So, how's this Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated turning out so far?
I must say... It's pretty fun!
I've never really been a big fan of Scooby Doo, I gotta admit...
It's not really the characters, the concept or anything like that...but more because of the studio it came out from, Hanna-Barbera.
I always prefered the quality and animation of the other studios, be it Disney or specially Warner Bros. (aaah... the good ol' Looney Tunes!^^)
I did watch a lot of episodes of the original show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, on Cartoon Network or some other channels reruns. It was ok, I liked the concept of the fake ghosts running around and the team of young detectives going from town to town, finding clues and mysteries out!
But, somewhat, the quality wasn't really on par of more recent cartoons I watched at the time or older toons from the same era (say, the previously-mentioned Looney Tunes).
I also watched, not much, some episodes of the other later shows such as (the only ones I remember) Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo or The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo.
But those, we all pretty bad, as I remember them... They always seemed to be trying to find some new concepts or gimmicks...
Why not just redo a similar show to the original one, but with..you know... "better animation". (meaning with 70s, 80s and then 90s quality animation for example! simple as that!)
Or you know, simply, a good new concept/gimmick!
Anyhow, like I said, I've never been a big fan of Hanna-Barbera toons. The way the animate, design or do their toons... I dunno...
(hey! to each their own!)
Then Warner Bros. bought many older studios rights and proprieties!
This came out as a great news for me, since I've always loved their work, from the earlier Merry Melodies to the Animaniacs, Batman, Freakazoids and many others! (they mostly do superheroes now...)
I really wanted to check out the Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! show... but for some reason or another...I never got to!
The concept was different. Maybe even original..but I never checked it out.
(was I over cartoons around that time..? maybe...)
I really liked the art style too, it kinda reminds me of the Clerks cartoon!
But that was canceled after 2 seasons. Some might say it's because it was too different.. Completly different look?! Different settings?! Different approach?! (hey! this kinda makes me think of Resident Evil 4!...huh..let's talk about that game some other time, in a future review...)
Anyhow, since they announced this new show, Mystery Inc., I really wanted to check it out.
The whole retro-look, with modern quality animation and a return to simpler plots really intrigued me
So, how is it?
It's pretty well done!
I really dig the whole look, visual and coloring!
Love the overall layers they use too!
Visually, I dare to say, it's perfect! It really combines the classic, old school, original look of the character, while being able to modernize it with little touches and details!
It works great for these characters!
Plot-wise, it's also pretty entertaining!
Only 3 episodes have aired currently.
"Beware The Beast from Below" A monster is attacking the town of Crystal Cove. Our mystery team investigates this strange new case. We're introduced to the characters different families and personalities.
"The Creeping Creatures" Alligators, a strange mysterious town and a big new mystery. Also, who is that Mr. E who's spying and helping (or not...!!) out the team?!
"Secret of the Ghost Rig" A more Daphne/Fred-centric episode. Doorkno-missing, Fred's dad running for mayor and a Ghost Rider-esque truck wrecking havoc!
It's pretty fun to see how the characters aren't as bland as before. But were really improved upon the original templates.
Only Shaggy and Scooby really had a personality before, now Fred's one of my personal favorites!
They all have their own character and behaviours. They kinda seem deep, for a comedic cartoon anyway!
Nothing's really too serious (yay!) and the creators of the show seem to have fun with the team (Shaggy..with...Velma..?!?)
But for some reason, Scooby-doo really seems to be the "too much" of the show now. He almost seems like the 5th wheel of this well oiled cast of characters... (He almost wasn't even useful in the 1st episode! and is mostly a background running joke now...)
And the voice actors are all pretty excellent!
Love the different voices, specially Shaggy's new voice! The guy sure is having fun with his speech patterns!
It's a great new show! I wasn't expecting much, and now...I'm following a Scooby-doo show! I wouldn't even have expected I'd be following a Scooby-doo cartoon someday!
Great show so far, don't miss it~
I still plan to watch at least one episode of Shaggy and Scooby, Get A Clue one of these days.
ReplyDeleteYeah I saw that it was the actor from the live movies who took Shaggy's voice this time while keeping the original VA in the background. (which is a nice touch!)