A Scoob in King Arthur's Court
Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob is a 2021 movie in the Scooby-Doo direct-to-DVD movie lineup. When Shaggy learns that his ancestors came from a small village in northern England, the gang goes on a trip to the town of Norville o'er Morgania. Legend says that this town was possibly the location of King Arthur’s kingdom of Camelot. After arriving in town, the evil sorceress Morgan le Fay zaps the gang back in time, where they meet King Arthur, who turns out to not be quite what they expected. Daphne fights in a tournament, Shaggy possibly has a claim to the throne, and Velma becomes a sorcerer's apprentice. To find their way home, the gang must complete a quest.
Tropes in this movie include:
- Black Knight: Morgan le Fay sends the Black Knight to attack Daphne after she wins the tournament.
- Broad Strokes: A relatively minor and partially justified example. Due to the crossover with Batman: The Brave and the Bold in Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, it was implied the Scooby-Doo Direct-to-Video Film Series had a Shared Universe with The Brave and the Bold. However, many of the characters in Camelot like Merlin and Morgan le Fay look and act almost nothing like they did in the previous Batman series. This is justified because it's eventually revealed all the people in Camelot are just actors who kept up a ruse to make the Scooby Gang think they really traveled back in time. However, towards the end, it's heavily implied that the Merlin they encountered really was the Merlin of Arthurian times and he certainly looked and acted nothing like his incarnation in The Brave and the Bold.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Merlin is absent-minded, more focused on figuring out how to burp the alphabet while breathing fire at the same time than anything going on around him. He very well might be the actual Merlin as well.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: If the townspeople didn't immediately try to trick Shaggy into giving up the land instead of just talking to him, they'd see he never wanted it in the first place.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Daphne vs. every other knight in the tournament. Not a single one stands a chance against her.
- Delayed Ripple Effect: In Camelot, Velma uses a picture of the gang on her phone as an indicator of whether they still exist in their own time. They fear the worst when it disappears completely. However, Velma eventually realizes that she just forgot to charge the phone and it went dead.
- Easily Forgiven: The Scooby Gang don't seem to hold a grudge for the town trying to con them into thinking they had traveled in time.
- Fanservice: During the final battle, Arthur's tunic is ripped open, showing off his bare chest with very defined abs. This helps Velma solve the mystery, as Arthur turns out to be the actor Winston Pilkingtonshire, who plays Thundarr the Barbarian. Daphne says "I'd know those abs anywhere."
- Hero Insurance: During the climax, the gang uses a dragon to shoot a fireball on a mailbox to stop Mrs. Wentworth from getting away with the rights to Norville o'er Morgania. The gang is not even chastised for this destructive action. Of course, they did ensure the townsfolk wouldn't lose all the money from the attraction.
- Iris Out: The movie ends with one, accompanied by Bob Clampett's classic "Beeo-woop!" vocal effect from the classic Looney Tunes cartoons he directed (what with Warner Bros. Animation producing the movie and all).
- I Will Find You: When Morgan le Fay kidnaps Shaggy to get his right to the throne of Camelot, Fred reassures Scooby that they'll rescue him. Velma adds that they have to do it soon because the photo is fading.
- Loophole Abuse: King Arthur refuses to join the gang to get Shaggy back from Morgana because he's not leaving the castle without a bunch of knights (most of whom Daphne already beat the stuffing out of). Then he comes up with a loophole: he knights the rest of the gang.
- Mythology Gag:
- When reading a book in Norville o'er Morgania's library, the gang all face the camera while gathered around Velma, recreating a classic shot from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!.
- Fred's medieval outfit is extremely similar to the outfit he wore at the renaissance fair in the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "Large Dragon at Large". His volunteering to be Shaggy's knight follows up on his childhood Halloween suit of armor costume from SCOOB!.
- Shaggy pulls the sword from the stone, just like he did in "Large Dragon at Large".
