A Pup Named Scooby-Doo!: Catcher on the Sly (1991)

 

A really fun and really short cartoon from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo!

This cartoon is a departure from the usual man in a monster costume formula that not only populated much of the Scooby-Doo! franchise but most episodes of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo! Though this is not a full episode of the show, but just a brief cartoon at the beginning of one. Since A Pup Named Scooby-Doo! featured many gags inspired by Tex Avery and Looney Tunes, it is only apporpiate that the series would feature an old fashioned chase cartoon. Here an evil dog catcher ( Buster McMuttMauler, who previously appeared in  the episode Curse of the Collar (1989)), tries to catch Scooby, when Shaggy's away. The result is a series of fast paced slapstick gags. 

This may not live up to the best Tom and Jerry or Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons, but it is a lot of fun. The gags themselves are pretty funny and much of the over the top cartoony animation is delightful. The dog catcher is a great villain, and I could see a series of cartoons with him chasing Scooby included. Scooby is at his most likable here and there is something charming about seeing what he does when not solving mysteries. The main fault is that the timing is not as sharp as it should be and this is what makes it fall short of the classic cartoons it is inspired by. Still taken on its own terms it is a delight.