First Review I ever wrote and its About Scooby-Doo

 

Hello, whoever finds this. I'm Alex, a weeb and cartoon enthusiast, that thought, why not write my opinions down so someone that is interested might read them.

Well this is the first review I'm writing down so please bear that in mind while reading this. Some might ask themselves, tho : why start this now? Good Question, and the answer is Velma(2023). This show annoyed me on so many levels that I had the urge to write my thoughts down. However, this review isn't about Velma. No, this review is about one of the shows that made me hate Velma so much.

Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated (Spoilers ahead)

In order to understand why I Think Velma is so bad, I kinda want to compare it to a few other shows, first is Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated. Where do I even start with that show? First of Mystery Inc. was a shift from the classic Scooby-Doo cartoons most people knew. Instead of the Gang constantly travelling from one Mystery to another, they now lived in one town, who had the usual monster of the week Problem. Why is this change important ? It allowed to build a supporting cast of reoccurring Characters like The Mayor or Sheriff Bronson and later reoccurring Villains like Professor Pericles. Having reappearing Characters made the Town of Crystal Cove feel alive. It wasn't just a place where they lived, but an actual Town with other people that do their thing.

The other big change that came with this show was that episodes aren't an anthology any more. Yes, for the most part you have the usual Monster of the week thing, but you also have a main plot that's being progressed on the side and also personal growth and story arcs of the main characters. What happened in previous episodes mattered. The best example of that is the personal Story arc of Fred in the show. He first had to learn to accept and show feelings and then later had to learn who he really is and more importantly where he truly came from. I'll talk about it later when I dive deeper into the characters.

The last change that was made to this show compared to your standard Scooby-Doo show was a darker and mature undertone that came with the main storylines. Romance between members of the group has been a big plot point since the first episode, and it stayed like that for the most part, but it's not just cute that Fred and daphne are dating. It explores difference in feelings, stages of relationships in form of unrequited love, freshly dating, stages of a break-up and getting over it are all themes explored in this show. Meanwhile, the main plot feels darker than your usual Scooby-Doo, you had people actually threatening others people's live and stealing their children to blackmail them, betrayals in friends and families and more.

So, let's take a closer look at the Main plot. If you have not watched the show and don't want spoilers, then you maybe want to skip this part. The main Mystery of the show is the curse of Crystal Cove, a curse on their hometown that allegedly causes lots of misfortune for the people that live here. It is caused by a giant treasure brought to this town by the conquistadors that founded it. The Gang slowly uncovers clues about a previous group of mystery solvers, also called Mystery Incorporated, that tried to uncover the curse and find the treasure. They are guided by their friend Angel Dynamite, who is a local DJ and lets the gang hang out in the local radio station and gives them some advice here and there. The other 2 big players for the main plot are Mister E and Professor Pericles. Mister E at first seems to be a guiding figure, sending them clues about the curse and the previous Mystery Incorporated, which also introduces Professor Pericles, the mascot of the previous gang. At first, he seems to be a rival of Mister E, trying to find something in the caves below Crystal cove that has to do with the Curse. Soon It is revealed that Mister E and Angel Dynamite were also part of the previous Mystery Inc. and that a Monster called the Freak was blackmailing them to leave the Town and never come back. The Current version of Mystery INC manages to catch the Freak, which leads to a rather impactful reveal. The Freak was the Mayor of Crystal cove and also Fred's Dad. Up until now, he was mostly a side character, trying to make every monster into a tourist attraction together with the sheriff. But he was searching for the treasure this whole time and went to drastic measures to reach that goal. He fabricated evidence to blackmail the mystery INC. and when 2 of the precious members found the courage to return to crystal cove, he kidnapped their baby. Threatening them that he would hurt their son if they would not leave made them run awway and leace their son with the Freak. The Baby was Fred, of course. This led to an existential crisis for Fred, his entire life a lie, he disbands the group as all of them were forced to separate for a while. In the Meantime, we see Professor Pericles with a piece of the Planispheric Disk, a device that will lead the way to the cursed treasure of Crystal Cove. That is about a summary of the main plot of the first season. The second Season deals with the crew trying to get back together but having internal struggles for a few different reasons, the hunt for the other pieces of the disc and what's truly behind the Treasure and its curse that's so evil that it caused the former Mystery Inc. to turn on each other and even now turning them against the new gang. I really don't want to delve too much into the main plot of the second season, since I truly feel that it's easier to watch and experience the crazy plans and stories that come from this show.