- When Morgan le Fay sends the gang to Camelot, clips are shown from Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, Scooby-Doo in Where’s My Mummy?, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
- Daphne makes a reference to being a blond and chased by fish monsters, in a reference to Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster.
- Plot-Irrelevant Villain: Mrs. Wentworth takes advantage of the town's desire to make Shaggy leave to trick him into signing the land over to her, but everything Shaggy and his friends experience other than the brief chase scene after she reveals her true agenda would have happened even if she had no plan of her own and someone else wore the Morgan costume.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title refers to the Arthurian story, The Sword in the Stone.
- Real After All: Merlin turns out to be a real wizard.
- Scaled Up: Morgan le Fay turns into a dragon when the gang enters her lair.
- Schrödinger's Canon: This movie makes several references to Mystery Incorporated:
- In Camelot, Shaggy is introduced to King Arthur as "Sir Norville of Crystal Cove-ia".
- Fred and Daphne agree that king Arthur is "a big meanie", just like Fred's father. This characterization more closely resembles Fred's father in Mystery Incorporated, Mayor Jones.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: The whole town of Norville o'er Morgania had created a medieval town with actors to be used as a fun tourist attraction. When Shaggy was revealed to possibly have claim to the land, the town decided to trick the gang into thinking they had gone back in time by knocking them out and taking them to "Camelot", hoping that Shaggy could be persuaded to give up his claim to the land. Lampshaded when Shaggy states he never wanted the land in the first place because he already deals with enough creeps running similar schemes over real estate.
- Shout-Out:
- The opening case, involving a monster on the wing scaring passengers and trying to damage the plane, comes off as a Scooby-Doo version of The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".
- When Velma becomes Merlin's apprentice, she wears a Robe and Wizard Hat that highly resembles Mickey Mouse's outfit in Fantasia.
- Daphne recognizing Winston Pilkingtonshire by his abs. "I'd know those abs anywhere!" is taken directly from Riverdale.
- The Delayed Ripple Effect situation is inspired from Back to the Future, of course.
- Show Within a Show: Thundarr the Barbarian exists as a series in the Scooby-Doo universe. The original series was produced by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, who are acknowledged as the true creators of Scooby-Doo when they worked at Hanna-Barbera.
- Significant Double Casting: Besides her usual role as Daphne, Grey DeLisle Griffin also voices Mrs. Wentworth and Morgan le Fay. This is a good indicator of the fact that the former disguised herself as the latter in order to get the land.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Mr. HB is a character helped by Mystery, Inc. at the beginning. To thank them, he pays for their trip to Norville o'er Morgania and that's where his role ends. However, this causes the entire rest of the plot.
- Something Only They Would Say: One of the things that clue Velma to the fact King Arthur is Winston Pilkingtonshire is the fact "Arthur" uses a line from Pilkingtonshire's character Thundarr the Barbarian.
- Throw the Book at Them: Velma throws the spell book Merlin gave her at Dragon Morgan, stopping up her throat and preventing her from using her fire. Further attempts to blast the gang lead to defeat.
- Took a Level in Badass: Daphne fights over a dozen knights at Camelot's tournament, and she singlehandedly trounces them all.
- Tuckerization: One of the characters in this movie is known as Mr. HB.
- Underestimating Badassery: Lancelot makes some condescending remarks to Daphne on account of her being female and pays the price for it in a Curb-Stomp Battle.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Downplayed. While Daphne and Fred aren't explicitly confirmed to be boyfriend and girlfriend, they flirt with each other and get Crush Blushes when the other flirts back. When Morgan le Fay freezes Fred just before the tournament, Daphne snaps at the powerful sorceress to release him.
- Weak-Willed: Velma explains that Morgan le Fay was able to freeze Fred in position without magic because he's the suggestible type, and then proves it by yelling at him to jump.
- Wicked Witch: Morgan le Fay fits the role like a glove.
- Worth It: King Arthur hates Lancelot so much that, when the latter loses a joust to Daphne, the former enjoys seeing Lancelot being beaten by a girl even if it means a point for Shaggy.
