Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!

The Scooby-Doo gang consisting of determined leader Fred (Frank Welker), brains of the group Velma (Kate Micucci), airheaded and eccentric Daphne (Grey DeLisle), and gluttonous good-natured cowards Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and their dog Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) travel in the Mystery Machine in search of adventure but routinely stumble across supernatural happenings whose explanations are anything but.

Announced in June 2014 roughly a year after the conclusion of Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated, the announcement of the series and redesigns of the characters was met with fan ire. The fact that Be Cool Scooby-Doo was following the footsteps of the best reviewed incarnation of the franchise since the initial direct-to-video films of the 90s was certainly an uphill battle for the show, and its promise of going for a more comedic tone in contrast to the foreboding serialization of Mystery Incorporated was certainly an adjustment. But with that said the fan backlash has gone completely off the deep end as the show somehow has a worse rating than both The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Show and The New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy show.....This is why I'm losing faith in aggregate review sites, because of knee jerk fan reactions distorting reliable reflections of quality. While the show is not on the same level as Mystery Incorporated, it's not trying to be and it's more in line with something like What's New Scooby-Doo where it takes the original formula from the 1969 series and plays itself for sort of a winking comedy without going into full on parody.

A big distinguishing factor for the show is in the behind the scenes influence of producer Zac Moncrief a noted producer and director who has worked on everything from Family Guy and Brickleberry to endearing classics like Phineas and Ferb and you can definitely tell that from the art style. While you can definitely see shades of Seth MacFarlane's Fuzzy Door animation style in the production, I'd say the show falls more in line with something like Phineas and Ferb or Milo Murphy's Law where it has simplistic designs like in Family Guy or Brickleberry but unlike those two shows the simplicity is utilized for a lot of freedom of movement and energy on screen. On occasion the show does dip into some "anti-humor" sequences such as stuttering for an overly long time or being forced to move ludicrously slow but it isn't abused past the point of tolerance as seen in Family Guy or Drawn Together so it's still able to get a laugh.

The characters are still on point with Shaggy and Scooby still lovable goofball cowards, Fred's still the no nonsense leader with an excessive attachment to his Mystery Machine, the only one who has any real difference is Daphne who's still accident prone but now has a bizarre running gag of adopting a different quirk every episode. One episode show's here sporting a collection of puppets modeled after her friends, one episode shows her as narrating the gang's adventures, and another shows her having a feud of no real origins with all of Dolphin kind that is never explained, yeah it's a pretty weird route to take with the character but the bizarre antics done with Daphne are so outlandish and eyebrow raising it's all but guaranteed to get a laugh from the sheer amount of "What?" on display accompanied by funny reactions from the rest of the cast particularly Fred.

Be Cool Scooby-Doo doesn't reach the heights of Mystery Incorporated or the first three 90s direct-to-video movies, but it is an enjoyable entry in the franchise that fits well within the company entries such as What's New Scooby-Doo. I think I enjoyed Be Cool about on the same level as What's New simply because of how daring it was in shaking up the design works and running with its bizarre sense of humor even if it doesn't always land. However this show is in no way shape or form worse than The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Show or The New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy show, if you gave this show a worse rating than EITHER of those you desperately need to readjust your definition of quality.

"Be Cool, Scooby Doo" is a very breezy fun show for kids to enjoy, What I liked was that this series still managed to keep some of the heart of the other shows while still providing some new things. The comedy too isn't too bad, and I did laugh a few times. Theres some cool things they do, and they try to incorporate some facts about certain mysteries which I think is very cool. Now there are a few issues mainly the character design. I don't hate the design, but it decently feels a little cheaper than some other shows of this franchise. Some of the characters at time can be a little annoying, but not too much. Overall this show has some iffy charter designs, and some jokes don't land, but it's far from bad. It's fun, fast paced, and the mysteries are still very fun to watch.

the show has good comedy. great family show.

i quite enjoy scooby cartoons, but just wish they still looked like the previous versions does kind of remind me of phineas and ferb style not a bad thing just think why change the look.

has more gadgets for the mystery machine . more modern setting, overall quite fun.

would recommend for people to enjoy .

the voices i believe are almost all the same as past series which is great as they do a great job of portraying them .

look forward to more scooby episodes.

Went to my local Barnes and Nobles store to look for childhood cartoons that I can hold on to and ended up buying this DVD with some others because I wanted to give something modern a try. The art style made me feel like this was going to be another forced Scooby- Doo project since Warner Bros. have been overdoing Scooby-Doo since the DC's New 52 started. The art is lazy and I believe DC and Cartoon Network are getting lazier as time moves on. I mean look at horrific Teen Titans Go cartoon. But I was hoping this DVD wasn't a waste of time and money.

Now, the show as a whole. Man, I have to eat my words for a moment and say that this is pretty comical! The art for some reason actually does fit the goofiness of it! I was surprised by how much I'd laughed while watching the gang slip up from one gag to another in just seconds! Fast-paced and unusual! Daphne who was once my least favorite character suddenly became my most favorite character! She isn't like she was in her previous incarnations but rather a fun, adventurous, goofy type and I'd thought Shaggy and Scooby were the best of the gang!

Episode 1: Decent Episode 2: Pretty Good Episode 3: GREAT!! This is where I was laughing the most!

My suggestion is to watch episode 3! That one is my favorite so far!

If we take all nostalgia aside you would have to admit Be Cool, Scooby Doo is a good show. Albeit the animation style is quirky, I would argue that it fits the humour perfectly. Ever since the first images were released many people have been outraged, not even giving it a chance. But if we look past the animation style it is still a great show.

First of all the humour is brilliant, unlike What's New, Scooby Doo? the show focuses a lot more on the humour. Still staying true to the format the added humour makes the show really enjoyable. Daphne has been redesigned since the last reincarnation, Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated, and I am liking her so far. I have always found Daphne funny when she gets embarrassed when her fondness for Fred is mentioned, and when she gets annoyed at people flirting with Fred (for example Marcy in A Scooby Doo Halloween). In Be Cool, Scooby Doo this is not the case (so far), however her slightly quirkier personality is very funny. Aside from Daphne the humour is extremely funny, such as Fred being scared of widths, and is probably my favorite part of the show.

The voice acting is practically the same, aside from Velma. Mindy Cohn has been replaced by Kate Micucci, and I have to admit the voice acting for Velma is much better than I expected. For me I grew up on What's New, Scooby Doo? so those voice actors will always seem true to me. Micucci does quite a nice job as Velma and deserves some merit for that. Shaggy, not played by Kasem, is played by Matthew Lillard, who has been voicing Shaggy for quite some time now. Lillard does an excellent job as Shaggy and I have no complaints. Grey DeLisle and Frank Welker return (as for Lillard) and I have no complaints for them. Some minor characters are obviously voiced by one of the main 4 voice actors, just thought I would mention that but still nothing to complain about.

The mysteries are enjoyable as well, and I like the new format as they sum up their findings at the end of the video. However, why I didn't give the show a higher score was because of the mysteries. There is a lack of suspects, and in places where the gang are isolated (such as episode two) there are minimal characters. Around the 15 minute mark you can tell who the culprit is, which I found wasn't the case in Mystery Incorporated and What's New.

So far I am loving Be Cool, Scooby Doo and I would recommend it. I have been looking forward to it since its announcement and I am not disappointed. It's not perfect, but it does an honest and entertaining job as a Scooby Doo series.