Scooby-Doo! And Krypto, Too! (2023)
The Justice League have gone missing! As if that isn't enough, guided tours of the now abandoned Hall of Justice are being disrupted by a fiery phantom! After Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen witness the apparition themselves they decide to call on the best team to solve the mystery. So, the Justice Society? Doom Patrol? Suicide Squad? No, they call in... Mystery Incorporated!
This movie, although completely finished, was one of the casualties of WBD's tax write-off purge (and the fourth Scooby-Doo project cancelled under Zaslav after Scoob! Holiday Haunt, Scooby-Doo and The Haunted High Rise, and Scooby-Doo! and the Mystery Pups). Word on various Scooby forums is that this particular cancellation was the last straw for one anonymous exec, who felt it crapped over both Scooby and DC, and decided to leak it.
One of the first things you notice is that whilst previous Scooby/DC crossovers involved superheroes coming into Scooby's world, here it is definitely the other way around; Scooby and co have entered the world of DC, and it really puts a different spin on it. There's some great stuff... Fred's crush on Harley Quinn; Scooby's fan-dogging over Krypto; Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen's inability to recognise Velma without her glasses (subtle!); Shaggy and Scooby inadvertently jumping on Flash's cosmic treadmill and getting chased through time; and Lex Luthor's dog being called 'Rex' - and Scooby's inability to differentiate between the dog's name and Lex's own. There are also a ton of callouts to the old Super Friends/Challenge of the Superfriends shows in the backgrounds, as well as to some more modern DC live-action.
But, minuses... Some of the timing seeming a little off in the dialogue; Fred's constant insecurity over Daphne having spent summer camp with Jimmy Olsen when they were both nine years old (it's not that funny the first time); the lack of screentime given to some villains; the climax battle going on far too long; and worst of all... Daphne. I have no problem with the fact that at various times over the years she's taken the leader role, demonstrated pretty impressive martial arts skills, proved herself one heck of an investigator, and been extremely capable in a crisis. But here it is ridiculously overdone, as though her sole purpose is to make everybody else look unnecessary. On top of that, it's done with a level of snark that I've never seen in Scooby-Doo before. It's jarring, and completely unnecessary. I've no idea why the writers and director went that way.
However, the regular voice cast (Frank Welker as Scooby/Fred, Grey DeLisle as Daphne (and Wonder Woman), Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Kate Micucci as Velma) are bang on, whilst the supporting cast (Charles Halford as Luthor (doing a fine 'Clancy Brown'), Victoria Grace as Mercy, Nolan North as Joker (a not bad 'Hamill') and Superman, Tara Strong as Lois Lane and Harley Quinn, and Fred Tatasciore as Solomon Grundy and Perry White) are all rock solid.
It's a shame this release was cancelled, but at least Scooby fans get a chance to see it. 7/10