The first Scooby adventure of the 1980's is a delightfully unique Scooby cartoon.
In this episode the gang goes to New York and Scrappy's old neighborhood. When Scrappy introduces Shaggy and Scooby to his friends, a duo of kidnapers kidnap Scooby and Shaggy. Scrappy and his friends set out to save Scooby and Shaggy.
This marks the final episode of the first season of Scooby-Doo! and Scrappy-Doo! and the last in the original half hour format. Despite this the episode is a strong deviation from the previous episodes. There is no spooky theme to be found here and no mystery for the audience to solve. On top of this Velma, Fred and Daphne barely appear here. Perhaps it is appropriate that this episode was the first Scooby episode of the 1980's, a decade which would be all about breaking the traditional Scooby formula.
While I love the traditional Scooby formula, sometimes it nice to have a little change of pace and this episode is certainly an example of that. This episode moves at a fast pace and never once feels dull. The idea of our main characters being kidnapped and having to be saved by the side character is a delightful one. Though many dislike Scrappy, I actually like the little guy. He gets his time to shine here and he does a great job carrying an episode. He is very likable here and gets in a few good gags. While his friends have very simple personalities they are also quite likable and get a few good gags. I love Annie trying to work her feminine charms on the bad guys and Duke's Jimmy Cagney type voice. Scooby and Shaggy are also in good form here and get some good moments to shine. Like one should except from a Scooby episode of this time, the background art is wonderful, even if there is nothing spooky about it. However I will admit the villains are kind of bland here.
Your opinion on this episode will probably depend on your opinion of Scrappy. Since I like the little guy, I enjoyed this a lot. However those who hate Scrappy will probably hate this episode.
I love the realism, especially in the subway (showing actual route letters and line names, including on the train, and even the "Y" token!)
ReplyDeleteSort of like a modern version of the old Tom & Jerry classic "Mouse In Manhattan"!
It was clearly a sort of pilot for the next two seasons! Interesting transitional episode!
I certainly agree with your praise of the realistic artwork in this episode. I always feel that cartoon fans often overlook how wonderful the background art is in the various Scooby-Doo! shows and movies.
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