This made for TV movie, marked Scooby's first feature film and one of his biggest departures up to that time (Laff-a-Lympics being the only real competition in that department). It is not Scooby's finest movie by any means but it is still really charming.
The basic plot is an idea I love and a prefect set up for satire. Scooby and Shaggy are tired of being used as bait for bad guys, because wouldn't you be? Therefore they leave their Saturday morning cartoon to find a career in a different type of TV show. This leads to parodies of various TV shows and an ending that you probably already figured out. I love cartoon characters being treated the same as live action actors, who play roles in cartoons for their jobs. Though this idea was hardly original at this time, I like picturing my favorite cartoon characters as real while still picturing the cartoons as fictional. A good cartoon character feels real to me and this type of story enhances that fantasy. However while this film has a perfect setup for satire, it is only moderately funny. There is not much real parodying of these TV shows and instead of making jokes about the shows, we simply see Scooby in them messing up the proceedings. While this does get some laughs, there is no doubt it could have been funnier. This movie however is chock full of charm. The songs while nothing amazing are quite charming. The basic story as I have stated is a very good one and while not as funny as it could have been the story is still well told. The characters are still as likable as ever and it is a joy to spend some time with them. The ending while predictable is also executed in a very charming and fun way, that plays on the great fantasy element of this story.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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