Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!

I know many people who completely rejected this show after they saw one shot of the animation. Me, being a die-hard Scooby-doo fan, was skeptical, but tried it out anyway. I have to say this is for sure the funniest Scooby-doo incarnation since the original. The voice actors do a great job, the stories are hilarious, and it is overall, a great show. That cliché phrase, don't judge a book by it's cover, is definitely in play here.

Went to my local Barnes and Nobles store to look for childhood cartoons that I can hold on to and ended up buying this DVD with some others because I wanted to give something modern a try. The art style made me feel like this was going to be another forced Scooby- Doo project since Warner Bros. have been overdoing Scooby-Doo since the DC's New 52 started. The art is lazy and I believe DC and Cartoon Network are getting lazier as time moves on. I mean look at horrific Teen Titans Go cartoon. But I was hoping this DVD wasn't a waste of time and money.

Now, the show as a whole. Man, I have to eat my words for a moment and say that this is pretty comical! The art for some reason actually does fit the goofiness of it! I was surprised by how much I'd laughed while watching the gang slip up from one gag to another in just seconds! Fast-paced and unusual! Daphne who was once my least favorite character suddenly became my most favorite character! She isn't like she was in her previous incarnations but rather a fun, adventurous, goofy type and I'd thought Shaggy and Scooby were the best of the gang!

Episode 1: Decent Episode 2: Pretty Good Episode 3: GREAT!! This is where I was laughing the most!

My suggestion is to watch episode 3! That one is my favorite so far!

Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! is another great addition to the franchise after my personal favourite series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. Being the 12th incarnation of the show, you'd think the mileage would have ran out by now. Being a massive Scooby-Doo fan myself, however, I would feel saddened if they stopped producing shows, especially if they are to the quality of the latest two series.

Be Cool is by far the funniest show in the franchise. After Mystery Inc. which had a much darker and scarier tone, it was great to see a series which also experimented with something new. This comedy driven incarnation of the show is a strong follow up to Mystery Inc. You are bound to laugh many times per episode, and the show just gets funnier as you continue to watch.

The characters in the show are similar to previous incarnations. Scooby and Shaggy are still their same old selves, hungry, cowardly and hilarious. Velma and Fred are also pretty similar to previous versions of the characters, yet their personalities are tweaked so as to fit the tone of the show. Fred is usually used as a foil to Daphne (which I will get to soon), whilst Velma retains her status as the most intellectual of the gang. Both characters are given their individual fears, Fred of widths and Velma of water, which makes for great gags throughout the series. Daphne sees the most radical change in character. The show really brings her to the forth as a comedy character, as each episode she has a new 'Daphne Du Jour', where she gets up to all sorts of antics. It's a fun take on the character, and really suits the tone of the show.

As for the voice actors, everyone is the same as in Mystery Inc. Frank Welker voices both Fred and Scooby, Matthew Lillard voices Shaggy, and Grey Griffin voices Daphne. Kate Micucci is a great addition to the show in her first series as Velma, and she is excellent.

The mystery element of the show is not lost in the comedy, as the two elements work wonderfully together. The explanation of the villain's plot is nicely recapped in illustrated flashback sequences at the end of each episode. The show also brings back musical chase sequences after their absence in Mystery Inc., and the songs used are really catchy. One last thing I want to touch upon is the character designs. This show gets a lot of criticism because of how the gang looks. Whilst it is not my favourite version of the characters, I have to say that the designs match the tone of the show perfectly.

Overall, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! is a fantastic show and a great addition to the Scooby franchise. It's great to have a Scooby show that really emphasises the humour. I would definitely recommed it to others. Give it a chance! Once you get used to the character designs, the show is really enjoyable. Like the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover.

If we take all nostalgia aside you would have to admit Be Cool, Scooby Doo is a good show. Albeit the animation style is quirky, I would argue that it fits the humour perfectly. Ever since the first images were released many people have been outraged, not even giving it a chance. But if we look past the animation style it is still a great show.

First of all the humour is brilliant, unlike What's New, Scooby Doo? the show focuses a lot more on the humour. Still staying true to the format the added humour makes the show really enjoyable. Daphne has been redesigned since the last reincarnation, Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated, and I am liking her so far. I have always found Daphne funny when she gets embarrassed when her fondness for Fred is mentioned, and when she gets annoyed at people flirting with Fred (for example Marcy in A Scooby Doo Halloween). In Be Cool, Scooby Doo this is not the case (so far), however her slightly quirkier personality is very funny. Aside from Daphne the humour is extremely funny, such as Fred being scared of widths, and is probably my favorite part of the show.

The voice acting is practically the same, aside from Velma. Mindy Cohn has been replaced by Kate Micucci, and I have to admit the voice acting for Velma is much better than I expected. For me I grew up on What's New, Scooby Doo? so those voice actors will always seem true to me. Micucci does quite a nice job as Velma and deserves some merit for that. Shaggy, not played by Kasem, is played by Matthew Lillard, who has been voicing Shaggy for quite some time now. Lillard does an excellent job as Shaggy and I have no complaints. Grey DeLisle and Frank Welker return (as for Lillard) and I have no complaints for them. Some minor characters are obviously voiced by one of the main 4 voice actors, just thought I would mention that but still nothing to complain about.

The mysteries are enjoyable as well, and I like the new format as they sum up their findings at the end of the video. However, why I didn't give the show a higher score was because of the mysteries. There is a lack of suspects, and in places where the gang are isolated (such as episode two) there are minimal characters. Around the 15 minute mark you can tell who the culprit is, which I found wasn't the case in Mystery Incorporated and What's New.

So far I am loving Be Cool, Scooby Doo and I would recommend it. I have been looking forward to it since its announcement and I am not disappointed. It's not perfect, but it does an honest and entertaining job as a Scooby Doo series.

I was very skeptical at first and I never do reviews, ever. However, awhile I was looking at reviews, I noticed the person who gave it a 1/10, which in the review, doesn't even review it, it just spews hate about the show. Real review: I gave it a shot, and I wasn't sure what to think of it, I watched a few episodes, and I realized more and more that each character actually develops their own quirks, especially Daphne! The new personality of Daphne, and her new style is much better than being the damsel in distress. I really like almost everything about it, besides having to make Velma extremely unappealing, which changed from the last reincarnation. Not really sure why you'd want to backpedal on development, so that's the only reason why I knocked off two points. I'm also not as fond with the new Scooby to be quite honest, but I never really thought he had much of a place besides being a portrait of the show and being sychronized by Shaggy.