A Pup Named Scooby-Doo...on DVD?!

[ZariusTwo]

Separately, TVShowsOnDVD also reports that two volumes of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo will be released on June 19 and retail for $14.98 apiece.

Wow...talk about getting desperate, I liked this show, but I'd rather see a box set released for that EXACT price rather than pay that much for two measly volumes

[DrSpengler]

Well, it was the last time Don Messick and Casey Kasem worked together, but other than that I really didn't like the show. At least it established that they lived in Coolsville.

I dunno, A Pup Named Scooby Doo seemed to be riding the "kiddify" wave in the early 90's. Yo Yogi, Tom and Jerry Kids, and Tiny Toons (sorta, but it was good) just to name a few off the top of my head. Maybe even Muppet Babies, though I think that was more of an 80's show.

I'd much rahter have the Real Adventures of Johnny Quest on DVD. That show was fantastic.

[Agent Bishop]

Here is a good website you can go to get some of the Old/New cartoons on DVD. You may have already see this site, and you may not have, but anyhow just though I would share it. If anyone on here knows of any other good site to get cartoons off of, please let me know as I would be interested in checking them out.

AnimatedBliss.com

[ZariusTwo]

Yup Spengler, this was produced around the same time to capitlise on Mupept Babies, It really was'nt bad compared to later efforts like the Flintstone Kids, where was absymal, although it did prove that Captain Caveman (prior to being frozen) shared the same timeline with The Flintstones by guest appearing in some episodes.

Agreed on Johnny Quest, that was far superior to all previous versions, the effects were ahead of thier time, villains like Ezikeal Rage were far more memorable than the House of Tastful Men (ok, that never happened, but Harvey Birdman knew how to take the p*ss out of the original series)

[DrSpengler]

Flinstones Kids...now THERE'S a show best left forgotten. I did kinda like the Captain Caveman and Son segments, though. Better than Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, anyway. Maybe it was just the blatant Charlie's Angels rip-off that bugged me.

There's so much I liked about Real Adventures, but I think it was the villains that were the best. Ezekial Rage was my favorite (Michael Bell was amazing), but Jeremiah Sird was pretty cool, even if they did use him to death. Also gotta love the return of Dr. Sin. A much more respectful/accurate version of the classic villain than in the 80's series.

One other thing I liked about the series, and this may not be important to a lot of people, is that it had a FINALE! So many good cartoons just wither up and die without any resolution but this show actually put aperiod on the series and killed off all the major villains. The last episode, witht he return of Sin's spider tanks...awesome.

But we're going off-track...

A Pup Named Scooby Doo...seen every episode. A dozen time, actually, thanks to the endless reruns on Cartoon Network when the live action movies came out. Like I said, I liked that it established they all lived in Coolsville. It took me by surprise that they actually used that as canon in the live action movie; I didn't think anyone would actually remember that.

I also liked to see the characters actually having HOMES. Believe it or not, that's something that really bugged me about Scooby Doo Where Are You. You never EVER got to see any of the characters go home. It's like they were traveling gypsies or something.

A Pup Named Scooby Doo certainly wasn't the worst Scooby Doo cartoon ever made...pretty much any of the crap made in the 80's takes that honor. "We don't need Fred, Velma or Daphne anymore. We've got Scrappy!"

Oh for the love of God...

[Duke]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

"We don't need Fred, Velma or Daphne anymore. We've got Scrappy!"

I thought Daphne was in most of the shows with scrappy.

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

Flinstones Kids...now THERE'S a show best left forgotten. I did kinda like the Captain Caveman and Son segments, though. Better than Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, anyway. Maybe it was just the blatant Charlie's Angels rip-off that bugged me.

There's so much I liked about Real Adventures, but I think it was the villains that were the best. Ezekial Rage was my favorite (Michael Bell was amazing), but Jeremiah Sird was pretty cool, even if they did use him to death. Also gotta love the return of Dr. Sin. A much more respectful/accurate version of the classic villain than in the 80's series.

