A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S04E03 - Mayhem of the Moving Mollusk - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Mayhem of the Moving Mollusk

Season 4, Episode 3

Premiere August 17, 1991

Quickly

The gang assists the Critter Getters in capturing a giant snail.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

The gang is hanging out in the treehouse when they get a letter from the Critter Getters (a Ghost Buster's pastiche) asking for the gang's assistance in solving a mystery. They use Velma's transporter ray to transport to New York City. They immediately see a monster snail decked in hockey gear (Is that a Casey Jones reference?). They escape him with a classic costume gag. Through a sequence of events Scooby's nose becomes a blinking mystery detector.

They finally make it to Critter Getters. There are many jokes about Freddy being just the dumbest person in the world for believing in ghosts despite the fact that the gang has met a real ghost and everyone that encounters the fake ghosts believe in them enough to be scared off by them. Julie tells them the sad story of her ruined business. Julie hires them to catch the snail monster and restore the Critter Getters reputation.

Scooby and Shaggy meet the snail. They take a bicycle, a boat and a plane to escape him then take them all back when the snail finds them. There's another couple costume gags and a really oddly proportioned Scooby before they get on the case.

They go to visit Ghoul Gone, the competitor and former cofounder of Critter Getters. He proclaims his superiority to Julie as a monster hunter. They meet up with the snail again in the subway. They escape. They visit the next suspect, a rejected Critter Getter.

There's a gag where Scooby hides inside Shaggy's head. A thing I like to do is imagine a cartoon effect achieved with practical special effects. It would be a very strange thing in live action.

They see the Ghoul Gone guy catch the snail. That's when we revisit the subject of Scooby's nose that hasn't blinked and that means the mystery hasn't been solved. But Velma solves it seconds later.

They execute her plan involving a commercial and a fake fake Snail Monster. Scooby accidentally captures the Snail Monster. Little Velma has my heart. There are few things in the world more pure than little Velma.

Scooby's nose blinks. It's all over.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S04E02 - The Wrath of Waitro - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Wrath of Waitro - Toonstalgia

Season 4, Episode 2c

Premiered August 10, 1990

Quickly

Shaggy and Scooby fantasize about being Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

Scooby and Shaggy are looking for something to eat. They go to a restaurant and eat dinner. They get the check and realize they don't have any money. They pass out and have a Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt dream sequence where they fight the waiter or Waitro.

Waitro is hypnotizing the city to eat his terrible food with his aromacizer. Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt capture Waitro by burying him in food with their "food magnet" and saving Velma in the process.

The entire time they were washing dishes at the restaurant. The waiter commends them on their work and gives them money for their job. They use it to buy more food at the restaurant.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S04E02 - The Ghost of Mrs. Shusham - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Ghost of Mrs. Shusham

Season 4, Episode 2 b

Premiered August 10, 1991

Quickly

Shaggy is terrified of the ghost of a librarian over an overdue library book.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

On a rainy day, the gang hangs out in their tree house. Daphne makes a judgmental comment about Shaggy and Scooby's comic book. There's a knock at the door. Mrs. Shusham, the ghost of the local librarian, comes in demanding her book. 

What it reminds me of: Archie's Weird Mysteries - The Haunt of Riverdale - November 6, 1999

Shaggy recounts the story of the lost book, Pizza Parrot meets the Butterbean Bunnies. A book the ghost left behind leads them to Bernice Binders Used Books. Bernice Binder tells them the librarian ghost had previously visited her book shop looking for the book. 

The gang goes to the closed library to investigate. There they meet Rona Lickton who holds a grudge against Shaggy and Scooby for ruining her stamp collection. Because of Shaggy, the library closed (I don't understand how that was Shaggy's fault.) and Rhona held her stamp club meeting outside. They get inside and Shaggy declares he knows who did it. Then the ghost attacks.

Shaggy and Scooby unmask the ghost to reveal Bernice Binder. She wanted the book because it was really valuable. Although the fact that Scooby buried it means the book is worthless.

Shaggy and Scooby develop an appreciation of cooking from the cookbooks at the new library.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S04E02 - Catcher on the Sly - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Catcher on the Sly

Season 4, Episode 2

Premiered August 10, 1991

Quickly

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo has a mystery free short.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

Shaggy fails to give Scooby a bath while a super creep spies on the pair. Completely ignoring the fact that Scooby has a collar and is on his own property, the dog catcher continues harassing him. He attacks Scooby with a net and a safe. 

A series of Wile E. Coyote style plans ensue. Scooby repeatedly escapes but he can't escape a bath.

Then the short ends.

It's not great.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S04E01 - The Were-Dog of Doo Manor - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Were-Dog of Doo Manor

Season 4, Episode 1

Premiered August 3, 1991

Quickly

The gang helps the Doo family with a Were-Dog.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

Shaggy is having a sleepover at Scooby's house. It doesn't really make sense for Scooby to have a manor when he lives in a lux doghouse in Shaggy's backyard. They are attacked by a werewolf...weredog. They face off with the weredog and drive him away. Scooby's mom and dad show up and I'm really trying not to question how this works. They call the gang for help with the weredoo.

The gang goes to Doo Manor and I'm confused again because I thought Shaggy and Scooby were having a sleepover and I really shouldn't be this confused about an episode of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. At Doo manor, they meet Professor Digmi who is researching the Doo family genealogy. He tells them the first son of the seventh generation will be a Were-doo and the only way to stop the curse is by the Doo family abandoning Doo manor which tells us he's the person behind this. But I'm still invested in the mystery because why does he want the manor so bad.

We meet Uncle Horton-Doo. Scooby's Uncle is kind of awesome. He's really nice. He likes creepy things like bats, ghosts and monsters. Obviously, Scooby and Shaggy don't trust him at all.

There's a clue to the "original" flavor of Scooby Snacks. The flavor should be compatible with ketchup and mustard. But it is Scooby and he's eaten liverwurst and ice cream.

