On the whole, 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' is one of the weakest of the Scooby Doo shows. It did though have a very watchable first season, with the best episodes actually being very good and only one episode being below average. After the first season, the show very quickly went downhill and never really got better despite some watchable shorts here and there. Shaggy and Scooby were always the most interesting characters and didn't mind that they were main protagonists, did mind though that the other protagonist is one of the main reasons as to why Season 2 onward did not work.
Unfortunately, "The Old Cat and Mouse Game"/"Scooby's Three Ding-a-ling Circus"/"Hang in There" is another not particularly good triple bill, always thought so as a child and my feelings are pretty much the same. It has its moments, primarily in "The Old Cat and Mouse Game". But there is too much that is wrong, with a lot of what is wrong with the show in general present. Particularly in "Hang in There Scooby", which is even less interesting than it sounded on paper.
There are good things in the triple bill. Of the three shorts, "The Old Cat and Mouse Game" is by far the best and actually one of the show's better ones in general. A lot of fun was clearly had with the premise, which was actually a pretty good one (though more Tom and Jerry-ish than Scooby Doo), and all the humour with the high pitched voices was surprisingly amusing. Hearing Scrappy and his catchphrases high pitched was an ear-opener for sure. The cat man was a fun foil and the only memorable supporting character in the triple bill.
"Hang in There Scooby" did have one mildly amusing moment, with the accidental scaring of the lady. Voice work from all involved is spirited on the whole, Casey Kasem and Don Messick are great as Shaggy and Scooby. Have always liked the theme tune, which is catchy.
A lot is wrong unfortunately. The animation is very rushed looking and flat with very irregular character designs. The music is nice on its own but doesn't always gel with the action, some of it on the repetitive side. There is very little amusing let alone funny in "Scooby's Three Ding-a-ling Circus" and "Hang in There Scooby", with the too few gags being corny and predictable. Only "The Old Cat and Mouse Game" had much momentum and interest story wise, despite the action being too reminiscent of Tom and Jerry and it being formulaic.
"Scooby's Three Ding-a-ling Circus" was paper thin and repetitive, with all the running around having no variety or excitement. The bully character has very little personality to them to be that much of a foil, and a lot more could have been done with the circus setting. "Hang in There Scooby" is even thinner, basically 6 minutes or so of irregularly animated and very routine at best and often downright dull flying action and it all felt like filler.
Furthermore, Scrappy brings things down significantly other than a little mild amusement in "The Old Cat and Mouse Game", he dominates far too much to the point where it feels like he is the main character and even more of a problem is that he is also incredibly annoying. Due to negative character traits (namely arrogance, over-zealousness and being pushy) being exaggerated, his behaviour and catchphrases already being incredibly repetitive and his ability to make things worse rather than better by putting Shaggy and Scooby in danger with little remorse or mistake acknowledgement. Messick is great as Scooby, but overdoes it as Scrappy. Shaggy and Scooby have moments (namely Scooby in "Hang in There Scooby"), but would have liked to have seen them used a lot better. Shaggy is wasted yet again.
Overall, very mediocre again apart from one watchable short. 4/10.
Unfortunately, "The Old Cat and Mouse Game"/"Scooby's Three Ding-a-ling Circus"/"Hang in There" is another not particularly good triple bill, always thought so as a child and my feelings are pretty much the same. It has its moments, primarily in "The Old Cat and Mouse Game". But there is too much that is wrong, with a lot of what is wrong with the show in general present. Particularly in "Hang in There Scooby", which is even less interesting than it sounded on paper.
There are good things in the triple bill. Of the three shorts, "The Old Cat and Mouse Game" is by far the best and actually one of the show's better ones in general. A lot of fun was clearly had with the premise, which was actually a pretty good one (though more Tom and Jerry-ish than Scooby Doo), and all the humour with the high pitched voices was surprisingly amusing. Hearing Scrappy and his catchphrases high pitched was an ear-opener for sure. The cat man was a fun foil and the only memorable supporting character in the triple bill.
"Hang in There Scooby" did have one mildly amusing moment, with the accidental scaring of the lady. Voice work from all involved is spirited on the whole, Casey Kasem and Don Messick are great as Shaggy and Scooby. Have always liked the theme tune, which is catchy.
A lot is wrong unfortunately. The animation is very rushed looking and flat with very irregular character designs. The music is nice on its own but doesn't always gel with the action, some of it on the repetitive side. There is very little amusing let alone funny in "Scooby's Three Ding-a-ling Circus" and "Hang in There Scooby", with the too few gags being corny and predictable. Only "The Old Cat and Mouse Game" had much momentum and interest story wise, despite the action being too reminiscent of Tom and Jerry and it being formulaic.
"Scooby's Three Ding-a-ling Circus" was paper thin and repetitive, with all the running around having no variety or excitement. The bully character has very little personality to them to be that much of a foil, and a lot more could have been done with the circus setting. "Hang in There Scooby" is even thinner, basically 6 minutes or so of irregularly animated and very routine at best and often downright dull flying action and it all felt like filler.
Furthermore, Scrappy brings things down significantly other than a little mild amusement in "The Old Cat and Mouse Game", he dominates far too much to the point where it feels like he is the main character and even more of a problem is that he is also incredibly annoying. Due to negative character traits (namely arrogance, over-zealousness and being pushy) being exaggerated, his behaviour and catchphrases already being incredibly repetitive and his ability to make things worse rather than better by putting Shaggy and Scooby in danger with little remorse or mistake acknowledgement. Messick is great as Scooby, but overdoes it as Scrappy. Shaggy and Scooby have moments (namely Scooby in "Hang in There Scooby"), but would have liked to have seen them used a lot better. Shaggy is wasted yet again.
Overall, very mediocre again apart from one watchable short. 4/10.
