Puppy Scooby-Doo is the Best Scooby-Doo
The Scooby-Doo dynasty started in 1969 with the original cartoon: Scooby-Doo Where Are you?. Since then Scooby and the gang have taken on numerous forms, appearing in 58 distinct television series or movies. The phenomenon isn’t ending either; there are already new Scooby movies slated for 2017 and 2018. Through all these years and all the new creative takes on Scooby and the gang, my favorite will always be the late-80s version featuring junior high versions of our favorite mystery solvers.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was actually part of a larger trend called “babyfication” of older cartoons, a trend that has become so pervasive since that it has its own Wikipedia page. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was a staple of my post-school slate of TV shows throughout elementary and middle school, which is likely why it has installed itself as the peak of the Scooby-Doo franchise. Oh what twelve-year-old me would have done to to be a part of Coolsville’s only preteen-owned detective agency.
In order to properly appreciate one of my favorite cartoons of all time, I decided to break down why exactly I loved, and frankly still love, this ridiculous show.
Reason #1 — The chase scenes
In order to properly appreciate A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, you need to realize that the entire show is largely a parody of cartoons in general. I didn’t realize this when I was twelve of course, but now it’s bluntly obvious. The chase scenes in the show are absurd. Whether it’s Scooby and Shaggy playing video games with the monster, the gang hiding in pictures, or some other ridiculous scenario, the chase scenes have moved firmly into the realm of the absurd.
This of course includes the very best part: the dance scenes. Every chase would be interrupted when members of the gang felt the insatiable desire to show off their moves.
The chase scenes were the pièce de résistance of the show, but they weren’t the only noteworthy feature.
Reason #2 — The “monsters”
The villains or monsters have always been central to the appeal of the Scooby-Doo series of shows/movies. In fact, I bet you can conjure up a mental image of the monster from the original (1970) show just by seeing their name (Miner 49er, anyone?) or hearing their catchphrase (“Coin. Coin. Coin.”). A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was able to maintain this level of iconic monster while still staying true to the premise of this being a show featuring preteens.
The show put a spin on the headless horseman with The Headless Skateboarder. They brought everyone’s favorite dairy product to life with the The Cheddar Cheese Monster. There was Chickenstein, and Boogedy Bones, and the Hood Heifer, and Bigwig the Haunted Hairpiece. All of these monsters poked fun at the monsters of similar shows, and even Scooby-Doo itself. They were delightfully absurd and imaginative. Most importantly, they were memorable. The monsters are such a core part of any Scooby-Doo show, and this one delivered time and time again.
Reason #3 — Jenkins
In older versions of the gang, it’s strongly hinted that Daphne came from money though she never seems to flaunt it (at least not in a significant way). This is definitely not the case in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. One of the most interesting recurring characters on the show is the Blake family butler: Jenkins.
Jenkins would show up and execute whatever task it was Ms. Blake requested. Sometimes this meant holding an umbrella to shield the rain, other times it meant baking Scooby Snacks. Jenkins was great, and so was the show steering firmly into the hinted backstory for Daphne.
Reason #4 — Red Herring
Pictured above, Red was the foil for Freddy throughout this iteration of the Scooby-Doo franchise. Fred accused Red Herring of being the monster in every episode except for one. That solitary episode featured, of course, Red Herring as the monster. Unafraid to steer into the pun here, the writers created a somewhat annoying but also humorous plot device that lived throughout each season and episode. It also gave the show another personality, besides the gang and Jenkins, to help move the plot along as necessary.
My favorite part of Red though has to be his outfit. His rolled-up khakis, drab green vest with white undershirt all complemented his voluminous red hair perfectly. The final touch of course were his heeled boots, a style choice not often made by pre-teens.
Reason #5 — Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt
These comic book characters also served as the alter-egos for Shaggy and Scooby throughout the series. The comic plays a recurring role throughout the series and features a number of obvious ties (besides the human/dog:hero/sidekick mechanism) to the show. Mellow Mutt often devoured his “Mellow Mutt Munchies”, a clear homage to Scooby’s Scooby Snacks.
Shaggy and Scooby were such huge fans of the dynamic duo that they would frequently cosplay as Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt throughout episodes.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was a perfect tongue-in-cheek version of what had become a well established and predictable franchise. By shifting the timeline, the show was able to embrace facets of the show that hadn’t been fully explored previously, giving viewers a deeper connection with the characters. It has everything that the good versions of the franchise have, but puts a unique twist on them.
It made a franchise that so many of us grew up with feel youthful again. In the end, it was just plain fun. If there’s higher praise for a cartoon, I’m not sure what that would be.