A third unnecessary suspect shows up. She lives in the Doo house and I don't know why. It's a very confusing story. She's lived there since they inherited the family home but if it's the Doo family home then she's always lived with dogs. She declares she's protesting the Doos. Basically, the Doo family has a hateful squatter in their house. She has no one to blame for her problems but herself. They could have evicted her and it would be the smart thing to do given her aggressiveness and hatred of the family. I have very strong feelings about this character.

The were-doo is Professor Digmi and I don't care about the clues because it was obvious. 

The most interesting revelation is Digmi was looking for the missing link Doo but that's not the most interesting part. The missing link doo has bones in his ears. This missing link would be an interesting jumping off point for a theory about why Scooby is such a unique dog.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S03E03 - Wrestle Maniacs

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Wrestle Maniacs

Season 3, Episode 3

Premiered November 3, 1990

Quickly

A wrestling cow threatens to put Coolsworld Wrestling Federation out of business.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang goes to the grand reopening of the CWF. Velma is psyched! Daphne has an attitude. Fred is missing the point. 

Barbara Simone, the secretary to the owner of Colossal Toys, is in prison for haunting the toy factory but she's returned to her job on a work release program.

Shaggy and Scooby are attacked by a cow wrestler ghost. I love the fact that every episode of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo has a fantastic monster even if there's no monster. The art style lets them create expressive and crazy monsters. Nothing is too ridiculous while some other series like Scooby and Scrappy struggle with the monsters because they have a little bit of realism.

A wrestler tells the story of the Hooded Heffer. The wrester telling them the story abruptly leaves on vacation.

Facing the threat of no more commander cool toys, Shaggy and Scooby get on the job.

The gang meets Little Bo Peter. He's a wrestling fan turned wrestler for a rival wrestling federation. They visit the Swindelson Brothers Federation.

I spotted a mistake where Daphne's holding a box of Mellow Mutt Snacks in one shot when she should have been holding Scooby Snacks. It's irrelevant.

Inside the Swindelson Brothers NY Wrestling Federation, they're attacked by the Hooded Heffer. They meet with the Brothers then they're attacked by the Heffer again.

They return to discuss the matter with the cheater wrestler, Scuzzbull. They make a plan to capture the Heffer.

Red offers to confess if Fred can beat him. Fred does not. Anyway it was the suspicious wrestler in the beginning.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S03E02 - Horror of the Haunted Hair Piece - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Horror of the Haunted Hair Piece

Season 3, Episode 3

Premiered October 6, 1990

Quickly

Daphne's arcade is threatened by a giant hair monster.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang is hired to work at the local video arcade owned by Daphne's father and run by Daphne. 

A new game is delivered to the arcade. A hairdo monster appears from within the game cabinet, nets Daphne then flees. Scooby calls Jenkins to assist in rescuing Daphne. They take a helicopter which leads to an odd drawing of Scooby sitting in the seat.

Freddy calls Daphne's parents. The entire Blake family declares there's no such thing as monsters which on one hand they're right and on the other hand Daphne was abducted by a monster even if it wasn't a real monster. Daphne tells her parents they can leave. She doesn't want to admit the situation to her father and desperately wants to make him proud.

The first suspect is Crissie, Scooby's videogame rival. 

The gang splits up to investigate. Shaggy and Scooby pull a barber gag on this bleached Gossamer.

They trail the hair monster to the second suspect, a video game creator who is sore at Daphne for not buying his games. Velma find a clue point to the third suspect, the restauranteur who owns the restaurant next to the arcade.

Shaggy and Scooby go to the restaurant to investigate and give him advice on how to make edible food.

Cue chase dance scene.

Gus helps Velma set up a trap. Anyway, it was a the restaurant owner because he couldn't accept his food was terrible and the arcade had nothing to with his inability to get customers.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S03E01 - Dawn of the Spooky Shuttle Scare

 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Dawn of the Spooky Shuttle Scare

Season 3, Episode 1

Premiered September 8, 1990

Quickly

A ghost threatens to stop a critical shuttle launch.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang is going to the space center to see Velma's experiment that was chosen to go into space. They are given a tour of the space shuttle. Shaggy and Scooby must be convinced to join with a Shaggy snack and a Scooby Snack each. They are immediately confronted by an astronaut...sheriff ghost. Okay. They run. Shaggy and Scooby's skeletons jump out of their skin.

The combination of an extremely flexible and expressive cartoon style and the Scooby-Doo formula opens the opportunity for great creativity while being true to the show.

The appearance of the ghost cancels the shuttle launch. The clock is ticking because the conditions for the experiment won't recur till 2047 which was 57 years after the episode premiered.

The gang meets suspects and keep running into the ghost. They remain committed to the investigation because it's Velma's dream and they can't stand to see her heart broken.

The ghost is a rival scientist, Simon Simonsen who created antigravity boots that apparently were made from leather and needed to get shined. It's the second episode where a fellow scientist disguises itself as a monster after Velma is chosen over them.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S03E01 - Night of the Boogey Biker - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Night of the Boogey Biker

Season 3, Episode 1

Premiered September 8, 1990

Quickly

Red Herring's aunt asks the gang tofind her stolen motorcycle.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang is hanging out in their treehouse. Fred is obsessing about Red Herring. They chide him for his compulsion to accuse him of everything. I haven't seen every episode of every Scooby but I have seen a lot and this feels like a character that should be referenced at every chance. I love him, I love it. Daphne challenges Fred not to accuse Red for 24 hours.

Red Herring's aunt hires the gang to find her motorcycle. She tells the story of the Boogey Biker. I'm trying really hard not to assume this is Red Herring in disguise because the character is designed to look like Red Herring and looks like Red Herring in disguise.

Scooby's nose leads them to tire tracks. The tire tracks lead them to a skeletal biker and some great freaked out faces with Fred, Velma and Daphne flipping their wigs and Shaggy and Scooby's heads bursting. They meet the aunt's neighbor who hates the motorcycle.

Daphne forces Shaggy and Scooby to accompany them to the investigation by tying them to a chair. They meet the Boogey Biker again. The gang captures the biker and it's Red Herring and Fred can't stand it.

