THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own

They may be called THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES but two new DVD releases from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are filled with old school Hana-Barbera cartoon goodness of classic television episodes of this goofy Great Dane and the meddling kids he solves mysteries with. I grew up watching this series of Scooby-Doo cartoons that featured notable guest appearances from celebrities of the day ranging from Don Adams (Get Smart) to the Harlem Globetrotters in hour long episodes.  In fact, I first discovered the Caped Crusaders, Batman & Robin, by watching an episode of THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO movies as a child rather than reading a DC comic book.

So there is a lot of nostalgia for me in rediscovering these Scooby-Doo cartoons that I haven't seen in almost forty years. I am excited to go back in time by re-watching these cartoons that captivated my attention on Saturday mornings during my childhood. It is going to be fun watching THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES with my own kids now that these episodes from the 1970s are available on DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment at retailers including Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Target and Walmart.

Following the success of the half-hour long cartoon series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? that ran from 1969-1970, CBS doubled down on expanding the adventures of Mystery Incorporated with the hour long series THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES that aired from 1972-1974. In addition to doubling the length of each episode, the new Scooby-Doo television series also featured a rotating special guest star slot that had a real world celebrity or well known animated characters joining in on solving mysteries. Dick Van Dyke, Don Knotts as well as Sonny and Cher teamed up with the Mystery Incorporated gang plus other Saturday morning cartoon characters like Josie and the Pussycats, Jeannie & Babu and Speed Buggy joined in the action too.

These episodes have been collected on two DVD sets, The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection on Blu-ray™/DVD and The Best of the New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Lost Episodes on DVD, that will be released on June 4, 2019. Released just in time for Scooby-Doo’s 50th anniversary, these brand-new collections feature episodes with legendary stars such as Don Knotts, Cass Elliot, Davy Jones, Harlem Globetrotters, Batman and Robin, and many more! Also in time for Scooby-Doo’s golden anniversary, WBHE is set to release Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection – Scooby-Doo. Available on July 30, 2019, this DVD will feature a collection of the very best episodes from every Scooby-Doo series, which have been specially selected for this brand-new compilation.

For the first time ever, nearly all episodes from The New Scooby-Doo Movies, the Scooby-Doo series featuring celebrity guests, are available to own in one collection! It’s star-studded hijinks on The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection, which includes 23 highly-entertaining episodes available on DVD/Blu-ray™. That loveable Great Dane and the Mystery Inc. gang encounter some of pop culture’s most legendary names, including Jonathan Winters, Dick Van Dyke, The Three Stooges, Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas, Laurel & Hardy and many more, as they embark on their mystery-solving adventures.

The Best of the New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Lost Episodes features eight never-before released episodes that are now available together on DVD for the first time. Fans of Scooby-Doo can’t get enough of the Mystery Inc. Gang teaming up with stellar celebrity guest stars who help them solve the most intriguing cases. In The Best of the Scooby-Doo Movies: The Lost Episodes, the gang joins forces with heartthrob Davy Jones as well as Josie and the Pussycats. The magical duo of Jeannie and Babu help rescue the gang in an ancient pyramid. Help Scooby-Doo search high and low for all the fun and hijinks with these eight lost episodes.

The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection will retail for $59.99 SRP/Blu-ray™ and $54.97 SRP/DVD. The Best of the New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Lost Episodes will retail for $29.98 SRP.

The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection Featured Episodes/Guest Stars:

1. Ghastly Ghost Town – The Three Stooges
 2. The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair – Batman and Robin
3. The Frickert Fracas – Jonathan Winters
4. Guess Who’s Knott Coming to Dinner! – Don Knotts
5. A Good Medium is Rare – Phyllis Diller
6. Sandy Duncan’s Jekyll And Hyde – Sandy Duncan
 7. The Secret of Shark Island – Sonny and Cher
 8. The Spooky Fog – Don Knotts
 9. Scooby-Doo Meets Laurel & Hardy – Laurel & Hardy
10. The Ghost of the Red Barron – The Three Stooges
11. The Ghostly Creep From the Deep – The Three Stooges
12. The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall - Davy Jones
13. The Phantom of the Country Music Hall – Jerry Reed
14. The Caped Crusaders – Batman and Robin
 15. The Loch Ness Mess – Harlem Globetrotters
16. The Mystery of the Haunted Island – Harlem Globetrotters
17. The Haunted Showboat – Josie and the Pussycats
 18. Scooby-Doo Meets Jeannie (Mystery in Persia) – Jeannie & Babu
19. The Spirited Spooked Sport Show – Tim Conway
20. The Exterminator – Don Adams
21. Weird Winds of Winona – Speed Buggy
 22. The Haunted Candy Factory – Cass Elliot
23. Scooby-Doo Meets Dick Van Dyke – Dick Van Dyke

