Writers: Various
Cast: Scott Menville, Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Jeff Bennett
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Home Video & Turner Entertainment
Release Date: July 8, 2008

Call me a cartoon purist, but I’m just not in love with the Kids WB (or is it CW?) television show, Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue. The show feels lost without the constant companionship of the rest of the Mystery Gang. Sure, the show focuses primarily on Shaggy and Scooby (and that’s the point of the show), but something seems missing without Fred, Velma and Daphne. Of course, I’m so used to hearing Casey Kasem voice Shaggy, Scott Menville hardly seems like a worthy “new generation” replacement.

I know this makes me sound a bit like a curmudgeon, but I grew up in the 80s. There will never be a better time for cartoons then in the generation when I grew up. My son, age 13, is of this new generation and I often have to shake my head at how clueless this young generation is. They think their cartoons are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I had to convince my son that without the Ninja Turtles of the 80s, his reloaded and revamped Ninja Turtles probably never would have existed. He didn’t even believe my generation’s Ninja Turtles were any good until he had the chance to watch them (and boy did he laugh at how funny they were) during a recent box set I had to review.

Once again, my son is claiming his Scooby Doo show is the best show ever. To him, Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue is the epitome of excellence in the Scooby universe. Truthfully, nothing beats the original and that came out even before my generation. Kids today don’t realize that their incarnation of spin-off, rip-off shows wouldn’t be possible without the original shows that aired decades ago. They take for granted the fact that they believe theirs was the first. When you’ve only seen mediocrity, it is easy to believe that mediocrity is good. When you’ve seen an excellent series and then are served mediocrity, the mediocre show just isn’t as good. That’s exactly how I feel about Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue.

Release Information:
As the final series (to date) of the Scooby Doo series of shows, Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue is so disappointing that the majority of Scrappy naysayers are hopping on the bandwagon when voting this as the worst Scooby show ever. Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue is the tenth Scooby Doo series that Hanna Barbera has produced. It first aired on the CW (Saturday Morning Kids WB cartoon slot) on September 23, 2006. The show has run for two seasons and there are rumors a third is in production, though that has yet to officially be confirmed.

Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2 is the latest DVD to be released by Warner Home Video through their Turner Home Entertainment division. The DVD features four episodes, all 22 minutes in length, from the first season of Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue. Warner Home Video is set to release Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2 one week from today, on July 8, 2008. Though the DVD retails for around $15, you can pre-order a copy of Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2 on Amazon for $8.99.

The Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2 Plot
The Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue show revolves around the fact that the Scooby gang has disbanded. Scooby Doo (Frank Welker – the “Voice God”) and Shaggy Rogers (Scott Menville – Robin from Teen Titans) are still the best of friends so they stay together. On the show, Shaggy is the nephew of a very rich man, Uncle Albert Shaggleford (Casey Kasem). When Shaggy’s Uncle Albert disappears, Shaggy inherits his Uncle’s fortune. He also inherits his Uncle’s enemies, specifically Dr. Phineas Phibes (Jeff).

This DVD contains four episodes from the first season of Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue. Here is a list and brief description of each of the episodes included on this disc.

“Smart House” – Phineas Phibes launches an evil computer virus named ‘Kevin’. His plan is to put it into the nation’s defense system. As you might imagine, with ‘Kevin’ breaching national security via computer, Phibes will be able to take over the country (and possibly the world). Scooby and Shaggy end up intercepting the virus and ‘Kevin’ takes over their Smart House. As a result, they must play laser tag in an attempt to defeat ‘Kevin’ and get the Smart House back under their control.

“Lightening Strikes Twice” – This time, Phineas’ evil plan is to electrocute the Earth from space. In order to stop him, Scooby Doo and Shaggy pretend to be aliens. As aliens, they hope to attack Phineas and thwart him in his latest, evil endeavor.

“Don’t Feed the Animals” – Phineas is back again, and he is up to no good. His latest plan is to destroy the beautiful rainforest. With his super mower, it shouldn’t be that difficult to destroy this special land that is home to many of the world’s most delicate ecosystems. It’s up to Scooby and Shaggy to stop him before he ruins a very important, protected part of the world.

“Mystery of the Missing Mystery Solvers” – All of the greatest detectives are up for a special award. This includes Shaggy and Scooby. While they are at the award’s show some of the detectives end up disappearing. The world’s greatest detective, Chad Chaddington, decides that Shaggy and Scooby are unworthy of being in his presence unless they can figure out where the detectives have gone.

While Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue has its moments of somewhat funny humor, the negatives of this show far outweigh the positives. One of the worst parts, for me, was the animation. Looking at the characters, this looks like a totally different cartoon. While kids will be into the bright colors and modern updates to the characterizations, Scooby Doo purists (many of us who grew up with Scooby) are going to hate this show. If you imagine this is a totally different Scooby and Shaggy, this might be acceptable to watch, but Shaggy isn’t even dressed in his patented brown (are they corduroy?) bell bottom style pants and green t-shirt. Thankfully, he’s still looking scruffy (in the chin department), but that’s where the similarities end.

Ultimately, the primary group that should enjoy this series will be the kids who aren’t as invested in the old Scooby Doo shows. In some ways, this is good because this show was specifically marketed towards these kids, by airing on the Saturday morning cartoon lineup for the Kids WB. Still, since this show has such a limited ‘niche’ audience, this shouldn’t bode well for sales, with so many people preferring the old Scooby Doo series, with the Mystery Inc. gang completely intact.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
While I disliked the animation style used in the episodes presented on the Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2 DVD, there was nothing technically wrong with the visual quality of the episodes. The show has a modern, updated feel. The colors for the animation were bright and vibrant. There was decent contrast levels and everything looked sharp and in focus. While I didn’t notice any major visual errors, the show is presented in a standard 1.33:1 full frame format. This is typical of television shows, especially animated ones.

The audio quality presented on the Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2 DVD comes through clearly. Presented in English Dolby Digital Surround Sound, I didn’t have any need to toggle with the volume. Every sound came out evenly. The musical aspects meshed well with the dialogue and the sound effects were the standard, somewhat dynamic sounds you expect from a cartoon television show. There is also a Dolby Digital soundtrack in Portuguese. Closed Captioning is available in English, for the hearing impaired.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Like many of the cartoon releases by Warner Home Video, Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2 does not contain a single bonus feature.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Changing the formula of a popular show so much that it is unrecognizable to the original series is unforgiveable. Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue is too different to be liked by the vast majority of Scooby Doo fans. While some kids will enjoy the modernization and changes made to Scooby and Shaggy, this show is either going to be hit or miss. Unless you know that you or your kids are going to like this show before you purchase Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue, Vol. 2, this DVD should be rented. Hopefully, the show will go back to its original formula, by reuniting Scooby and Shaggy with the old gang. Until then, we’ll all have to settle for reruns of the original cartoon series.

Overall Rating:

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