One other thing I liked about the series, and this may not be important to a lot of people, is that it had a FINALE! So many good cartoons just wither up and die without any resolution but this show actually put aperiod on the series and killed off all the major villains. The last episode, witht he return of Sin's spider tanks...awesome.

But we're going off-track...

A Pup Named Scooby Doo...seen every episode. A dozen time, actually, thanks to the endless reruns on Cartoon Network when the live action movies came out. Like I said, I liked that it established they all lived in Coolsville. It took me by surprise that they actually used that as canon in the live action movie; I didn't think anyone would actually remember that...

You've got to remember the movies are glorified fanfiction that pandered to every long-term Scooby fan as well as children, there not only excellent, they were faifthful to the long-term continunity, they had the balls to acknowledge the positives (the classic monsters in Scooby Doo 2 and the mystery behind the culprit) and deal with the negatives (Scrappy as the main villain in the first movie)

Daphne, indeed, stayed around after most of the Scooby/Shaggy/Scrappy solo episodes became pretty stale, the mystery episodes returned, but sadly, were'nt quite the same, the only exception being "The Nutcracker Scoob", which reuinted the original gang for one episode, we had to wait until 1998 for a more permanent reunion with "Zombie Island"


Another show that needs to be released is Captain Planet....the first three seasons produced by DIC were amazing, strong voice talent, tight storylines, then Hannah-Barbera picked it up and the episodes got far more preachy about saving the earth rather than give us a good blend of action AND a story.

The Power Is Yours!

[DrSpengler]

I think the first full-cast reunion after Nutcracker Scoob but before Zombie Island was that episode of Johnny Bravo they guest-starred in. It was the last time Casey Kasem played Shaggy before his retirement (which lasted almost 5 years).

I'm sort of...indifferent now that Kasem is back as Shaggy. It's great to see the original voice actor again but he just sounds...old. I mean, Shaggy's voice doesn't really sound the same anymore. Kinda like the late 80's stuff Mel Blanc did for Looney Tunes, where the characters just sounded...off.

I thought Billy West did an impressive Shaggy in Zombie Island, but I think Scott Innes (the current voice of Scooby Doo) did a better job filling in Kasem's shoes. Add in the fact that he's also Scooby and that makes a real dynamic (not to mention, probably cheaper than to hire Kasem in addition to Innes). I only heard Tom Kinny's Shaggy in a Burger King commercial, and I wasn't too impressed.

It's nice having Kasem back, but should he ever retire (for good) I'm comfortable with Innes as his replacement.

In regards to Daphne, they kept bouncing her around in the later Scooby shoes. One moment she'd still be hanging out with Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, and the next she'd be gone completely. And whatever happened to Shaggy's one-shot girlfriend, Googy (was that her name?) from the Reluctant Werewolf? The 80's efforts were very poor, IMO. Especially the Scrappy cartoons without Shaggy and Scooby (but with their carbon copies in cowboy hats, instead).

And for Captain Planet...I was never too impressed by the show, even when I was a kid. The only storyline that really had me interested was the "bizarro" Captain Planet arc; the one where all the villains joined up with their own Planeteer Rings and created an evil Captain Planet that was fueled by pollution.

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

In regards to Daphne, they kept bouncing her around in the later Scooby shoes. One moment she'd still be hanging out with Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, and the next she'd be gone completely. And whatever happened to Shaggy's one-shot girlfriend, Googy (was that her name?) from the Reluctant Werewolf? The 80's efforts were very poor, IMO. Especially the Scrappy cartoons without Shaggy and Scooby (but with their carbon copies in cowboy hats, instead).

Oh chirst, the show with Yabba Doo? Don't start with that one, the franchise was dead at that point, rmemeber the episode which revealed Scrappy's birth in a HOSPITAL? To make it worse, it was a slapstick episode where Shaggy and Scooby were chased by an intern, all whilst Scooby's sister gives birth in a materinity ward

And for Captain Planet...I was never too impressed by the show, even when I was a kid. The only storyline that really had me interested was the "bizarro" Captain Planet arc; the one where all the villains joined up with their own Planeteer Rings and created an evil Captain Planet that was fueled by pollution.

