Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (March 11, 2024)
For the second in a run of animated TV movies under the “Hanna-Barbera Superstar 10” banner, we go to October 1987’s Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers. Unsurprisingly, this one involves the Mystery Incorporated gang.
When Shaggy’s (voiced by Casey Kasem) Uncle Beauregard passes away, he takes ownership of a Southern plantation. He heads to claim it along with pals Scooby-Doo (Don Messick) and Scrappy-Doo (also Messick).
Local Sheriff Rufus Buzby (Sorrell Booke) warns them that the building is haunted, but they endure nonetheless. As they attempt to settle into the mansion, they deal with a series of potentially supernatural concerns.
Although I referred to the Mystery Inc. crew at the start, the other three – Velma, Fred and Daphne – don’t appear here. That feels like an odd choice, but I guess the producers simply wanted to focus on the sillier side of Scooby-Doo.
Not that the presence of Velma, Fred and Daphne would make matters serious and dramatic, of course. However, those three offer a “straight man” counterbalance to the goofy antics of Scooby and Shaggy, so their absence here seems notable.
I grew up with Scooby-Doo, as the series debuted when I was a toddler. Nonetheless, I never found myself a particular fan of Scooby and the gang, as I thought they offered spotty pleasures at best.
Adulthood didn’t change this, though some of the 21st century endeavors have entertained me. Since these came much more recently than 1987, I admit I entered Boo without expectations that it’d deliver anything memorable.
The aforementioned absence of Velma, Daphne and Fred added to this skepticism. Without those three, I figured Boo would turn into an even sillier than usual adventure that catered toward the youngest viewers without nods toward older fans.
And I assumed correctly. Essentially 93 minutes of slapstick and comedic antics, Boo wears thin quickly.
Again: no one mistakes projects with the additional three human members of Mystery Inc. as high drama. Still, those productions tend to at least attempt more of the gang’s detective work than this mess.
That said, Scrappy acts as a surrogate for Fred, Daphne and Velma, all wrapped up into one tiny and irritating package. Fans appear to hate Scrappy, and I see good reason for that: the character just comes across as smug and grating too much of the time.
Scrappy creates a counterbalance with Shaggy and Scooby, and he motivates the majority of the attempts to solve the story’s mysteries. Boo sort of attempts an actual plot, though it does so half-heartedly at best.
In essence, Boo consists of one wacky comedy scene after another occasionally leavened by Scrappy’s efforts to figure out the truth. This doesn’t seem radically different than the standard Mystery Inc. narrative, though those tend to come with a less manic vibe.
Boo feels like the producers figured fans would enjoy a Scooby project that just went for the comedic gusto from start to finish and skipped the “slower” elements. Maybe they were right, as I have no clue how audiences reacted to the film in 1987.
And perhaps kids enjoyed this non-stop compilation of nutty gags. Given that they exist as the target audience, that seems important.
Nonetheless, I can’t find anything here to appeal to anyone over the age of seven or so. Boo lacks wit or cleverness and just becomes a tedious 93 minutes of stale and desperate gags.
