"SCOOBY-DOO WHERE ARE YOU!: VOLUME 3 – HELLO MUMMY"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD September 1 KidsWB.com ZoinksPoints.com Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Continuing it’s roll-out of the original “Scooby-Doo Where Are You!” series, Warner Bros. has released another single-disc DVD with four episodes. Subtitled “Hello Mummy,” the release includes episodes 9 through 12 of the original series.
In “The Rage Backstage,” Scooby and the gang go up against counterfeiting puppeteers. Then, the Mystery Inc. gang stumbles across a jinxed circus in “Bedlam in the Bigtop” and must uncover the mystery of the Ghost Clown. Next, they face all the classic monsters – Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein’s Monster in “A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts.” Finally, the title episode “Scooby-Doo and a Mummy” pits the gang against... well, you guessed it, a mummy!
WHAT I LIKED
Like the previous release, “Things that Go Bump in the Night,” this stand-alone DVD of four episodes is a nice bite-sized way to enjoy the original “Scooby Doo Where Are You!” series. Here’s where the formula for the shows have been established pretty early. In fact, there is literally one reveal in which the villain says, “And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you kids and your dog.”
Two episodes in this collection – “Bedlam in the Bigtop” and “A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts” – have made their way into various other collections, showing the popularity of these early installments. So if you watch enough “Scooby Doo Where Are You!,” you’ll have likely seen them before. However, the other two installments – “The Rage Backstage” (which uses an animation model of a poodle from “Decoy for a Dognapper”) and “Scooby-Doo and a Mummy” – are less seen treats.
I watched this DVD with my kids, who have seen most of the old “Scooby Doo Where Are You!” series, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. The series lives up, even forty years after it was originally produced. And it deserves this re-release.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
My only complaint on the last DVD from this series is that it’s a bit thin for anyone wanting a longer-running show. However, this helps keep the price of the DVD down and allows parents to make smaller purchases to beef up their DVD collection.
The only other complaints that someone might have for this series is that the show follows a very predictable formula. However, I turn my nose up at that complaint and ask them, “What were you expecting from Scooby-Doo?” After all, here is where the cliche was built, and I’m okay with that.
DVD FEATURES
In addition to the four episodes of the original series, there’s a bonus episode from the “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue” series called “High Society Scooby.” This isn’t the best incarnation of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, though the kids will enjoy it.
There’s also a nice tease for the new live-action “Scooby-Doo” television series coming to Cartoon Network this fall.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Kids and old-school Scooby Doo fans.
