DVD Review: A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Hanna-Barbera, Warner Home Video DVD 2, 3 and 4th Seasons
Mar 26, 2009
Hanna-Barbera's A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ran for 3 seasons between 1988 and 1991. It was the 8th incarnation of the venerable series, following the then-current trend of "babyfying" popular cartoon characters. That meant all the human characters were reduced in age to about 12 years old, and Scooby-Doo was little more than a puppy.
The writing was on the wall for this series when half the creative team, including show creator Tom Ruegger, abruptly bailed mid-way through the first season to go work on Tiny Toons. Although A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was as formulaic as any other Scooby-Doo series (in some cases, even more so), this series remains as an interesting link between the commercial-as-all-get-out 1980's and the oh-so-self-aware 1990's.
Now Warner Home Video has released the remaining 17 episodes in one DVD set. Is it worth your time and/or dollars?
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo: Don Messick as Scooby and Casey Kasem as Shaggy
If you've seen one episode of Scooby-Doo, you've pretty much seen them all: the gang get involved in a mystery involving a ghost or monster. The gang go into a spooky area – usually over the protests of Shaggy (voice actor/DJ Casey Kasem) and Scooby (Don Messick). The monster chases them, and someone (usually brainy Velma) finds an Important Clue. The monster chases them again and, if you're lucky, again and again. The gang somehow traps the monster. They then unmask the monster, who turns out to be some nearby character who's running a scam. Character says some variation on, "And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" Rinse and repeat.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo took that formula to the Nth degree, adding even more recurring riffs. Fred was the brainless conspiracy buff who read the National Exaggerator, Daphne was the spoiled little rich girl, Velma rarely spoke unless it was to say, "Jinkies" when she found the inevitable clue. Shaggy and Scooby screamed in terror, ran around a lot and ate tons of food (a possible result of munching on them Scooby Snacks, perhaps?).
The only saving grace was the occasional absurdist humour, which fans of Tiny Toons will quickly recognize. Quite often Fred would accuse a recurring character named Red Herring of being the culprit, usually quickly denied by either Red himself of the local newscaster. Red Herring once ended up being the villain, in Episode #22, "Night of the Boogey Biker."
However, the Hanna-Barbera brass kept a tight lid on the hijinks, which meant that such loopy humour was few and far between. Unfortunately, the same care wasn't taken on the scripts, which featured loopholes aplenty and had the investigators making leaps of logic that the audience couldn't hope to follow. Encylopedia Brown mysteries, these weren't.
The animation wasn't bad for the time, but a fair amount of stock footage showed up, especially during the chase scenes, which featured a 50's-style rock n' roll soundtrack (a nod to Casem's other gig as a successful DJ?).
DVD Extras
Other than trailers for other Warner Animated shows, there's only a bonus episode: "Party Arty" from the series Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue. Any comments about that show (check the link for more) count for this episode as well. Other than that . . .
The Final Analysis
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is little more than a historical curiosity, notable for being a stepping stone to Tiny Toons and the last time Don Messick would voice Scooby. Other than that, there's little to recommend this DVD, except for hard-core fans. It gets a 3/10.
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