DVD : A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Vol. 1

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- One of my fave Scooby incarnations
The 80s were a goldmine decade of great animated shows. Stuff we got in those ten years we just don't see any more. Quite literally. I don't think we'll ever see Denver the Last Dinosaur or Centurions on DVD. One of the forgotten shows among dozens of others was A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. The Scooby-Doo franchise suffered a heavy blow in the 80s when some silly man wearing a suit thought it would be a good idea to introduce Scrappy-Doo, a highly irritating doggy who never kept his mouth shut for more than two seconds. Freddy and Velma also disappeared for a while and Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy would go off solving mysteries with just Daphne.

Desperate for a new way to re-invent the franchise, Warner gave us A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, an interesting, if failed attempt.

The show features the Mystery Inc. gang as kids and Scoob as a little puppy. The humor and animation is more offbeat and Looney-Tunes orientated but the mysteries are still substantial and the locations still occasionally Gothic and atmospheric.

Shaggy and Scooby are still voiced by Casey Kasem and Don Messick. Since they are the backbone of the show it's good to have this consistency. The childhood angle also gives us new insight into their background.

Many have criticised this show, claiming it to be aimed at under-tens and that it an embarrassment to the Scooby-Doo franchise. Well, I never found it to be that way. As a Scooby-Doo fan I thought this show was very amusing and I loved the score and songs by John Debney. There should be a soundtrack CD released. It really is a shame it never lasted for longer.

Since there were only 26 episodes made I can't help but be angry at Warner's awful DVD presentation of the show. Since they are releasing loads of their back-catalogue animation in beautifully packaged box sets (Premier Collections/Spotlight Collections/Golden Collections) I find it baffling that A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (a show that would have suited this format well) gets a horrid DVD release with 4 episodes per disc, a crappy snap-case box (we're STILL getting these in 2005!) and no extra features. The 1.33:1 full frame picture and Mono sound are perfectly adequate but, even though the show failed, it still deserves a much better DVD release than the one it got.

Shame on you Warner for neglecting this one instalment of a cash-cow that has generated you billions of dollars.

Rating:

- REALLY GOOD, I'M A MAN WITH A MIND OF A BOY
WHAT CAN I SAY, I'M SUCH A LOVER AND A FAN OF SCOOBY DOO...

Rating:

- The WB does it right for A Pup Named Scooby Doo
Even though there are no extras on the DVD, the episodes look great on the DVD format. We have the Pilot episode along with Wanted Chedder Alive and even the Comic Book one. One thing that is great about the DVD is that the show is not edited for release. Check out the scene with the Shirly McCloone Character in the pilot. on the DVD she comes out of the bushes and it types her name with "wierdo" underneeth her name. I guess CN edited that out as not to offend.

The cartoons look great in terms of color, but the menu Puppy could have been drawn better as it looked not up to par as he should have been drawn. It was cute to see him wink and his ears wiggle and so forth...

the WB has done this show right... It really doen't need extras for some groovy fun and the DVD keeps them the way they were aired originally... I hope that other DVDs will take a cue from the WB and leave the shows intact... So Grab a bowl of popcorn and get ready to have fun with a Pup Named Scooby Doo.

Rating:

- Give this 'Pup' a Couple of Scooby Snacks
In 1988, after a semi-disastrous attempt by Hanna-Barbera to "babify" the Flintsones, the studio made an attemt to try again with one of their most famous shows. This time, however, it worked.
The basic premise of the original Scooby sereis remains intact (minor criminal commits cvrime while dressed in a Halloween costume) but the gang themselves--Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby--appear as children, about 10 years yuonger than they were in the original series. The artwork style itself was a drastic departure from the realism present in the orignal "Scooby-Doo" series of 1969; instead, this series draws its influence from the old sight-gag cartoons of the 1940s. The kids themselves, with the exception of Shaggy and SCooby, have had complete personality and appearance makeovers. They look nothing like their teenage selves.
The series was very successful, running from 1988-1991 on ABC and earning an Emmy nomination for Best Animated SEries in 1989. It also marked the return to television of Fred, Velma and Daphne. I give this series f out 5 stars. I withheld the last star due to this show not being released in full box set or full season format. Even if you have never seen the original Scooby show, you can understand this series, as it is a omplete stand-alone show.

Rating:

- A PUP NAMED SCOOBY DOO AS GOOD AS ORIGINAL
I was so surprised when I saw these toons a few years ago and I thought they would be the usual attempt to carry on a popular show with usually nothing results, but these were such a great surprise, because they had all the cleverness of the original
Scooby Doo series, while being completely different. You can watch them even if you've never seen Scooby Doo and they stand alone as a really funny,clever animated show in their own right.

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