Captain Pollution, heh heh, yes, "Mission to Save Earth" was quite original, a shame Pollution never came out as an action figure (at least I think so...

"Summit to Save Earth" was better I think, mostly because it united all the villains once more, only this time they help Zarm become spirit of the earth again, reducing Gaia to an elderly woman and near death. Gripping.

Like I said, the first three seasons (and some would argue only the first) of the series are the only good ones, it really does become a more lazy obvious piece of Environmental propoganda, rather than try to give you something extra to keep you watching whilst the messege is given.

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Oh chirst, the show with Yabba Doo? Don't start with that one, the franchise was dead at that point, rmemeber the episode which revealed Scrappy's birth in a HOSPITAL? To make it worse, it was a slapstick episode where Shaggy and Scooby were chased by an intern, all whilst Scooby's sister gives birth in a materinity ward

Crap, I remember that one. At least they gave us a little history...I'll applaud them for that. Ya know, when I was a kid it never crossed my mind that Scrappy being born in a hospital was strange. I mean, the Hanna Barbara universe is populated by so many anthropromorphic animals, it just didn't seem too out of place. But in retrospect...rediculous.

Scooby's family tree is outrageous and a little creepy. I remember Scooby Dee from The Scooby Doo Show was his cousin...yet he had the hots for her or something. Him AND Scooby Dum. I suppose incest isn't illegal in the animal kingdom.

Then there was the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo. I watched that for Vincent Price alone. Never again.

Captain Pollution, heh heh, yes, "Mission to Save Earth" was quite original, a shame Pollution never came out as an action figure (at least I think so...

"Summit to Save Earth" was better I think, mostly because it united all the villains once more, only this time they help Zarm become spirit of the earth again, reducing Gaia to an elderly woman and near death. Gripping.

Like I said, the first three seasons (and some would argue only the first) of the series are the only good ones, it really does become a more lazy obvious piece of Environmental propoganda, rather than try to give you something extra to keep you watching whilst the messege is given.

I remember one of the later episodes had Wheeler and the Russian chick voiced by Kath Soucie getting married in some alternate future...but instead of weaving an interesting story around that they decided to send them on an amusement park boatride about natural resources in third world countries. Awesome.

[ZariusTwo]

That episode was full of innuendo, it was probably the writers deciding to releive the boredom of writing a seasons worth of crap for a pay cheque with episodes like that that really killed most of Scoobys' credibility, and all because they had to make it slap stick, it baffles me they went that route, Scrappy was barly tolerable in his first seasons, but at least Mystery Inc was still there for a little longer.

Another major crime was "Scooby Goes Hollywood", here you have the writers acknowledging the entire franchise is actually a telivision show, with Scooby and Shaggy portrayed as characters sick and tired of pandering to children and trying to pitch new shows to thier boss, it was an hour of utterly ridiculous, unfunny parodies of westerns, variety shows, and superhero shows.

Another glaring error in a Captain Planet episode was in probably one of my favourate episodes, Dr. Blight attacking Hope Island, first of all, how did she even FIND it? Secondly, if she knows where it is, why the hell did'nt she just go BACK with every Eco-Villain in tow?

[DrSpengler]

Scooby Doo Where Are You, considering the time it was made, was rather dark. I remember the episode with the Black Knight (was that the first one?), they're looking for clues in the museum (after breaking into it!) and they find what they think is blood spilled on the floor. Of course, it turns out to be red paint, but still.

The last really good Scooby Show after Where Are you was the New Scooby Doo Movies. I'm a sucker for crossovers, and that show was all about them. Josie and the Pussycats, Speed Buggy, Yapple Dapple, and others I'm sure. Gotta love the celebrity cameos, too. Batman & Robin were my favorite, but being an Inspector Gadget fan I also liked the Don Adams episode.

Plus, the episodes were an hour long so you got better-than-usual mystery out of it. Certainly the peak of the Scooby cartoons.

I'm glad Scooby's experiencing somewhat of a rennessiance right now, though the quality of the straight-to-video movies has been dropping pretty fiercely, and What's New Scooby Doo leaves a lot to be desired. Still, it's the best he's been in a looooong time...I could do without those stupid farting contests, though.

