Trop cool, Scooby-Doo!

I was very skeptical at first and I never do reviews, ever. However, awhile I was looking at reviews, I noticed the person who gave it a 1/10, which in the review, doesn't even review it, it just spews hate about the show. Real review: I gave it a shot, and I wasn't sure what to think of it, I watched a few episodes, and I realized more and more that each character actually develops their own quirks, especially Daphne! The new personality of Daphne, and her new style is much better than being the damsel in distress. I really like almost everything about it, besides having to make Velma extremely unappealing, which changed from the last reincarnation. Not really sure why you'd want to backpedal on development, so that's the only reason why I knocked off two points. I'm also not as fond with the new Scooby to be quite honest, but I never really thought he had much of a place besides being a portrait of the show and being sychronized by Shaggy.

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 Mindy Cohn has been replaced by Kate Micucci, and I have to admit the voice acting for Velma is much better than I expected.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.

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!

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 another great addition to the franchise after my personal favourite series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. Being the 12th incarnation of the show, you'd think the mileage would have ran out by now. Being a massive Scooby-Doo fan myself, however, I would feel saddened if they stopped producing shows, especially if they are to the quality of the latest two series.

Be Cool is by far the funniest show in the franchise. After Mystery Inc. which had a much darker and scarier tone, it was great to see a series which also experimented with something new. This comedy driven incarnation of the show is a strong follow up to Mystery Inc. You are bound to laugh many times per episode, and the show just gets funnier as you continue to watch.

The characters in the show are similar to previous incarnations. Scooby and Shaggy are still their same old selves, hungry, cowardly and hilarious. Velma and Fred are also pretty similar to previous versions of the characters, yet their personalities are tweaked so as to fit the tone of the show. Fred is usually used as a foil to Daphne (which I will get to soon), whilst Velma retains her status as the most intellectual of the gang. Both characters are given their individual fears, Fred of widths and Velma of water, which makes for great gags throughout the series. Daphne sees the most radical change in character. The show really brings her to the forth as a comedy character, as each episode she has a new 'Daphne Du Jour', where she gets up to all sorts of antics. It's a fun take on the character, and really suits the tone of the show.

As for the voice actors, everyone is the same as in Mystery Inc. Frank Welker voices both Fred and Scooby, Matthew Lillard voices Shaggy, and Grey Griffin voices Daphne. Kate Micucci is a great addition to the show in her first series as Velma, and she is excellent.

The mystery element of the show is not lost in the comedy, as the two elements work wonderfully together. The explanation of the villain's plot is nicely recapped in illustrated flashback sequences at the end of each episode. The show also brings back musical chase sequences after their absence in Mystery Inc., and the songs used are really catchy. One last thing I want to touch upon is the character designs. This show gets a lot of criticism because of how the gang looks. Whilst it is not my favourite version of the characters, I have to say that the designs match the tone of the show perfectly.

Overall, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! is a fantastic show and a great addition to the Scooby franchise. It's great to have a Scooby show that really emphasises the humour. I would definitely recommed it to others. Give it a chance! Once you get used to the character designs, the show is really enjoyable. Like the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover.