My Episode Review on Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood · 2:55pm Jan 8th, 2020
Yo, what's up, Kemosabes?
This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
And today, for my 21st episode review and first for 2020, as well as my 7th analysis on an installment of the Scooby-Doo franchise, I'm gonna give you guys my take on "Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood".
The summary of it is this:
Having grown tired of being typecast in comedies, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy decide to leave the show and try to diversify themselves as performers.
This revelation is much to the sadness of Fred, Daphne, and Velma, and the headache of network president, C.J., because they believe Shaggy and Scooby are right where they belong.
Will Shaggy and Scooby ever be convinced to stay on the show? Or not?
I'd like to start by saying this:
If Hanna-Barbera's mission was to make something to perfectly celebrate Scooby's 10th anniversary, then I'm proud to say they did a great job at doing so.
I mean, the only nitpick that I found in this television special was that the comedy revolving around Scooby's clumsiness seemed to overstay its welcome the longer it kept happening.
Other than that, though, this Scooby-Doo special was surprisingly fun to watch.
The direction by Ray Patterson, and the story by Dick Robbins and Duane Poole, were all quite well-done. Coming with a side dish of fabulous creativity from executive producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbara, of course.
Admittedly, it did feel strange to see Scooby and the gang in a story that didn't feature them trying to solve a mystery. But yet, the special was understandably not about that, and it gave a fun depiction of a world where Scooby and the gang are stars of a TV show, which perfectly reflected them being characters of a cartoon. Plus, it had great moral and heart, and aside from how tiring Scooby's clumsiness became, the comedy was undeniably hilarious.
The animation was also quite nice. Even though Patterson and the animators obviously kept it at the same level as any Scooby-Doo cartoon made back then, they didn't keep themselves from extending their talents for this special. There was even an undeniable sense of commitment and passion that the animators incorporated into their work.
Additionally, the music by Hoyt Curtin was amazingly harmonious. I never thought Curtin would have a good knack for musicals, but he did! The songs that were incorporated were unexpectedly entertaining to listen to, particularly because of how much of a nice bounce the lyrics had with each other.
Finally, the voice acting and characters were pleasantly lovable. As always Don Messick and Casey Kasem hit the nail on the head with their portrayals of Scooby and Shaggy, and the characters still reserve their spots as my favorite characters of the franchise. Scooby himself also had great development throughout. Not only that, but the roles that Fred, Daphne, and Velma played in this special were awesome! The guest appearance of Rip Taylor as C.J. was likewise welcoming, and he gave his character great personality and comedic-timings too.
In the end, "Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood" was unexpectedly entertaining, particularly because of how much of a great tribute it was to the franchise and its 10 year anniversary.
So, I rate "Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood" 4½ out of 5 stars.
While I haven't seen all of it, it's quite funny.