Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987)

The best credit that I can probably give to Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers is to note that I liked it a lot more than The Chipmunk Adventure.  I realize that one does not necessarily coincide with the other but in the world of animation aimed at children, it might stand for a lot.  The major difference is that I sort of expected to like The Chipmunk Adventure and didn’t, and I didn’t expect to like Scooby-Do Meets the Boo Brothers and sort of did.  Sort of.

Scooby-Doo was a better property when it was simple, back in the early 70s, it was Hanna-Barbera’s refit of “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” if they were travelling around solving mysteries.  It was fun in a crude sort of way, employing the characters with a cowardly Great Dane that spoke with broken Ring-rish.

Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers is less than that simple premise but the idea is still here, and so I found it mildly amusing.  What is missing are 75% of the Scooby gang.  Freddie, Daphe and Velma are out of the picture which leaves us with Shaggy, Scooby and unfortunately Scrappy-Doo, who is Scooby’s nephew.  I’ll say it – he’s irritating.  When he speaks, it elicits the feeling of fingernails on the blackboard. 

Anyway, the trio are on the trail of a mystery all their own.  It seems that Shaggy’s Uncle Beauregard has passed on into glory and left him a sprawling plantation.  The locals are a problem whether they be hillbillies or a fat southern sheriff and worse, the joint is haunted!  Shaggy gets mixed up looking for lost treasure while the job of getting rid of the supernatural home invaders falls on three ghosts whose job is apparently to get rid of them.  Just to note, they’re not very good at their job.

Where the movie apes The Chipmunk Adventure is that it’s storytelling is much better put together.  There is actually a story here and a mystery that’s quite compelling if you happen to be under 10.  Where it falls below The Chipmunk Adventure is in the animation.  That film was colorful and bright while this one employs animation that was clearly meant for television.

I enjoyed Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers probably more than I expected to, but that’s not high praises.  This is a functional movie, not a great one.  Your kids will love it.  You’ll be happy that they’re happy for 90 minutes.