SCOOBY-DOO! MYSTERY INCORPORATED:
THE COMPLETE SERIES (2010-2012)
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 1170 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Victor Cook
Cast: Mindy Cohn, Grey DeLisle, Matthew Lillard, Frank Welker
This eleventh iteration of Scooby-Doo! aired on cartoon network for 2010-2012, when my kids were just turning double-digits, which was a great time to introduce them to the franchise that sort of turned me onto horror from a young age, as I grew up watching Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969–1970), The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972–1973), The Scooby-Doo Show (1976-1978) when I was about the same age and a bit younger. This two season incarnation really took it's inspiration from the original run of the show, the character designs and kid-friendly horror themes, with a modern update animation update, but also keeping in the spirit of what I grew up watching. The gang is all here, this time we have the voice talents of voice-acting legend Frank Welker (TV's Transformers) as Scooby-Doo and Fred Jones Jr., Mindy Cohn ("Natalie" from The Fact of Life TV Show!) as Velma Dinkley, Grey DeLisle (Invincible) as Daphne Blake, and Matthew Lillard (SLC Punk) as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, respiring his role from the two live-action films, which at the time it aired was a bit draw for me, too.
The series is set in the deceptively sleepy village Crystal Cove, a cursed town that has a long history of ghost sightings, monsters and other paranormal occurrences, and the Mystery Inc. sleuthing team of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo set-out disprove the existence of creatures, specters and spooks, much to the chagrin of the villagers, many of whom make their living on tourism dollars brought in by the phantasmagoric fanfare. The series also has a throughline for each season, it's not just a series of monster-of-the-week episodes, though it is that, too!
The voice cast is terrific, and I thought the animation was pretty wonderful, while I still prefer the classic late '60-'70s animation, because that's what I grew up on, I have to say I was mightily impressed by the animation for this series. I also loved the tongue-in-cheek references and callbacks to previous iterations of the show, with the first episode The Green Ghosts, Werewolf, Miner 49er, Captain Cutler, Space Kook, Creeper and Charlie the Robot from the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! making cameos, plus Vincent Van Ghoul from The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and the Hex Girls, who have converted back to their original outfits as seen in Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost. We also get appearances from Blue Falcon and Dyno-Mutt, with a Frank Mill's Dark Knight twist, and nods to Poltergeist, Jaws, Gremlins, An American Werewolf in London, Twin peaks, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Duel, and too many others to name, which were fun little easter eggs, which I probably annoyed by kids with by constantly noting, "see kids, that's a reference to...".
I would have a difficult time imaging anyone who's a fan of the various Scooby-Doo iteration is not gonna have a blast with this one, so it's great to the the complete series finally get a proper HD release on home video, Warner Archive really knocked it out of the park with this one, this set comes highly recommended.
Audio/Video: The series arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Warner Archive presented in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. The digital animation looks fantastic with vivid colors throughout, the show is very colorful and nicely saturated, and the digital animation lines look crisp and clean. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The voice cast sounds terrific, and the show theme song by '90s era alt-rocker Mathew Sweet, sound effects, and the show score by Robert J. Kral (Batman: Assault on Arkham), who's done skads of Scooby-Doo soundtracks also has plenty of presence, depth, and atmosphere.
Extras for this set include five Audio Commentaries on Select Episodes by Matt Hargreaves and Andy Clift, Producers of “Eddsworld", plus Promo spots for Seasons one and two.
The six-disc set arrives n an oversized keepcase with a pair of double-sided flipper trays housing the discs, which each have their own unique artwork. We also get a 2-sided, non-reversible wrap, and on the inner sleeve we get a episode and extras guide, which I always appreciate, especially if you're looking to navigate to a specific episode. The first=-pressing also includes a Slipcover with the same artwork as the wrap.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary on Select Episodes by Matt Hargreaves and Andy Clift, Producers of “Eddsworld"
- Promo spots for Seasons one and two.
Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray:
Buy it!
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