Red says he didn't steal the bike. He borrowed the bike to have it cleaned and a side car added. And the aunt was actually the aunt.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E08 - Terror, Thy Name is Zombo - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Terror, Thy Name is Zombo

Season 2, Episode 8

Premiered November 4, 1989

Quickly

The gang unmasks a ghost clown in a themepark.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

The gang goes to Jipner's Joyland. They hit the fourth wall by having Scooby cover Daphne's mouth so Shaggy can finish his voice over. They meet a crying turnip who tells them that Joyland is closed due to the presence of Zombo, a ghost clown. Zombo shows up from inside of a tiny car. I am enjoying this way too much.

Anyway, Zombo used to own the park before the Jipner family bought it from him. Now he wants revenge and stuff. The park owner offers them free lifetime passes if they can solve the case. Their first suspect is the owner of Sloppo land, Bart Jipner.

Fred spends the episode obsessing about the Cotton Candy people and I would love to see Fred be right about these one time. Shaggy and Scooby remain invested in the investigation because they want to be the first ones to ride a roller coaster.

The show has a lot of fun using comedic carnival themed transformations in this episode like having Freddy's hair turn into a clown style after getting yelled at and Scooby and Shaggy's heads turning into carousels when they get freaked out.

Zombo is one of the most violent monsters they've faced. He threatens to break their bones. Dark.

Velma creates a plan to capture Zombo. Joey was using the clown ghost to scare off his relatives and buy them out. The Jipners' are all much happier without Joey.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E07 - Dog Gone Scooby - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Dog Gone Scooby

Season 2, Episode 7

Premiered October 28, 1989

Quickly

Scooby-Doo runs away.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

The gang ignores Scooby. He goes outside to play in the rain. A creepy lady spies on him and declares she wants his head. The gang notices Scooby is gone and immediately own up to their poor behavior towards Scooby. They go to look for Scooby and find a note from Scooby about running away. 

Sugie, Shaggy's baby sister, wants to join the gang on their search. The voice of Sugie, BJ Ward, also voiced Velma and Googie, Shaggy's girlfriend Googie from Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf.

Fred goes straight to Red Herring who leads them to the Butcher where Scooby picked up a suitcase full of bones. The creepy lady continues her pursuit of Scooby. Scooby decides to go home. The episode is split between Scooby's experience as a runaway, the gang searching for Scooby and the occasional flashback.

Dawson, Daphne's other butler, sics the dogs in the alley. This might be my favorite appearance of any of Daphne's butlers. It made me laugh really hard.

The gang reunites with Scooby and join him in fleeing the lady. 

I spent the entire episode trying to figure out who the lady reminds me of. She kind of looks like a Far Side character. Although she could be a design that recurs in Tom Ruegger's work which will be take some time to figure out considering how prolific he is and how many of his shows I've watched.

The lady is an artist, Paula P. Casso, who wants to paint Scooby. The show clearly indicates she's a creepy scientist. This is evident in the chase scene music which repeatedly points out she looks like scientist. It's a pretty good unmasking.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E06-The Computer Walks Among Us - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Computer Walks Among Us

Season 2, Episode 6

Premiered October 21, 1989

Quickly

Velma's science fair project runs amok.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

The gang and Velma's parents are in the audience to support Velma when she shows her robot. Fred says the robot looks like the Metal Men from Mercury. Red teases the robot and gets washed out. Velma created a robot with feelings and free will. Velma wins of course. 

Second place was a fountain pen spatula...okay...stiff competition. Although to be fair, the mechanism looks well done.

Something robs the lockers at their school. They quickly find all of the missing things in Velma's locker. This leads to Velma getting suspended. They sneak her back into the school to investigate. They are attacked by Velma's robot. Scooby gets them away from the robot by tickling him. This doesn't make sense if the robot is a person in a costume but it kind of works if the robot is Velma's robot. Yes, I care if the rules are consistent.

The chase music is provided diegetically in this episode by the robot.

They solve the case by overloading the robot by asking him to do too many things. Anyway, it was the kid who came in second place. He was angry that Velma beat him. But come on! Velma created a robot that could do pretty much anything she asked. He made a spatula that fit into a pocket protector.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E05 - Night of the Living Burger - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Night of the Living Burger - Toonstalgia

Season 2, Episode 5

Premiered October 14, 1989

Quickly

The gang is hired by O'Greazy to unmask a burger monster.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

Daphne gives the voice over opening narration. The gang is having a sleepover at Shaggy and Scooby's to watch Count Shockula. While watching television, they witness a robbery and a burger monster pops out of the television nine years before Sadako. Although I'm sure someone else predated this episode of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, it's the first thing I thought of.

Mr. O'Greazy, a fast food entrepreneur that puts stuff in buckets, comes to the Scooby-Doo Detective Agency for help with the burge monster. Count Shockula, the star of the show they meant to watch, demands O'Greazy deal with the monster. They investigate the restaurant and the giant talking burger while Shaggy and Scooby bicker. At the restaurant, they meet Skippy Johnson, a longtime employee. A Bucket O'Clues at the restaurant leads them to Barney, a burger cart operator. Barney was run out of business by O'Greazy.

Many episodes include special announcement breaks like a newscaster breaking into the program to announce breaking story. I have mixed feeling about these. They are cute gags but they don't completely work for me since the announcer is commenting on the action of the story like "What you're about to see...". It works better if the newscaster is making a report and acting separately from the story.

Scooby and Shaggy reconcile when Shaggy is abducted by the burger monster. Fred is especially wrong this time since Red Herring loves the restaurant and is eating there while they wrap up the mystery. Skippy Johnson did it and spent the episode framing Shockula.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E04 - Chickenstein Lives! - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Chickenstein Lives!

Season 2, Episode 4

Premiered September 30, 1989

Quickly

Fred gets a job writing for the Daily Exaggerator for his uncle.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

Fred does the voiceover opening narration for this episode. His uncle bought the Daily Exaggerator and Fred is going to be a reporter. Uncle Eddie is voiced by Frank Welker. The newspaper is one of my favorite running gags. The stories sound great. When he goes to Mr. Schlock, the editor, he finds Chickenstein in the Editor's office. He uses his usual Fred Jones voice. Then they find out from Uncle Eddie that Chickenstein is driving the paper out of business by scaring away the reporters.