[ZariusTwo]

The movies really dipped, hell I still think "Zombie Island" was better than any of them, certaingly the greatest animated Scooby film ever, Mark Hamill guest voicing, X-Files post-modernism, the gang getting genually tired of unmasking phony ghosts etc, it was pretty tight.

The Scooby-Doo crossovers, yup, they were great, they made a good mystery out of EVERY team-up, no matter how ludicrous, (Laurel and Hardy, both of which were long dead), highlights were the Harlem Globetrotter and Batman episodes

[XERO]

I, too, believed that Zombie Island rocked.

You just can't go wrong with an undead flick, animated or live action.

[DrSpengler]

Zombie Island was great for a lot of reasons.

For one, it was a return to the darker elements of Scooby Doo. Yeah, it was a kid's show, but most of the episodes of Scooby Doo Where Are You revolved around a murder mystery. Sure, the victim aslways turned out to have been kidnapped or the villain in the end, but for a kid's show in 1969 it was pretty dark.

Zombie Island had walking corpses and people getting eaten by alligators. Pretty intense.

It also felt like a real reunion of the old gang. All through-out the 80's and early 90's it was just Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, with Daphne popping in and out at random. Anybody remember that episode of the New Scooby Doo Mysteries where Fred and Velma were "Special Guest Stars"? That felt so wrong.

Sure, there was A Pup Named Scooby Doo, but that didn't really count since it wasn't a reunion of the voice cast (save for Kasem and Messick; their last time working together) and it was about their adventures as children.

There was the Johnny Bravo crossover, but that was more of a cameo.

Zombie Island was the REAL reunion. All the characters tracking eachother down and becoming a team once again; almost felt like there was some real continuity in the Scooby Doo universe.

Then there was the animation. Some Japanese studio did it; I think it was TMS but I'm really not sure. Either way it was the best Scooby Doo animation you'll ever see. The cat-women transformation at the end was probably the best part.

Then there was the music. Fake, cheesey rock songs as usual, but that's a trademark of Scooby Doo. And they were actually quite catchy. My favorite, though, was Third Eye Blind's cover of the Scooby Doo Where Are You theme song at the very beginnings. Well-done.

Anyway, Zombie Island owned.

[XERO]

I liked The Ghost is Here myself.

The Ghost is here and it could be a fake.
The Ghost is here, there's no reason to shake
The Ghost is here, aww, give us a break!

It's fake!

[ZariusTwo]

TvshowsonDVD have supplied the cover art

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=3229

[DrSpengler]

About as much as I expected. I dunno...the show wasn't that bad. I've been thinking about it lately.

Anyway, I finally saw Scooby Doo 2 last night (it was on HBO). I think I liked it better than the first one. The reimaginings of the classic monsters were terrific. Especially the Black Knight and the 10,000 Volt Ghost. Just awesome.

Plus...the references! They even mentioned Chickenstein from A Pup Named Scooby Doo! Hardcore.

But, that made me notice something. Fred mentions that the Black Knight was their first case (which is true, as it was the first episode of Scooby Doo Where Are You), but then Velma brings up Chickenstein from A Pup Named Scooby Doo. So, timeline-wise, they busted Chickenstein before the Black Knight.

Aw Hell, that's just a stupid little nit-pick I couldn't help but notice. The fact that they even ATTEMPTED continuity in the Scooby Doo universe is worth a round of applause.

So yeah, cool movie.

[ZariusTwo]

Maybe Fred meant that The Black Knight was thier first official case, as Mystery Inc had probably been set up as a legitimate (and mobile) buisness by that point, rather than solving low-key mysteries in Coolsville as children

[Jester]

Will i be lynched if i say i liked "Flintstone Kids" although i was about 7 at the time....their target demographic....
I must admit i've never been a big scobby fan, but Scrabby always bugged me...except in "the 13 ghosts of Scobby Doo" nothing beats Vincent Price as a member of your cast... again also much younger...if i watched it now i'd probably hang my head in shame and wonder why i'd watched it....