A very atmospheric and fun episode.
In this episode, the Mystery Inc. Gang visit a Native American reservation to see Velma's Uncle Dave, who seems to have gone missing (Velma's relatives have a tendency to do that). While searching for what happened to him, Scooby finds a monstrously giant owl. At first the gang doesn't believe him but then they see him too. Before you can say "Jinkies" the gang has another mystery on their hands.
Like many of the Scooby episodes from the 1970's, this episode benefits from a wonderful sense of atmosphere. From the woods that the reservation is in the middle of to a creepy cave to a ship out in the middle of the sea, this mystery is full of spooky locations. Each of the locations features wonderful background art, that is incredibly detailed and simply wonderful to look at. This background art also gives the episode a real sense of spookiness. The humor in this episode is also quite good and much of the slapstick with Shaggy and Scooby is simply delightful. The mystery element is also excellent as there are multiple suspects (one named Red Herron (yes, this episode predates A Pup Named Scooby-Doo!)), all of whom would make perfect sense.
The only real problem with this episode is the giant owls themselves. Giant owls make for quite bland Scooby villains. Here they never feel really creepy, threatening or memorable.
Once you get past the monsters being kind of boring, this episode is a lot of fun with a good sense of atmosphere, humor and mystery.
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