts while I was seeing it (my enormous post proves it lol) but still I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted. I don't know why yet I have to re-watch it

Ps I miss Coolsville a lot for some reason and I want it to return as the gang's hometown. I don't concider crystal cove cannon. Daphne's comment about Fred's dad suggest that it is in a different cannon. To be precise she called him meaniwle but we saw in pirates ahoy that he is a sweet and kind man.

Ps2 Im not the biggest fan but I kinda missed Fraphbe

Ps3 sorry again for the loooooong post

Shadowscooby

2/24/2021 10:14:52 am

I liked how we got another ancestry for shaggy yet again right after shaggy showdown. This movie did have quite a connection to witches ghost. With the mayor and towns people using the legend of an old witch for tourists attraction. As for the kiss movie and this one both witches making the gang believe something but it was all a ruse. Good eye for those connections.

Sdf

2/24/2021 02:04:14 pm

Thank you

Becker

2/24/2021 12:38:28 pm

It's not the same canon as SDMI, it's just a town name

Sdf

2/24/2021 02:04:46 pm

I know I just miss coolsville

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 12:01:34 pm

Agreed with all of your points. Other than I guess I didn't miss Fraphne. I'm okay with them having Crystal Cove as the gang's main location, but it is odd they switched from Coolsville. Shaggy does indeed have a lot of remarkable ancestors lol. I'm so glad you mentioned Witch's Ghost, because I kinda had that vibe too in the town in the beginning. It felt very similar to the Oakhaven Fall Harvest celebration.

Fred’s Ascot

2/25/2021 10:36:22 am

BREAKING NEWS!!! The Axl Rose Scooby-Doo Guess Who episode is now available on Boomerang!! Check it out on the app!

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 11:56:53 am

Thank you! I really enjoyed the episode.

the cop

2/25/2021 10:44:14 am

i think we are going to get 1 episode a week

ps. the mud men look awesome

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 11:56:27 am

I love the Mud Men too! I'm also thinking we'll get one episode a week. Bummer though, as I was kinda hoping for all of the remaining 11 today.

Bigscoobydoofan

2/25/2021 11:59:52 am

At least you actually got an episode :(

WildwindVampire link

2/25/2021 12:02:14 pm

Aww I'm sorry. I hope you guys are able to get it soon!

Stephen Cribb

2/25/2021 03:06:06 pm

I enjoyed the film. I’m glad others spotted similarities to Witch’s Ghost because I got some of that from this. And being british it can be pretty cringey to see how Americans think what modern day England looks like. Believe it or not we aren’t still living in houses from the 1600’s lol.

The twist had me guessing to the very end. I wasn’t expecting it to be some immersive attraction. I was expecting it to be a dream of Shaggy’s or Velma and that they fell asleep in the library. Maybe if this was made 30 years ago that would have been the ending.

I find it no coincidence that Thundarr the barbarian was advertised very heavily in this film and that Warner Archive are releasing the complete series on blu ray very soon! Was a peculiar reference maybe for us older fans because kids today would have absolutely no idea what thundarr even is.

Another entertaining feature from Atoms.

Lance A Rutt

2/25/2021 03:47:08 pm

Even weirder, Thundarr is most commonly attributed to Joe and Ken. Both of whom just died.

Stephen Cribb

2/25/2021 10:24:00 pm

That’s true! Maybe it was just another of Atoms Easter egg and reference he likes to throw in. A great tribute along with his pup named Scooby clip. I can honesty see Atoms doing a pup named Scooby doo film. Or at the least, he is probably wanting to.

WildwindVampire link

2/28/2021 11:27:03 am

I hadn't thought about that, but that is super crazy!

WildwindVampire link

2/28/2021 11:28:38 am

Even as an American, I also noticed how odd it was they represented British people as living in houses from the 1600s lol.

I didn't realize they were releasing Thundarr on Blu-Ray, but in that case, it absolutely makes sense that they leaned so heavily on the Thundarr references for this film.

Becker

3/3/2021 01:58:10 am

Does anyone else notice how little buzz this movie gets compared to usually? Even after being released. Seems like the upcoming Velma show has been taking up almost all the conversation in the last month, and everyone's forgotten about Sword and the Scoob. People are even more interested in Guess Who and its weird release schedule than this film. The most discussion I've seen on the movie is on this site, and even then it's less than the last few films.

Colin

3/4/2021 09:44:52 am

I wonder if there was a problem with the distribution of the DVD? I preordered it on Amazon, but for some reason it wasn't going to come until the end of the month. When I looked it up on Target's website it just said "sold out", Best Buy only had it available for shipping, not in-store, and my local Walmarts didn't have it in stock until this week.

WildwindVampire link

3/4/2021 10:49:27 am

Hmmm...could be, with the COVID pandemic still going on and all (I can't believe it's nearly been a year we've been dealing with the pandemic!).

WildwindVampire link

3/4/2021 10:48:36 am

I've noticed that too! It's really weird. Even on ScoobyAddicts, no one is reviewing it hardly which is highly unusual.

John Locke

3/14/2021 01:39:11 am

Finally watched it, overall, it's my favorite of the past two years, but agreed on Merlin being a bit... too out there. My only real complaints are that a deed signed under duress is not legally binding, and I just didn't care for how much a jerk they made Arthur till he lightened up and got more heroic. Otherwise good and fun, kinda silly, but good return to form.

Also: Please never redub classic HB again... what they did to the Thundarr clips should be a crime...

WildwindVampire link

3/14/2021 12:48:43 pm

Glad you enjoyed it so much! Yeah, as someone who watched the original Thundarr series, how they portrayed him in this film was nothing like that lol.

Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob Review

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