They meet Bad News Bitterman and Scoop Byline while investigating Chickenstein. Bad News is the former number one reporter and Scoop is the number one reporter who first broke the Chickenstein story. They also meet Granny Sweetwater, a fortune teller who claims to have called Chickenstein from the other side. I would have preferred a more Frankenstein backstory with Chickenstein being created by Laughenstock, the man falsely accused on being Chickenstein.

The chase music in this episode is provided by Velma on a reel-to-reel tape. Reel-to-reels were like cassettes without the plastic casing. The music was stored on a magnetic tape. I won't question whether kids would have recognized it then. I don't think it really matters. But they probably would have since most people had tape decks. They would have understood the music is coming from the machine and Reel-To-Reels are visually interesting.

Anyway, Granny Sweetwater is Chickenstein but Granny isn't Granny. Casmer Codwaller disguised himself as Granny and Chickenstein to cover up his fencing operation.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E03 - The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll

Season 2, Episode 3

Premiered September 23, 1989

Quickly

The gang deals with the ghost of a rock star.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang goes to see Bud Chillner in concert. Bud Chillner plays a keytar that sounds like a guitar. We find out Daphne gets over $27,000 per week in allowance. Also, she bought out the concert. Kind of a stinky way to show her passion. I imagine it would kind of stink to play a concert to five people. Also, he's not going to make any money off merchandise. Before the concert starts, the show is attacked by the ghost of Purvis Parker, a rock legend. 

The investigation leads to Parker Place, the former home of Purvis Parker. The place hasn't been doing much business since Buddy supplanted Parker in the public's affection. Purvis is based off Elvis including having impersonators and the pink Cadillac.

The episode runs like a New Scooby-Doo Movie with Buddy tagging along on the investigation. They go to Purvis's Secret Vault and find all of the gold records are not gold. Buddy separates from the gang when the ghost abducts him.

Velma creates a plan to capture the ghost. It fails when Daphne says the codeword too early and the entire gang aside from Scooby gets trapped. Scooby takes a leaf from Marty's playbook and throws him back with amplified sound.

The interrupting newscaster does a good announcement. He announces how to beat boredom and it works outside of the story.

The gang find Purvis Parker. The gang unmask ghost Purvis as Dilton, the guy that ran Parker Place.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E02 - The Return of Commander Cool - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Return of Commander Cool

Season 2, Episode 2

Premiered September 16, 1989

Quickly

A knock to the head makes Shaggy believe he's Commander Cool.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang visits the Colossal Toy Factory. Red Herring dresses up as a monster to scare them. Another monster shows up and this time Shaggy gets hurt. Shaggy wakes up believing he's Commander Cool. The owner of Colossal Toys tells them about the alien that keeps attacking her factory. They're on the case with the complication of Commander Cool insisting on being the investigation leader.

They have a new kind of encounter with the alien. Instead of the usual, they find it quietly spying. Finally the criminal does something logical and actually uses the costume to covertly execute the criminal activity. The gang's investigation leads them to Stu Pendous, the rival toy maker, and Quentin Creeply, the coolest toy maker.

Stu Pendous doesn't make sense. If he's out of business, why does he have his factory? Why does he still go there? Though the gag of Carol Colossal and Stu Pendous each calling the other when the other is talking about them is funny.

Daphne is not a skeptic. She denies what she sees. She doesn't acknowledge hard evidence or consider alternative explanations beyond the obvious. She sees a flying saucer with a group of her friends. She doesn't need to believe it's a flying saucer. She can question whether it really belongs to an alien. It's just silly to ignore what she is seeing.

Lets talk about this alien. The alien is chasing down, grabbing a kid in a costume and threatening to destroy them. That's pretty bad. The alien isn't the only one to consider Shaggy Commander Cool rather than acknowledge he's a kid dressed up as Commander Cool. It's odd.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S02E01 - Curse of the Collar - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Curse of the Collar

Premiered September 9, 1989

Season 2, Episode 1

Quickly

It's Scooby's birthday.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang is at the Doo reunion and birthday party. Scooby receives the Doo family collar with a giant diamond and emeralds and so much ugly. Scooby and Shaggy answer the door. They meet the Dogcatcher ghost who demands the collar. Mrs. Knittingham tells the story of Buster McMuttMauler, an insane dogcatcher with a fixation on the Doo puppies. We meet Daddy-Doo and Mama-Doo for the first time in this episode. The episode doesn't quite explain how dogs function in this world.

Mrs. Knittingham is abducted by the Dogcatcher Ghost. They go through the usual procedure of running through suspects, Mr Goodman, Dr. Needlemeyer and Mr. Trixenstuff. Scooby's parents are abducted next. Scooby is amped for the investigation. He refuses Scooby snacks from Daphne because he doesn't need to bribed to search for his parents. They treat Scooby's missing parents with weight and significance.

Notable visual gags include Scooby wearing a hole in the floor, Shaggy and Scooby slamming a dozen doors to keep out the ghost (Loaded Weapon 1 has a great version of this), and Shaggy and Scooby pretending to be bathers whose privacy is invaded.

It's not a show without danger. The ghost abuses Scooby after getting the collar, abducts the gang and clearly doesn't intend to release his captives if he's continuing to abduct people after getting the thing he wanted. 

Anyway, it was Mr. Trixenstuff. He showed up for one scene earlier. He's a dog trainer and explain to me why highly intelligent dogs that can talk need a dog trainer. Are there other dogs that can't talk? Someone explain this to me! Rather than call the police, the gang calls a good dogcatcher they met earlier. What is this world?

The other puppies have personalities corresponding to the rest of the gang. Ruby is extremely fashion conscious, Skippy is highly intelligent and likes computers and Howdy's favorite magazine is the National Exaggerator (also Fred's favorite magazine).

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E13 - Lights...Camera...Monster - Toonstalgia

 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Lights...Camera...Monster

Season 1, Episode 13

Premiered December 10, 1988

Quickly

Freddy's film shoot at the mall is interrupted by Stinkweed.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

Fred has brought the gang to the mall to shoot and direct a film with his new camera. Their film shoot is interrupted by Stinkweed. Stinkweed is monster from a successful series of movies and a robber. They chase him but lose him.

