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 and this was one of them.
"Screama Donna" appealed to me from the get go, being someone whose life revolves around music, and it didn't disappoint on first watch. And it certainly didn't on recent rewatch. The Scooby Doo franchise more often than not was right at home in any scenario centered around music, and "Screama Donna" shows no signs of the franchise being out of its depth. Far from it. Of the 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' episodes up to this still early stage, this is one of the better ones easily.
Is it flawless? No. Am still a non-fan of the animation style, which has never looked attractive and instead looks scrappy, flat and borderline psychedelic looking.
Also found the reveal a slight disappointment, especially the revelation of who was behind it. Surprising but to me it didn't make sense when you take into account the physicality of the perpetrator versus that of the ghost.
On the other hand, there is a lot to like here in "Screama Donna". Absolutely loved the music, especially at the end which is some of the best uses of music of the whole show. After seeing an episode that saw her underused and bland, it is great to see the return of the resourceful and quirky Daphne that has been such a breath of fresh air. Velma is also at her funniest, her rant about the role of the drummer in a band is one of her best ever moments of the entire franchise.
Much of the wrap up in how it is staged and delivered is absolutely ingenious and haven't seen anything like it in all my years of watching Scooby Doo. Loved the witty and affectionate musical references, as well as Shaggy and Scooby's seamless comic timing and their charming chemistry. The mystery is very energetic and clever, let down only by the perpetrator revelation and there is a lot of atmosphere and one truly creepy villain. The music setting is a delight and there is some inventive use of props.
Bottom line, very well done. 8/10.
"Screama Donna" appealed to me from the get go, being someone whose life revolves around music, and it didn't disappoint on first watch. And it certainly didn't on recent rewatch. The Scooby Doo franchise more often than not was right at home in any scenario centered around music, and "Screama Donna" shows no signs of the franchise being out of its depth. Far from it. Of the 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' episodes up to this still early stage, this is one of the better ones easily.
Is it flawless? No. Am still a non-fan of the animation style, which has never looked attractive and instead looks scrappy, flat and borderline psychedelic looking.
Also found the reveal a slight disappointment, especially the revelation of who was behind it. Surprising but to me it didn't make sense when you take into account the physicality of the perpetrator versus that of the ghost.
On the other hand, there is a lot to like here in "Screama Donna". Absolutely loved the music, especially at the end which is some of the best uses of music of the whole show. After seeing an episode that saw her underused and bland, it is great to see the return of the resourceful and quirky Daphne that has been such a breath of fresh air. Velma is also at her funniest, her rant about the role of the drummer in a band is one of her best ever moments of the entire franchise.
Much of the wrap up in how it is staged and delivered is absolutely ingenious and haven't seen anything like it in all my years of watching Scooby Doo. Loved the witty and affectionate musical references, as well as Shaggy and Scooby's seamless comic timing and their charming chemistry. The mystery is very energetic and clever, let down only by the perpetrator revelation and there is a lot of atmosphere and one truly creepy villain. The music setting is a delight and there is some inventive use of props.
Bottom line, very well done. 8/10.
