DVD Review: Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Vol. 2
Warner Bros. Updates Classic Hanna-Barbera Cartoon
Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! is the 10th, and possibly final, incarnation of the classic animated whodunit that started with 1969's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
The basic premise of this series is that the famous scientist Albert Shaggleford (voiced by original Shaggy Casey Kasem) has disappeared, leaving his vast fortune to his nephew Shaggy (Scott Menville) and Scooby-Doo (original Fred voice actor Frank Welker).
Now living in the lap of luxury, Shaggy and Scooby must battle the bumbling-but villainous Dr. Phineas Phibes, who unleashes various plots to take over the world, or achieve immortality. Cue hijinks, screaming, and running from assorted pseudo-scary creatures.
And what a lot of screaming and running there is. This new show dumped the more cerebral Fred, Daphne and Velma from the Mystery Machine team (they get the occasional cameo), leaving behind only the comedy relief. For fans of the original series, this makes it really unbalanced, since there are only Shaggy and Scooby doing silly things without anyone else settling down to the process of collecting clues and solving the mystery.
However, help in resolving the plot always comes in the form of the deus ex machina Scooby Snacks which, when ingested by Scooby-Doo, give him super powers so he can save the day.
Much of the mystery in the series is also removed, since the villain is always Dr. Phibes. However, there is also the mysterious Dr. Trebla, who appears to be working for Phibes, but might have his own agenda (what's Trebla spelled backwards?).
Is The New Scooby Doo Any Good?
Okay, so the original Scooby-Doo wasn't exactly high art. The animation was cheap, and the storylines followed a predictable path. Sooner or later, the villain would be unmasked and he/she would say, "And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"
The action is amped up for the new series, and they have a new theme song, courtesy of Devo mastermind Mark Mothersbaugh. The show makes nods to the Internet, computer geeks and X-Files science, and there are even more hijinks courtesy of the goofy robot servant Robi. The Mystery Machine now transforms into various other things (like a boat or a rocket ship), but naturally something always goes wrong. It's a case of, if it's loud and goofy enough, maybe no one will notice the lack of story structure.
Ultimately though, it's a case of all sound and fury, signifying nothing. In addition, this DVD set is about as bare-bones as you can get. There are four episodes, and the language selection. That is it; nothing else.
Scooby Doo: The Final Analysis
This DVD is pretty hard to recommend for anyone who's not a die-hard fan of anything associated with Scooby-Doo. As of this writing, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! has yet to be renewed, which means that the 2 seasons of this show will be eventually bundled together in one box set. If you're a fan, hold out for that set and let this box sit on the shelf.
Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue Vol. 2 streets on July 8th.
