Despite being a massive Scooby Doo fan for goodness knows how long, expectations were somehow not high for 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' prior to giving it a chance. The advertising in my mind was terrible and the animation style, one of the franchise's least appealing, was very off putting. Still gave it a chance as a fan of the franchise and of animation in general and there are films and shows that have bad advertising but turn out to be good.
Was actually very surprised by 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' on the whole, but will admit to not loving every episode. While not loving "Grand Scam" as an overall whole, there were many things absolutely loved by this reviewer and as a result it turned out to be one of those liked it very much episodes. Of which there were actually a lot in 'Be Cool Scooby Doo'. Certainly a big improvement over the rather disappointing "Poodle Justice", which was the only episode up to this early stage of the show's run to fail on the humour.
"Grand Scam" isn't perfect. Am still not a fan of the animation, which never did much for me in all honesty. It still looks flat and rushed looking to me with too much unintentionally creepy character designs.
Like pretty much all the previous episodes and in fact most of the show, the reveal is in pretty much every way predictable due to suspects being too few, also would have liked to have gotten to know the supporting characters more.
So much is great though in "Grand Scam". Loved the gang's individual personalities, Daphne and Shaggy's chemistry was adorable and hilarious and Daphne's quirkiness has been very refreshing for the franchise. Shaggy and Scooby are true to character (although Shaggy shows a braver side), Fred isn't dumbed down and Velma's baseball statistics was fun and not overdone. The commenting was great and the tunnel scene is a lot of fun and reminiscent of classic Scooby Doo.
Despite there being nothing new about the basic mystery, with it being a mix of two 'What's New Scooby Doo' sports themed episodes ("The Unnatural" and "A Terrifying Round with a Menacing Metallic Clown"), it is still energetic and a lot of fun. Shaggy breing brave was great to see, not a first for the franchise with "A Terrifying Round with a Metallic Clown" doing.doing it as a form of role reversal but done really well still and it feels fresh. The villain isn't unique but he is still well designed and is far from bland.
Furthermore, there is nice use of the sports setting, again not unique but it's entertainingly and eerily used. The Scooby Doo franchise often excelled with its sports themed episodes and this is no exception. The music is very cool and fits the show's tone very well and the chemistry within the gang charms and entertains and doesn't stray too far from the earlier incarnations' character dynamic. When it comes to the humour, the episode is far from a failure, loved the light-hearted-ness and quirkiness of it all without descending too much into silliness. The voice acting is all fine, especially Matthew Lillard.
Overall, very well done. 8/10.
Was actually very surprised by 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' on the whole, but will admit to not loving every episode. While not loving "Grand Scam" as an overall whole, there were many things absolutely loved by this reviewer and as a result it turned out to be one of those liked it very much episodes. Of which there were actually a lot in 'Be Cool Scooby Doo'. Certainly a big improvement over the rather disappointing "Poodle Justice", which was the only episode up to this early stage of the show's run to fail on the humour.
"Grand Scam" isn't perfect. Am still not a fan of the animation, which never did much for me in all honesty. It still looks flat and rushed looking to me with too much unintentionally creepy character designs.
Like pretty much all the previous episodes and in fact most of the show, the reveal is in pretty much every way predictable due to suspects being too few, also would have liked to have gotten to know the supporting characters more.
So much is great though in "Grand Scam". Loved the gang's individual personalities, Daphne and Shaggy's chemistry was adorable and hilarious and Daphne's quirkiness has been very refreshing for the franchise. Shaggy and Scooby are true to character (although Shaggy shows a braver side), Fred isn't dumbed down and Velma's baseball statistics was fun and not overdone. The commenting was great and the tunnel scene is a lot of fun and reminiscent of classic Scooby Doo.
Despite there being nothing new about the basic mystery, with it being a mix of two 'What's New Scooby Doo' sports themed episodes ("The Unnatural" and "A Terrifying Round with a Menacing Metallic Clown"), it is still energetic and a lot of fun. Shaggy breing brave was great to see, not a first for the franchise with "A Terrifying Round with a Metallic Clown" doing.doing it as a form of role reversal but done really well still and it feels fresh. The villain isn't unique but he is still well designed and is far from bland.
Furthermore, there is nice use of the sports setting, again not unique but it's entertainingly and eerily used. The Scooby Doo franchise often excelled with its sports themed episodes and this is no exception. The music is very cool and fits the show's tone very well and the chemistry within the gang charms and entertains and doesn't stray too far from the earlier incarnations' character dynamic. When it comes to the humour, the episode is far from a failure, loved the light-hearted-ness and quirkiness of it all without descending too much into silliness. The voice acting is all fine, especially Matthew Lillard.
Overall, very well done. 8/10.
