A Pup Named Scooby-Doo

"A Pup Named Scooby Doo" was a wonderful television show. I grew up watching it and from a child's view it is extremely entertaining. If you have kids I recommend you go out and buy this series on DVD for them. My niece is 5 years old and she loves it.

Now "A Pup Named Scooby Doo" MAY not appeal to older people, especially to those who grew up watching the original "Scooby Doo Where Are You" but for kids they don't care. In all honesty this show appeals to kids more than the classic Scooby Doo because it is so silly and childish. The cool thing about the show was the parts where the monster chased the Mystery Inc. The music always set the mood and the silly things that happened during the chases were always funny.

Going back and watching this show now is epic Nostalgia. Please if you are looking for something new for your kids (kids up to about the age of 8 or 9) I recommend "A Pup Named Scooby Doo".

I love this show. It's the whole Scooby Doo gang as kids, and boy are the cute. I especially love Scooby and Shaggy, but who doesn't. The kids go around solving mysteries just like they do in the regular version of the show, but it's even more entertaining. I think it's an awesome show for kids and adults alike. You just have to be young at heart like myself, I guess. I'm not sure, but I think it might come on every so often on Cartoon Network. I watched it all the time, and if it were to come on again, I'd watch it still.

This show is funny, I see characters that act like dummies. Fred is into tabloids, Daphne is a spoiled rich girl, Velma carries a supercomputer. Shaggy and Scooby were always afraid, but here they're also Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt. Each episode is predictable, Freddie mentioning Red Herring or aliens as culprits, Velma entering clues into her computer, ("Jinkies!") Daphne complaining about the decor or summoning Jenkins to aid the group, and Scooby and Shaggy eating or being scared. It's so dumb it's funny!

I know I'm going to make a lot of enemies here, but I have to say it: the original Scooby Doo series wasn't that great.

There. It's done.

I know I'm stepping on a lot of great memories here, but if you go back and watch Scooby Doo, Where Are You? you'll find it's hardly the sophisticated entertainment you remember from childhood. The animation looks cheap, the jokes are lame, and the characters are cardboard cutouts.

A Pup Named Scooby Doo, though a lot of fans seem to revile it, is more successful than the original, in my opinion. Because of the liberal changes made to the formula, this functions more as an affectionate spoof of Scooby Doo than a continuation of it. Freddy's character shifts from humorless leader to incompetent moron; Daphne is a spoiled rich girl whose butler will appear out of nowhere to catch her in mid-faint; and, in spite of the fact that this takes place years before the original series, Velma has state-of-the-art (as of 1988) computer technology to aid her in catching the villain. I'm not sure why people get so worked up over these changes; in their original characterizations, everyone but Shaggy and Scooby were pretty dull, anyway. What's wrong with giving them an overhaul?

The show itself was pretty formulaic (again, in the same vein as the original), but it was a fun formula. I particularly love the sequences where the kids run from (and occasionally dance with) the monster, set to groovy 1950s-style rock and roll music. Everything here is bigger than big; no-holds-barred wackiness generally ensues. And it's fun.

First things first, A Pup Named Scooby Doo isn't the best Scooby Doo incarnation, the original series Scooby Doo Where Are You? in my opinion is unmatched. But it is not the worst, not like the abysmal Shaggy and Scooby Doo:Get a Clue. This was a cute and interesting series. Albeit it is flawed, the stories are fun if predictable, some episodes feel a little rushed and Fred and his personality annoyed me this time around. However, the animation is colourful, solid and a big step-up from the somewhat dreary style in the incarnations with Scrappy put in the equation and the music and songs by John Debney are great fun. The writing is funny, and Mystery Inc. have an easy-going chemistry still. Shaggy and Scooby never fail to bring a smile to my face, Scooby is so cute here, and I personally didn't mind Velma and Daphne here. The voice acting is solid too from Don Messick to Casey Kasem. Overall, a cute and interesting series without being definitive, but it never tried to be. I agree about the DVDs, they don't do this show any justice. 7/10 Bethany Cox