This is definitely not your usual Scooby-Doo. After a very cruel cartoon producer named Sander Schwartz came to Warner Bros. Animation and made that awful revival series known as "What's New Scooby-Doo" (and the studio followed up with the Loonatics version: "Shaggy and Scooby- Doo Get a Clue!"), I haven't trusted Warner Bros. Animation these days. So early last year when this new Scooby series and its sister show, "The Looney Tunes Show," were announced, I was skeptical, nervous they would screw it up all over again. But this review only focuses on the Scooby-Doo series (I will write another review about Looney Tunes as well.)
To start off, this is MUCH different from the past two shows. It's a lot better, too, though still not as good as the classic "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" This show is much darker, realistic and scarier, not to mention VIOLENT. There have been quite a few instance where the villain nearly murders someone (even coming close to killing the gang!), things are often breaking or blowing up, people actually die, there's a bit of visible blood, one episode even has a very graphic train wreck sequence! I am very surprised the show was rated TV-Y7-FV; if anything, it should be at least PG (like "The Looney Tunes Show" wound up with.) For once, the villains have often become much more scarier and menacing, even if most of the time they are not even real (like always!)
Additionally, the plots are still in most cases the usual "just a guy in disguise" format, with some lampooning (or none at all!) I do get a bit annoyed by how they still must always have to parody the meddling kids thing to death ("And I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling *insert random noun here*!") But, unlike "What's new Scooby-Doo?", this show also shows more about the characters. We get to see them with their families, at home, on a date, even at school! (Surprisingly, their high school actually ALLOWS SCOOBY-DOO INSIDE THE BUILDING!) The whole "Mr. E" thing was also a nice touch, and kept me hooked to the show (even if a mention isn't done until the end.)
Fred was initially dumbed-down here, practically to "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" levels! (They gave him that obsession with traps, he doesn't know how to work a record player, etc.) but he's improved with the second season. Daphne is still pretty much the same, and I enjoyed seeing her with her family or romance involving Fred. Velma has changed quite a bit, though. If you thought Velma's attitude was different in "What's New Scooby-Doo," here you will get quite a surprise. She had a crush on Shaggy (which he does not seem to return,) and is sometimes felt left out of the gang, and tends to have more of a devil-may-care attitude. She reminds me somewhat of Judy Funnie from "Doug." Shaggy and Scooby are pretty much the same, though. This series usually gives everyone a moment in the spotlight (unlike "What's New," which usually focused on Fred, Daphne and Velma, and the "Get a Clue" which just starred Shaggy and Scooby.) Sometimes the episodes will vary the focus on one character, sometimes the episode may be mostly about Fred, sometimes about Velma, sometimes about Daphne and her family, and we even got some pretty decent episodes about Scooby-Doo himself! Three of the best episodes so far for me was the one involving a dream sequence where Scooby-Doo teams up with the Funky Phantom, Captain Caveman, Speed Buggy and Jabberjaw to save the humans for their respective mystery-solving teams, as well as one episode featuring a return appearance by the Hex Girls (unlike their appearance in the disastrous What's New episode "The Vampire Strikes Back," this one is more faithful to their "Witch's Ghost" appearance), as well as one where Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are invited to dinner at the home of Vincent Van Ghoul (from "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!")
The voices aren't too bad. Matthew Lillard's Shaggy still sounds good, and fits pretty well with this slightly younger Shaggy here; Grey DeLisle's Daphne still sounds the same since 2001, and Mindy Cohn's Velma still the same since 2002. Frank Welker's Scooby-Doo still at times sounds more like Brain from "Inspector Gadget" (I know, I compare it to Brain a lot) but I have gotten more used to it by now, and he can still voice Fred really well. In fact, in that crossover episode I mentioned, Frank Welker also reprises the role of Jabberjaw and does an excellent job with it! Being more "realistic," the use of the old Hanna-Barbera sound effects can vary wildly; some may have quite a few of them, some with a LOT (such as the crossover episode or the Dynomutt one), some with none at all. It seems to be more situational here, unlike with "What's New" and "Get a Clue's" more realism-driven scenarios.
Now to the animation. Even though they pretty much just write a script and then ship it off to Korea, the character designs aren't too bad. They have that "retro" look to them; in fact, it reminds me of the character redesigns utilized in the excellent 2001 Flintstones revival special "Flintstones on the Rocks." The gang is back in their classic 1969 outfits (big plus here!), with Velma wearing a couple of bows in her hair as well. Other characters also tend to have that 1970s H-B look to them, compared to the previous two shows which drew them in their typical WB "house" style.