Side note: Scooby dressed like a beet is adorable.

Fred has a really good idea (shockingly). He wants to do a video on how they solve mysteries. They see a poster for Stinkweed 10. They go to the mall to meet the actor that plays Stinkweed. He hires them to investigate Stinkweed and clear his name.

They meet their next suspect, Thorne's rival. They follow him to a commercial shoot for a nacho restaurant. In his dressing room, they find a cash register from the robbery. I wish we had gotten to see a picture of the Bell People that Fred mentions.

Thorne calls to ask them to come see a clue he found at the mall. When they arrive, they see him get abducted by Stinkweed. They meet a woman at the mall who tells them she's an FBI agent.

They take a break to visit a 99 Flavors Scooby Snacks booth. For those that question the Scooby snack flavor and search for answers in the canon, this should settle the debate. They come in a lot of flavors.

Cue Dance Chase Scene

The plan to catch Stinkweed involves shooting a film and getting him to play along. I always like it when the villains play along with their gags because it's like they're getting sucked into the reality of the gag. The plan goes wrong and works anyway.

The Red Herring inclusion was perfunctory and brief.

I assumed the guy was Thorne when he called the gang and play acted the kidnapping with an arm pulling him out of sight. But this is a kid's show. Not exactly an episode of Murder, She Wrote.

Behind the Post

I've been watching these episodes on Boomerang. They are inexplicably airing them out of order. I'm still going to post them in episode order. It seems that this is a show that benefits from watching in episode order even if the episodes are episodic.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E12 - Robopup - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Robopup

Season 1, Episode 12

Premiered December 3, 1988

Quickly

The gang searches for a burglar in Daphne's house.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang are on the way to Daphne's house to see her Decor of the Month Club room. They get to her room and it's empty. Her room has been stolen. Daphne's parents have a "Robopup" to investigate the crime. I don't like robots...I just don't. They're creepy. He's particularly bad. The gang is joined by Robopup to investigate the theft.

When Scooby and Shaggy raid the kitchen, they meet the chef ghost robbing the Blake household. 

The Robopup tracks clues for Velma. Yuck! They go through the suspects which are all members of the staff because the security system ensures no one else could get in.

Fred blames Red. Really, Red Herring is constantly harassed by Fred in an obsessive way that must be pretty upsetting. At this point, it's hard to say who started it, Red or Fred.

They capture the Ghostly French Chef. The costume seemed to be a red herring (har-har) to point to the butler. The bad guy is Mr. Conroy, the head of security. He gave the gang Robopup to distract them. Robopup was also bad. Robopup is not the first time the gang has been supplied with a robotic crime solver programmed to stop them from solving the mystery. This also happened in Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Season 1, Episode 2 The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E11 - The Story Stick - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Story Stick

Season 1, Episode 11

Premiered November 19, 1988

Quickly

The gang is camping when they are attacked by an animate totem pole.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

Yogi Bear makes a cameo in this episode that's just great.

The gang is camping on a reservation. The opening lines worried me. Shaggy and Scooby were being really bad. Then Daphne called them out for their ignorance and inappropriate behavior. I loved it.

We meet Warren, a local kid. He explains that the rest of the tribe lives in town. The only person that lives near the camp site is Warren's grandfather.

Scooby and Shaggy gather firewood. They are scared by a totem pole monster that looks like a Pokemon and reminds me of From Hell It Comes that I watched on Svengoolie.

They meet Warren's grandfather after the totem pole attack. He tells them the pole is protecting the land from the new hotel. The new hotel will also displace him from his home.

Velma sees a clue and says "Jinkies" but no one notices. She makes a point of saying it a few more times. This is all too familiar as one of the nonsmartphones addicted members of my household. I can't count the number of times I've have to shout at my dad to get him to look up from TikTok. Anyway it's a bead from the Grandfather's necklace which only makes sense if his necklace broke.

They meet the guy building the inn who rejects the notion that the land is sacred. He's not a member of the tribe but he's building the inn. And it seems like he's the one who will financially benefit directly from the inn because he references the way the people coming to the inn will improve the local economy.

The gang takes a break to tell stories and Fred can't even win an argument with Red Herring in his imagination. The totem monster attacks the gang.

They see Warren dig up a totem pole. He explains that he collects the art.

Chase scene.

The gang finds a bunch of artifacts in a hole. Velma figures everything out. She gets a mail order termite with Acme speed. The termite eats the totem pole costume right off the bad guy. They call the reservation police department and he looks a lot like a certain forest ranger.

Anyway it was the guy building the hotel. He figured out he could make more money digging up artifacts and selling them than the inn. Now grandpa doesn't have to move and they'll build a museum to display the relics.

Behind the Post

I'm still writing long hand and my hand is cramping.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E10 - Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner

Season 1, Episode 10

Premiered November 12, 1988

Quickly

The gang unmasks a fake ghost to protect a real ghost's home.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang is out trick or treating.

Daphne - Princess

Velma - Computer

Fred - Astronaut

Shaggy and Scooby - Commander Cool and Mellow Mutt

They go to a house they usually avoid. The couple they meet is nice but confirm their house is indeed haunted by a friendly ghost. They meet the couple's handyman who describes an encounter with the clarity and detail that makes it clear he's the one behind the haunting since we know the haunting is a guy dressed up as a pirate. No one calls him out for it. The couple declare their intention to move out.

The gang returns to their treehouse where the real ghost haunting the Johnson house hires them to clear his name. The stakes are pretty high because if his house is torn down, he will cease to exist. Also this means Daphne will never be right again when she says ghosts don't exist in this series. She now knows they exist, she just decides to live in denial.

They return to the house to investigate. They find a can of white spray paint and spray painted chains.

Ghost Harassments ensues.

Cue chase because of course they're going to flee. It would be less dangerous if it was a ghost because this is an adult living criminal attacking them.

