An extended, goofy and fun Scooby series
The New Scooby-Doo Movies may not be as good as the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! but that's not to say it isn't just as fun. The episodes in this show are extended (around 38-40 mins) allowing for twice the shenanigans. There's also the addition of celebrity guests to help the gang solve the mystery each episode, which allows for a lot of funny moments.Whilst some of the episodes can become a little tedious due to the longer run time, on the whole the episodes are thoroughly enjoyable. The quality of animation seems to have been taken down a notch, with some glaring errors throughout the series, but this can be overlooked (maybe that's just the nostalgia speaking).
The voice cast remains the same as the second season of SDWAY, with Casey Kasem, Heather North, Nicole Jaffe, Frank Welker and Don Messick reprising their roles as Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, Fred and Scooby respectively, and they are all excellent in their roles.
The guest stars on the show are varied, for example the Addams Family, Sonny and Cher, Batman and Robin, The Harlem Globetrotters, Davy Jones etc, and it's nice watching them interact with the gang and helping with the investigation. In my opinion some of the guests are used more effectively than others but that's just me.
One of the minor issues I have with a few episodes is that there are instances where the writers tried to make jokes that were just not very funny or just felt a bit cringe. Like in the first episode with The Three Stooges, Fred jokes that the desert is like a woman, it goes on and on and on, and he says this to Daphne! Also in the episode with Davy Jones, again Fred (come on Fred, what are you at) makes a 'quip' about women when the girls offer to help Davy out of a suit of armour after he fell down a flight of stairs. "Women, go figure them out". Alright Fred, you're trying to be funny and it's just not. Aside from these silly jokes, the humour is pretty good overall.
Overall, The New Scooby-Doo movies is a fun show that is quite often overlooked by fans. I can remember quite a few of the episodes vividly and enjoyed rewatching them all again before writing this review. If you haven't seen the show already I would suggest watching it. If you're a first time Scooby viewer, maybe it would be best to start off with average length episodes from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! or The Scooby-Doo Show, but if you're a Scooby fan who has somehow missed this series... give it a go! Some episodes may seem a bit boring due to a weak story and so-so guests, but on the whole the show is a lot of fun with some very memorable episodes.
score 7/10
conallturley 9 June 2018
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4197155/15169
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