Overall, a major step up for Scooby-Doo. It's still not as good as some of the made-for-video Scooby-Doo movies WB has been churning out since last year, though.
To start off, this is MUCH different from the past two shows. It's a lot better, too, though still not as good as the classic "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" This show is much darker, realistic and scarier, not to mention VIOLENT. There have been quite a few instance where the villain nearly murders someone (even coming close to killing the gang!), things are often breaking or blowing up, people actually die, there's a bit of visible blood, one episode even has a very graphic train wreck sequence! I am very surprised the show was rated TV-Y7-FV; if anything, it should be at least PG (like "The Looney Tunes Show" wound up with.) For once, the villains have often become much more scarier and menacing, even if most of the time they are not even real (like always!)
Additionally, the plots are still in most cases the usual "just a guy in disguise" format, with some lampooning (or none at all!) I do get a bit annoyed by how they still must always have to parody the meddling kids thing to death ("And I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling *insert random noun here*!") But, unlike "What's new Scooby-Doo?", this show also shows more about the characters. We get to see them with their families, at home, on a date, even at school! (Surprisingly, their high school actually ALLOWS SCOOBY-DOO INSIDE THE BUILDING!) The whole "Mr. E" thing was also a nice touch, and kept me hooked to the show (even if a mention isn't done until the end.)
Fred was initially dumbed-down here, practically to "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" levels! (They gave him that obsession with traps, he doesn't know how to work a record player, etc.) but he's improved with the second season. Daphne is still pretty much the same, and I enjoyed seeing her with her family or romance involving Fred. Velma has changed quite a bit, though. If you thought Velma's attitude was different in "What's New Scooby-Doo," here you will get quite a surprise. She had a crush on Shaggy (which he does not seem to return,) and is sometimes felt left out of the gang, and tends to have more of a devil-may-care attitude. She reminds me somewhat of Judy Funnie from "Doug." Shaggy and Scooby are pretty much the same, though. This series usually gives everyone a moment in the spotlight (unlike "What's New," which usually focused on Fred, Daphne and Velma, and the "Get a Clue" which just starred Shaggy and Scooby.) Sometimes the episodes will vary the focus on one character, sometimes the episode may be mostly about Fred, sometimes about Velma, sometimes about Daphne and her family, and we even got some pretty decent episodes about Scooby-Doo himself! Three of the best episodes so far for me was the one involving a dream sequence where Scooby-Doo teams up with the Funky Phantom, Captain Caveman, Speed Buggy and Jabberjaw to save the humans for their respective mystery-solving teams, as well as one episode featuring a return appearance by the Hex Girls (unlike their appearance in the disastrous What's New episode "The Vampire Strikes Back," this one is more faithful to their "Witch's Ghost" appearance), as well as one where Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are invited to dinner at the home of Vincent Van Ghoul (from "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo!")
The voices aren't too bad. Matthew Lillard's Shaggy still sounds good, and fits pretty well with this slightly younger Shaggy here; Grey DeLisle's Daphne still sounds the same since 2001, and Mindy Cohn's Velma still the same since 2002. Frank Welker's Scooby-Doo still at times sounds more like Brain from "Inspector Gadget" (I know, I compare it to Brain a lot) but I have gotten more used to it by now, and he can still voice Fred really well. In fact, in that crossover episode I mentioned, Frank Welker also reprises the role of Jabberjaw and does an excellent job with it! Being more "realistic," the use of the old Hanna-Barbera sound effects can vary wildly; some may have quite a few of them, some with a LOT (such as the crossover episode or the Dynomutt one), some with none at all. It seems to be more situational here, unlike with "What's New" and "Get a Clue's" more realism-driven scenarios.
Now to the animation. Even though they pretty much just write a script and then ship it off to Korea, the character designs aren't too bad. They have that "retro" look to them; in fact, it reminds me of the character redesigns utilized in the excellent 2001 Flintstones revival special "Flintstones on the Rocks." The gang is back in their classic 1969 outfits (big plus here!), with Velma wearing a couple of bows in her hair as well. Other characters also tend to have that 1970s H-B look to them, compared to the previous two shows which drew them in their typical WB "house" style.
Overall, a major step up for Scooby-Doo. It's still not as good as some of the made-for-video Scooby-Doo movies WB has been churning out since last year, though.