They escape the fake ghost with the real ghost and meet up with the Johnsons again. The Johnsons gently chastise them for investigating. They are interested in the evidence gathered but they're not compelled to stay. A pair of restauranteurs show up to offer to buy their land. Daphne gets rid of them. The restauranteurs are a good way to make the point that the land is valuable.

Cue dance chase with a groovy song about Boobeard  the Pirate Captain.

The Johnsons offer to sell the land to their handyman. 

Velma makes a plan to catch the ghost on Velma's computer costume is a working computer. The gang traps the ghost and yep, it's Jack the Handyman. He wants to bulldoze everything and build a 3 million dollar office building. It makes me wonder how zoning works in Coolsville.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E09 - Scooby Dude - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Scooby Dude

Season 1, Episode 9

Premiered November 5, 1988

Quickly

The gang finds vanished dolphins, cracks a drug ring and clears Red Herring's name.

Thoughts, Details, Recap

The gang goes to the beach to help Velma's aunt with the disappearance of dolphins at the marine institute. Scooby and Shaggy are more interested in a beach party. Their dancing really reminds me of Tiny Toons. It's not surprising considering Tom Ruegger worked on both shows. The gang is attacked by Seaweed Monster Red Herring.

Aunt Thelma acts like Velma and they're both super cute. She shows them around the marine institute and introduces them to the last dolphin. They see the Headless Skateboarder then the last dolphin vanishes.

The gang is scared by Red Herring again, this time in a Headless Skateboarder costume. They meet a woman that works for beach patrol who pursues Red Herring and a surfer.

They go to a skatepark to follow up on the clue that the ghost skateboards. They meet the "real" phantom skateboarder again. They find out the skatepark owner that claimed he couldn't skate is a former champion skateboarder.

Red Herring hires them to clear his name after the beach patrol targets him as the main and only suspect. Red harasses them more after hiring them.

The phantom skateboarder targets them when they go diving for clues. They find the dolphins and learn the dolphins have been used to transport drugs.

They catch the headless skateboarder at the skatepark. It's the skateboarder that lied and the beach patrol officer who was helping him by framing Red. They are arrested by a surfer who's really a Johnny Utah type. The twist of the drug dealers trying to frame Red was an interesting wrinkle to the mystery.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E08 - Snow Place Like Home - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Snow Place Like Home

Season 1, Episode 8

Premiered October 29, 1988

Quickly

The gang's ski trip is interrupted by an Ice Demon and a developer.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang is on a ski trip at Snowy Mountain Chalet. I don't know if I can count the number of episodes of cartoons and other shows about ski trips. I've never been skiing in my life. It's not that I live too far from skiing. My high school had a ski team. I don't even like the snow. Never have.

This episode shows Shaggy's first taste of Scooby Snacks. He likes them.

Fred made reservations at a creepy resort with a pair of hosts with pail green skin. I don't know why they're green. Scooby and Shaggy are nearly scared off by their hosts but their flight is stopped by the promise of a good dinner with generous proportions. 

The suspects start showing up before the Ice Demon is formally introduced. The first suspect is a developer eyeing their land for a mall. 

The Ice Demon attacks Scooby and Shaggy before they can go to sleep. The hosts admit the Ice Demon is real. The gang decides to stay. Scooby and Shaggy are an easy sell because their hosts feed them well. A forest ranger shows up and offers to buy the land. The gang finds out about the gold mine in the mountain that definitely doesn't have any gold.

They find the monster's costume. An occurrence so rare that I can't remember it happening before except maybe Never Ape an Apeman in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? but the costume was the same as the costume used by the character in a movie in that episode. Sometimes they'll find a piece but rarely a complete piece.

The gang finds out the clock is running out for the gang to solve the mystery. The land will be foreclosed by the bank.

Freddy continues his harassment of Red Herring. Velma's plan unmasks the Forest Ranger as the Ice Demon. He was planning to mine the diamonds after getting the lodge closed and I have questions. Why would he have been able to get the land? The most likely purchaser at a foreclosure auction would have been the developer because he would have the money to back his bid. Maybe I'm wrong about this but his plan was not well formed.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E07 - Now Museum, Now You Don't - Toonstalgia

 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Now Museum, Now You Don't

Season 1, Episode 7

Premiered October 22, 1988

Quickly

Shaggy and Scooby are framed for a theft at the museum.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang is on a field trip at the Coolsonian Museum. It surprises me they didn't use the field trip angle more often. There's a set of cursed Samurai swords on display. Soon Scooby and Shaggy meet a Samurai ghost who steals the cursed swords. It's really the museum's fault for not having a case around the swords. All they have is a sign.

Shaggy and Scooby are accused of the theft with no evidence. They are libelously called thieves in the newspaper. They gang decides to investigate and clear Shaggy and Scooby's name.

Red Herring proved himself a megajerk in this episode. He angles to get Shaggy and Scooby thrown in jail. I mean, if it was Fred I might say turn about is fair play.

The gang hears the employees of the museum yelling at each other. The security guard criticizes the security system. The curator criticizes him for blaming the million dollar security system. Million dollar security system??? No alarm went off. They have paper signs that say do not touch. They don't have cameras. Where did the million dollars go?

The museum features the Mahogany Pigeon. A joke I get now (Spruce Goose) but never would have gotten when I was little. It doesn't matter if kids get it as long as they like watching the show. My nephews recognized Mr. Sandman in Back to the Future from a Booba cartoon. While I wouldn't have known what the Spruce Goose was when I was kid, I do know the Spruce Goose is now. Either from history books or from the Rocketeer, I can't quite remember where I learned about it first. It's a nice little touch.

The bad guy is the Museum Curator. It was well telegraphed in the clues. The motive is fine. A little loose because he just wanted the money from the swords.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E06 - The Babysitter From Beyond - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Babysitter From Beyond 

Season 1, Episode 6

Premiered October 15, 1988

Quickly

A night out at the cinema is interrupted by an escaped prisoner.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

"On a dark and stormy night", Shaggy and Scooby tangle with something familiar from the television I had in my bedroom as a kid, the bunny ears. Shaggy and Scooby are going to see a scary movie with the rest of the gang. They plan to stop at the theater to meet the gang before dropping Sugie at the sitter. It's too sweet to see how much Shaggy loves his little sister. 