However, what is worth talking about is the ending. Again spoilers Ahead. After the curse has been lifted, the Gang is transported to a different time, a time when the curse never manipulated their hometown and the people in it to do any evil or do any crimes dressed as monsters. Their parents are all well and love their children, and they all seem to have a happy life. Then they get a Message from a minor from a previous episode. Character Harlan Ellison, a mystery author who claims he knows what the gang did and has knowledge of the previous timeline and that this happened before. He offers them a spot at a University that he teaches at, and so the gang drives off to get there and solve every mystery on their way. This creates a setup for their usually Scooby-Doo shows where they just drive throughout the country. It offers an explanation for that and even allows other Scooby-Doo shows to happen after this season or to just have been happened in another timeline. It wraps a bow around the entire story, giving it a fitting open end and sending them off to do what they love. It keeps the status quo of the show while adding to the entire Scooby-Doo universe in a nice and rather clean way. Also yes i am aware that there were plans for a third seaosn with this premise and i would have loved to see it. One thing to mention here is the slightly hinted relationship between Velma and a reoccurring character called HDW. Hinting that they might be more than friends and laying groundwork for other works that further explored this, in good and bad ways.

Now, what I think deserves a lot of attention are the characters and their personal arcs throughout the show.

Fred

He starts the show with mainly just one thing on his mind, and that is Traps. He constantly talks about traps, planning them admiring them, reminiscing them. He truly had a one track mind at the start. But that changes. The main part of his growth comes from accepting that he has feelings, feelings for Daphne and Traps. He slowly learns to explore those feelings, to care for other things than traps, and that other things are important as well. This part of his personality gave us great memes, especially for weebs all the trap jokes are pure gold. But it also showed he isn't a one note character. He is no longer just the leader of the group, but he has his own motivation and characteristics. He turns from a dense trap loving idiot to a lovable Man that explores his emotional side. And then comes the season 1 finale. He finds out his entire life was a lie. The picture of his mother, he had nothing but a stock image. He breaks up with daphne and disbands the group and breaks up with Daphne. He doesn't know who he is any more, and went on a journey to find himself and his true parents. After not finding his parents he returns and tries to make everything go back to how it was, but it didn't work. Daphne moved on, and the rest of the gang had doubts of her ever returning. Even after Daphne's eventual return, things were different. Now it was Fred who constantly tried to prove his feelings for Daphne, yet now she was keeping him at a distance, not wanting to get hurt by Fred leaving again. It was a lovely change in the dynamic of their relationship which gave it a bit more depth. Honestly, I can't praise Fred in this show enough for how likeable he is. They took a character who's main thing was that he is the leader and turned him into a lovable goof ball that still faces danger head on. They added so much to his character without taking anything away or devaluing it(unlike the new show).

Daphne

Daphne's personal arc and development mostly has to do with Fred, which I can understand can be seen negative as most of her growth has to do with the man she loves. But apart from that, it was clear that she wasn't just the damsel in distress any more. She often has to fight for her feelings to be answered, and learned that she can't just be hung up on Fred. She learned over the course of the show that she has to value her own heart and well-being, and that she can't just chase Fred. This leads to their big shift in the relationship in season 2. Daphne moved on and had a new Boyfriend, who yes turned out to be a bad guy who also saw her more as a trophy, but she showed that her entire life doesn't revolve around Fred. Later, she was hesitant to let Fred close once again, not wanting to get hurt like she did before. From a more modern point of view, you could definitely fault her development for being too focused around the man she was with, which is a valid point and something that could probably be improved. Overall her character gives the team a needed emotional side, which yes again might be a cliché for the pretty girl to do that, yet It's needed in this cast, and she fulfills this role perfectly.