The Best of the New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Lost Episodes Featured Episodes/Guest Stars:

1. A Good Medium is Rare – Phyllis Diller
2. Sandy Duncan’s Jekyll and Hyde – Sandy Duncan
3. The Secret of Shark Island – Sonny and Cher
4. The Haunted Horseman of Hagglethorn Hall – Davy Jones
5. The Phantom of The Country Music Hall – Jerry Reed
6. The Haunted Showboat – Josie and the Pussycats
7. Scooby-Doo Meets Jeannie (Mystery in Persia) – Jeannie and Babu
8. The Spirited Spooked Sport Show – Tim Conway

A Curtain Call for "Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated"

Whether you have been following “Mystery Incorporated” during its run on Cartoon Network, which is the most recent incarnation of the classic cartoon character Scooby Doo,  or just happen to have grown up watching this wacky dog and his meddling friends who cruise around in their sweet mystery machine on Saturday mornings as a kid, this week is the time to tune in to view some retro themed animation goodness on tv.  Starting March 25, Cartoon Network is wrapping up “Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated” with its last 11 episodes before the series ends.  These brand new episodes will air at 5pm on week days.

Mystery Incorporated is the 11^th animated series to follow the adventures of Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo character.  The original series, “Scooby Doo: Where are you?” created in 1969 was a fixture of Saturday morning cartoon lineups for two decades.  It aired on CBS from 1969 through 1976 and moved to ABC in 1977 running until 1986.  As a kid, I probably watched Scooby-Doo EVERY Saturday morning from the mid-70s til it was cancelled.  I have to admit that I haven’t watched any of the series that followed the original until Mystery Incorporated.



Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated is a prequel to the original tv show.  It shows Scooby along with his gang of friends Freddy Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville “Shaggy” Rogers while they are in their teen years living in the town of Crystal Cove.  Oh by the way, Crystal Cove is the “Most Haunted Place on Earth” which is what steers the group into their future exploits of getting involved in spooky situations.  What is nice about this newest Scooby Doo series is that it has a lot of retro nods to the original one that Generation Xers like myself grew up with.  Hey the show has  Casey Kasim, the original voice of Shaggy, voicing the character of Shaggy’s dad in it. Another example is the kids wear their original outfits from when they were created back in 1969.  Also story arcs end with the villain being caught and declaring a “meddling kids” quote like was done in the original show.  A little different with this version though is that instead of stories being self-contained in one episode this series has had multi-episode story arcs.  Also while Scooby Doo: Where are you? was very tongue & cheek and campy in tone there are some very dark storylines that are treated with quite a bit of seriousness.  Examples of this include parodies of horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street and Saw that are included in "Mystery Incorporated". 

“This adaptation of Scooby-Doo allows viewers to delve deeper into the personalities and lives of the series’ five central characters. The overall look and feel of the show is richer and more sophisticated than ever, with gorgeous animation and multifaceted storylines that are sure to draw in both kids and adults,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, Vice President Family & Animation and Partner Brands Marketing in a press release promoting Scooby-Doo!Mystery Incorporated Season 2.


Another element I really like about Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated are the guest appearances by other cartoon personalities from the 1970s & 80s.  Captain Caveman, JabberJaw, the Blue Falcon & Dynomutt have made appearances so far in the show’s two seasons.  In the last 11 episodes we’ll also see the return of the Blue Falcon & Dynomutt in a story line that will also feature characters from Johnny Quest.  Guess what you may find out the back story of how Dynomutt: the Dog Wonder was created!



Tune in for the curtain call for Mystery Incorporated and don’t forget your Scooby Snacks! My kids love Scooby Snacks … we get  ours at Meijer.  

If you can't catch these last few episode on air they will also be available on DVD this summer.  Warner Brothers Home Entertainment will be compiling the last 13 episodes onto a DVD presentation titled Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Season 2 Part 2: Spooky Stampede. It will be available for $19.97 (suggested retail price) starting June 18, 2013. You can also preorder on Amazon. For more information about Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated visit www.cartoonnetwork.com. They also have a nice video game based on the show at their website.