Shaggy's scared by a Mr. Boogedybones dummy at the theater. It's very much not shocking when the dummy moves. 

The whole gang goes with Shaggy and Scooby to drop off Sugie. Things go wrong quickly. They run from the babysitter because she looks like the Bride of Boogedybones. 

The gang investigates a Boogedybones in the basement of the babysitter's house. The gang gets clues and suspects from the newsman who usually only chimes in for a joke. This time he tells the gang that a criminal has escaped prison and the babysitter was the criminal's girlfriend. 

Shaggy suggests they call his dad, the cop. It is the most rational suggestion I've ever heard. Of course, it doesn't work because the phone line is cut. Velma has the second most rational reaction, she creates a plan to contact the police and a plan to keep the criminal out of the house. Both plans are complicated by Sugie crawling off to the babysitter. They get Sugie back through a long chase sequence.

Shaggy's dad sees the message and they capture the criminal and Boogedybones. The criminal is captured and Boogedybones is revealed as the girlfriend.

I'll put this as one of the best episodes. The only thing I didn't like was the scene with Velma making the babysitter's picture look like the girlfriend.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E05 - For Letter or Worse - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - For Letter or Worse

Season 1, Episode 5

Premiered October 8, 1988

Quickly

A phantom mobster tries to shutdown the gang's favorite gameshow.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

The gang attends a taping of their favorite tv show, For Letter or Worse. Scooby quickly meets a ghost and no one believes him but Shaggy. Shaggy and Scooby are selected as contestants along with a couple little braniacs who keep insulting them. The ghost attacks the show and everybody runs except Daphne who denies the existence of ghosts and refuses to leaves as if the issue with the mobster ghost is that he's a ghost and not that he's attacking the show. Everyone finally leaves. They find out the owner is selling the station and that the creepy dude was the Ghost of Al Cabone.

They investigate. There are antics. The solution of the mystery is pretty obvious because there's one person with the clearest motive. The unmasking is creative. They unmask Prestina, the magician whose show was canceled to extend the gameshow but they also reveal she had worn several disguises throughout the show. The station manager claims surprise at Prestina being upset about her show being cancelled. Really? Really!? He's surprised she's a little upset she got fired.

This show isn't remembered enough for the visual creativity and joy.  The mysteries are even pretty good. This episode isn't the best mystery but it is a good chase. Though the ending really improves this mystery. The bad guy setting up other suspects by wearing costumes of those other people is a clever touch.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E04 - The Schnook Who Took My Comic Book - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Schnook Who Took My Comic Book

Premiered September 24, 1988

Season 1, Episode 4

Quickly

A frog monster steals Shaggy's newly purchased rare comic.

Thoughts, Detail and Kind of a Recap

Shaggy goes to a comic convention to buy the first issue of Commander Cool & Mellow Mutt. It's one of three in the world. As he's leaving the convention, he's accosted by Dr. Croaker, a villain from the comic. Dr. Croaker steals his comic. 

Daphne oddly doesn't believe Shaggy when he says he saw a monster even though it's kind of their thing. They explain that in unseen scenes, Shaggy often freaks out and describes seeing other monsters that don't exist. Fred's constant suspicion of Red Herring is explained by the fact that he does dress up in costumes to scare people. It's nice when the holes get plugged with reasonable explanations.

The gang goes to the booth where Shaggy bought his comic to find out if the woman who sold him the comic saw the monster. They also explain why Shaggy could afford an extremely rare first edition of a popular comic book series. The owner of the comic likes Shaggy, he spends a lot of money at her store and has for years and she has another copy so she sold him his copy at a discount. Her copy is stolen by Dr. Croaker. Then he tries to abduct Scooby but Scooby escapes his mouth with a jack.

Meanwhile, Velma is investigating, finding clues and noting as each suspect emerges.

Shaggy and Scooby go to meet the last suspect and get his comic signed by Wendell McWendell, the Commander Cool creator. They get their comic signed and are about to leave when Dr. Croaker steals his comic.

Cue chase scene and superhero costumes.

Cue shenanigans.

Velma refocuses the investigation on investigating. She brings them to Mr. Cashmore, a suspect, and and learn that he collects comics.

While all of this is happening, Wendell McWendell is informally auctioning off the last first edition.

They set up a trap with a fake Commander Cool comic and a bubblegum bomb. It turns out that the creator, Wendell McWendell was the one behind Dr. Croaker. He wanted to drive up the value of his comic. It's a cheerful ending considering they just found out the creator of their favorite comic series is a criminal. Also, it's funny hearing the antiquated notion that comics are only for little kids.

"Wow Did you know Elvis's ghost landed in this man's backyard in a UFO and that Bigfoot secretly married the Loch Ness monster?" - Fred

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E03 - Wanted Cheddar Alive - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - Wanted Cheddar Alive

Season 1, Episode 3

Premiered September 24, 1988

Quickly

Scooby Snacks are at risk of being discontinued.

Thoughts, Details Recap

The episode opens at the Scooby Snack factory. They are testing the chocolate and that means that Scooby Snacks are not dog food since chocolate can kill dogs. A cheese monster attacks the factory and declares the end of Scooby Snacks.

Shaggy and Scooby are blissfully unaware of the threat to their way of life. Except...while it would be terrible to lose their favorite snack food, several episodes show Scooby making a Scooby Snack from scratch.

The gang get on the case to save Scooby's favorite snack. The owner of the factory doesn't seem happy to have them on the case. The gang is undeterred. They go on with their investigation in the factory. They find clues, they find the cheese monster. 

Red Herring is at the factory to revel in Scooby's pain. What did Scooby ever do to him? Fred's the one that keeps accusing him of crimes. 

This is an unusual case of the monster actually capturing the gang in a dangerous scenario. They're all tied up to give Scooby his Dumbo moment when he proves he can be brave without a Scooby snack.

Later installments in the franchise usually get credit for turning Daphne into a more fleshed out character who uses her fashion sense in creative ways. This episode shows her use a nail file to escape ropes.

