A typically fun Scooby mystery.
In this episode, the Mystery Inc. Gang goes to the Grand Canyon on vacation. There they meet find an archelogist and his assistant who have found a cave that seems to be haunted by a devil bear.
This is not one of Scooby's best mysteries but it is quite fun. While the mystery is very easy to solve, it is well thought out and provides the gang with a nice adventure. The use of a haunted cave as a location for a Scooby mystery is a very inspired one that lends itself to some great background artwork that looks fantastic. As always I love the detail that goes into the backgrounds of these cartoons and this one is no exception. I love the cave paintings we see on the wall. They are just a nice touch that shows a little extra effort going into these cartoons. This episode also has some good gags along the way. Scrappy is in fine form here and the reoccurring joke of him not understanding that his uncle is cowardly is handled quite well and made me smile. The fishing scene with him, Shaggy and Scooby, is especially delightful and has some nice gags. I also really like the gag of Shaggy checking his Cowards Handbook and I wish this joke could have been used more.
What keeps this episode for being one of Scooby's best adventures is the Devil Bear himself. This is simply put, not a very interesting villain. The design work looks nice but is not especially memorable as it doesn't differentiate much from many vicious cartoon bears. There is little to nothing about him that makes him look creepy or supernatural. The character also is not given anything much to do outside of being a typical bad guy cartoon bear. The best Scooby mysteries have villains that will stick in your mind, but there is nothing about this character that will.
All in all, a fun but not especially memorable episode.
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