Velma

 

I'll be honest. Looking back, I kinda think Velma is the least likeable character of the main cast, at least at the start. Yes, she is still the brains of the team, but in the first episodes a big plot point is that she and shaggy are having a secret relationship. And her behaviour in this relationship is the part I dislike. She often tries to force things onto shaggy, at one point trying to change how he dresses. Such behaviour simply isn't likeable in my eyes. This relationship was terminated rather quick and gave us a chance to look at her getting over Shaggy, accepting that it should not be and mange to stay friends with him. Apart from that, this show gave Velma the sassiness that everybody wanted her to have. It gave her a bit more personality than just the smart one, and it helped a lot. Her sassy comments were typically a nice breath of comedy in between. She is still the smart one thou and proves that multiple times, with her finding out Angel was part of the previous Mystery Inc.. She is also the one most eager to solve the main mystery, which leads to her taking some secrets and not telling the others. Well there is one more thing to discuss Velma and that is HDW (Hot dog water). I mentioned it earlier, but she is a friend of Velma that get more of a prominent role in season 2. Based on their interactions with each other, it's heavily implied that they might be more than friends. I'll be honest, at my first time watching, I didn't pick it up. Rewatching it made me realize that, and I'm all for it. It would show that she moved on and found her own happiness, separated from the gang. Her character feels much complexer than in previous interactions, which is good, even if some of her personality doesn't sit right with me at the start.

Shaggy And Scooby

 

I'm putting these 2 together because a lot of their personality overlaps. They are still the scared goof balls that love to eat their own bodyweight in food, and that's fine. They are the heart and soul of the team, and it's ok. You don't need to have complex characters to make them appealing, and these 2 show that you don't need to add too much to their classic personality to still be entertaining. They did try to add some more, by making them fans of Vincent van Ghoul horror movies. Making them fans of campy horror movies adds a nice ironie to their usual routine. Of course, you have to talk about relationships in their case as well. The Relationship between Shaggy and Velma at the start of season 1 felt more like it was forced onto shaggy. He seemed to have genuine interest in Velma, but it was obvious that Velma put much more effort into it than Shaggy. At the end of the Day, he valued his friendship with Scooby more, which I could understand.it was simply that Velma and Scooby wanted a different thing. Scooby showed some immense jealousy towards Velma and vice verse. Which made it rather funny since Scooby got a girlfriend in season 2 and often valued her other Scooby, creating a role reversal while showing Scooby having different priorities.

Respecting the Source Material

This is one point that I think becomes more of an issue if you look at newer reboots of classic shows. In this case, it's paying homage to the classic Scooby-Doo show, while adding more layers to the characters and the story. It keeps the classic format of the monster of the week, and you can still immediately recognize the characters and their personalities, yet it offers so much more. It gave us Dark undertones, more personality to the characters while still feeling like it was Scooby-Doo. You never questioned yourself if what you're watching is actually Scooby-Doo. That is a statement that can't be said about some other reboots. And that's what I mean with it's respecting the source material, you always know it's Scooby-Doo, just with a fresh more modern spin. It didn't try to reinvent the wheel, it stitched to the original and made it work in its own way. This just made it great for newer fans who didn't know much about Scooby-Doo and older fans who remembered watching the old cartoons when they were small.

Animation and Design

The Animation in general in this show was standard for its time, I would say. It's descent and still enjoyable today, but nothing groundbreaking or stand out. When it comes to art style and general design than it's pretty decent as well I would say. The charcter design looked pretty similar from what you expect, all the characters are imeadietly recognizable. The Art style again is nothing new or groundbreaking. It generally fits the theme of the show and manages to create some lovely atmosphere for the show. Overall, I just can recommend the show for people that never watched Scooby-Doo and for seasoned fans of the franchise. It offered so much while staying close to the original, which isn't an easy feat. It created the definitive version of the Characters in the show for many and created some lovely memes.

My rating: 9.1 /10

Well now that you read me rambling about Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, you might ask yourself: Can you talk about Velma now ? Yes I could, but like I said I started with this show to explain where some of my thoughts with Velma are coming from, and I honestly would first like to look and review some other shows to give you further understanding where I'm coming from. To be precise, I would like to talk about Duck Tales (2017) and Harley Quinn. Maybe even Owl house and for a curveball Boon docks and Drawn Together first as well, but Harley Quinn and Duck Tales are more important I would say. So if you enjoyed reading this, let me know, feel free to discuss your own opinions. Tell my why you agree or why you disagree, and why my opinion absolutely sucks. Till then, VizardAlex.