It's a nice ending for everyone but the rival biscuit factory owner who dressed up as the cheese monster to ruin the Scooby Snack factory and steal the formula.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E02 - The Sludge Monster From the Earth's Core - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - The Sludge Monster From the Earth's Core

Premiered September 17, 1988

Season 1, Episode 2

Quickly

Scooby's doghouse is taken over by a bank robbing monster.

Recap, Thoughts and Details

Shaggy and Scooby are about to go to bed when they hear a news report on a bank robbery perpetrated by a sludge monster.  Scooby goes to bed in his doghouse. As soon as he opens the door, he meets the sludge monster that looks less sludgy and more tentacly. I guess the sludge monster is a reference to an in universe character. They call the gang over to face the monster.

When they investigate Scooby's doghouse, they're amazed by the spacious opulence. Daphne, Fred and Velma search Scooby's doghouse while Shaggy and Scooby are menanced by the sludge monster. Finally, Shaggy has had enough, he tries to call the police. They hear the police including Shaggy's dad searching for the bank robber.

The gang returns to the dog house because there's nothing to be afraid of but I would be afraid of a bank robbing janitor on the run from the police. They do find the janitor who proclaims his innocence. Daphne rejects any possibility of another perpetrator of the bank robbery. Daphne gets credit in this show sometimes for being smart and rational but really she's too close minded and Fred's too open minded.

They follow a trail of slime from gold to a hole in the basement of Scooby's doghouse and down into the sewer. The sewer takes them into the bank. Fred continues his obsession with Red Herring and who can blame him.

Cue pop song chase scene with Eye joke.

Velma comes up with a plan to trap the monster by...spraying it with water. It goes wrong and everyone gets sprayed with water. 

Cue second pop song chase scene.

The monster wipes his feet before chasing them inside. Shaggy telling them to be quiet for his baby sister is too sweet. The monster gets trapped in Scooby's doggy door. They unmask the monster as the bank president who wanted to hide his loot in Scooby's doghouse. How did he expect this to work out? He was  Velma lays out the evidence and we get another sweet moment with Shaggy's dad commending him. And this show is good for the soul.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - S01E01 - A Bicycle Built for Boo! - Toonstalgia

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo - A Bicycle Built for Boo

Premiered September 10, 1988

Season 1, Episode 1

Quickly

Shaggy's bicycle is stolen by a monster.

Thoughts and Details Recap

This is the only theme song that gets stuck in my head. It's right up there with the original in my book. The song achieves what the Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo theme song failed at. It repeats a name and it's good.

Shaggy is a paperboy for the Daily Babbler. Scooby cheerfully wakes Shaggy up then goes to load the newspapers. While he's loading the newspapers, he's interrupted by green goo ghost who steals Shaggy's bike. He turns to the gang for help. They follow Red Herring after Freddy declares him the only suspect.

Red Herring dresses as a pink slime monster to scare the gang. They find a bike. Freddy declares the bike to be Shaggy's despite the fact that Shaggy says it's not his. Freddy wrecks Red Herring's bike trying to prove that Red repainted Shaggy's bike. Red Herring is unhappy at the destruction of his bike.

Velma finds Shaggy's bicycle tracks that lead the gang to the newspaper office. After visiting the newspaper office, they visit the most haunted house in town. At the haunted house, they meet the green goo ghost. They also meet Shirley McLoon, a medium. They enter the house and fall into a pile of money. Velma analyzes the money and discover they all have the same serial number. The gang is scared by the green goo ghost deeper into the house where they find a printing press. They also find Shaggy's bike.

Cue Musical Chase and Dance Scene

Velma finds dry green ink and observes Shaggy's chain on the bike. Fred accuses Shirley McLoon (She reminds me of the Tiny Toon character, Shirley the Loon) of being the ghost. But Daphne and Velma free her. Velma realized she is an agent investigating the counterfeiting operation. They use flashbacks to recap the clues. Velma unmasks the green goo monster to reveal Shaggy's boss at the Daily Babbler.

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo features dramatic Tex Avery-Tom and Jerry-Eye Popping reactions. It has repeating jokes. The designs are a bit rounder and simpler to emphasize the cuteness. It also makes the monsters stand out more because they've got more detail. The green goo ghost takes a design cue from Alien with the little monster head coming out of the mouth. Every time Scooby blows his bugle I picture Teddy Roosevelt Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace. This show is great.

Looney Tunes - Broom-stick Bunny - Toonstalgia

Looney Tunes - Broom-stick Bunny

Premiered 1956

Quickly

Bugs Bunny visits Witch Hazel while trick or treating.

Thoughts, Details and Recap

Witch Hazel invites Bugs in thinking he's a particularly ugly witch. She plans to dose him with beauty treatments. After he takes off the Halloween mask, she realizes he's just the thing she needs for her soup. But Witch Hazel can't go through with axing him after he reminds her of her pet tarantula. She accidentally drinks the beauty tea. She's chased into the night by the genie from her mirror.

A thing I like to do when watching cartoon witches is to ask my nephew what he thinks a real witch looks like then remind him that he's sitting next to one. For the record, I'm neither green nor evil. It amuses me. I am easily amused.

A fraction of a second appearance of Witch Hazel's cat was enough to make me fall in love.

June Foray voiced Witch Hazel. She was one of the greats. She also voiced Granny, Rocket J. Squirrel and Natasha Fatale. Her earliest credit was Disney's Snow White in 1937. You don't have to watch as many cartoons as I do to have heard her voice. She had a prolific career.

The details like Witch Hazel's cookbook and green house provide some really fun jokes. The stylized aesthetic of the cartoon makes this one of my favorites. And the ending line made me laugh for a while.

My mom texted me the other day and asked me why Witches are drawn as green. The only answer I could think of was the Wicked Witch of the West. I love Margaret Hamilton. I think the Wicked Witch is fine. I find the production design and the stories about the film more interesting. Wizard of Oz wasn't a film I grew up on. I never saw it until I went to a special showing. I enjoyed it. Though I love Return to Oz. Anyway, I did a little research and it seems like my guess was right.