Scooby-Doo et compagnie

After the four Mook movies (starting with Zombie Island), Mystery Incorporated, and even Be Cool, Scooby Doo! fleshed out the characters with more complex motivations and layers of their personalities, this throwback makes them 2-dimensional again, almost caricatures who make their signature exclamations ("Jinkies!" etc.) at every opportunity. It appears to be written for a younger audience than other incarnations of Scooby-Doo of the past two decades. Even the Hex Girls seemed like simpler versions of themselves. Still, it's kind of fun with an appealing look.

Scooby-Doo's 50th anniversary has been a rough one. With the DTV film Curse Of The 13th Ghost getting mixed reviews (with some criticizing it for not being true to the show it was supposed to give closure) and the new DTV, Return To Zombie Island, getting the same results (with some criticizing it for repeating the same mistakes 13th Ghost made), it seems that it may not be a good anniversary for the great dane that has solved mysteries since 1969. However, Scooby-Doo And Guess Who? is the one gem of this rocky anniversary.

With this, Warner Bros. actually brought back the original designs, ditching the horrendous cartoony designs used for Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (which only lasted for two seasons). What makes this show great is that it revisits the concept done in The New Scooby-Doo Moves: each episode, the Mystery Inc. gang is joined by a special guest to solve the mystery of the episode, which consisted of real-life celebrities from the time like Don Knotts and the Harlem Globetrotter to fictional characters like Batman & Robin and Josie & The Pussycats. However, this show uses more recent stars, like Weird Al Yankovic, Kenan Thompson, and Penn & Teller, to fictional characters like Wonder Woman, Sherlock Holmes and even Steve Urkel.

While the episodes are thirty minutes long, it feels like the Scooby-Doo cartoons back then. The fictional characters are kept in-character (especially Steve Urkel, who is still a nerd and annoying). However, some episodes can be hit-or-miss (like the Wanda Sykes episode, which some people hated because of how Magilla Gorilla was done). But it is a good show that fixes a lot of mistakes done in Be Cool and manages to capture the feel of The New Scooby-Doo movies, even with thirty-minute episodes.

Revenge of the Swamp Monster, whilst containing obvious flaws, delivers a promising start to the series. With a focus on more visual humour, rather than offbeat and unusual from Be Cool Scooby (However do expect a zany punchline to be delivered here and there), and an old fashioned sense of score and narrative. Fingers crossed the rest of the season delivers on such a similar aura of nostalgic fun!

I so far love this show! I will admit that the first episode wasn't the best, but it definitely gets a lot better. The group dynamic, chase scenes, comedy, and different guest stars really help bring the show together. I'm so glad to see the original animation styles after witnessing Be Cool Scooby-Doo. It fall a bit weak in that each episode doesn't quite have the "finding clues" and "looking for suspects" kind of feeling as shown in the previous Scooby-Doo series. It also does feel a bit rushed, hence why took off a star. But, as a long time Scooby-Doo fan, I think this show is super solid! Definitely would recommend watching, long time Scooby-Doo fan or not!

I will watch this because I love Scooby. But I miss be cool scooby doo. The dialogue was not normal scooby but it was refreshing