On the whole, 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' is one of the weakest of the Scooby Doo shows. It did though have a very watchable first season, with the best episodes actually being very good and only one episode being below average. After the first season, the show very quickly went downhill and never really got better despite some watchable shorts here and there. Shaggy and Scooby were always the most interesting characters and didn't mind that they were main protagonists, did mind though that the other protagonist is one of the main reasons as to why Season 2 onward did not work.
"A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind"/"A Fit Night Out for Bats"/"The Chinese Food Factory" was not a good triple bill start (saw all the shorts in triple bills) and contains all the things wrong with the show, while not being among the worst of the triple bills. Neither of the three shorts are irredeemably awful, thanks to a few nice supporting characters, and one of them is one of the show's more watchable shorts ("A Fit Night Out for Bats"), but there is nothing special about either of the three at the same time. "A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind" faring worst.
There are good things. There are a few nice supporting characters, with Sylvester from "A Fit Night Out for Bats" faring best. Very fun and very creepy. The aliens from "A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind" had their moments and easily the best thing about that short. The voice work from all involved is spirited on the whole, Casey Kasem and Don Messick are great as Shaggy and Scooby and John Stephenson is perfect if somewhat typecast as Sylvester.
Have always liked the theme tune, which is catchy. Did like the eerie setting for "A Fit Night Out for Bats", how caring Scooby is towards Scrappy and the fortune cookie gag in "The Chinese Food Factory" amused.
For all those pros, there are a lot of cons. The animation is very rushed looking and flat with very irregular character designs. The music is nice on its own but doesn't always gel with the action, sounding quite stock in "A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind". There is very little funny throughout the triple bill, with "A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind" being pretty much completely humourless. The funniest gag is the fortune cookie gag, even that isn't hilarious.
Moreover, all three stories are very thin and over-stretched, though "A Fit Night Out for Bats" was at least interesting for its genuinely creepy atmosphere. "A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind" was three minutes worth stretched out to 6-7 and is dully paced and plotless, while "The Chinese Food Factory" felt very rushed, especially after the reveal.
Scrappy brings things down significantly, he dominates far too much to the point where it feels like he is the main character and even more of a problem is that he is also incredibly annoying. Due to negative character traits (namely arrogance, over-zealousness and being pushy) being exaggerated, his behaviour and catchphrases already being incredibly repetitive and his ability to make things worse rather than better by putting Shaggy and Scooby in danger with little remorse or mistake acknowledgement. Messick is great as Scooby, but overdoes it as Scrappy. Shaggy and Scooby have moments, but would have liked to have seen them used a lot better, Shaggy particularly is wasted in "A Close Encounter with a Strange Kind".
Concluding, not a good start despite finding a good deal to like about "A Fit Night Out for Bats". 4/10.
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