By now, you probably know that I do not like Scooby Doo. Look; whenever I share my thoughts here, you're hearing my opinion and that doesn't always line up with popular consensus. I've gone on record stating why I think it holds up as well as a hot air balloon carrying cinder blocks. But I can't stand the formulaic plots, the cheesy humour, the bland one-note characters, the cheap animation, the over-saturation, I just couldn't take it anymore. It's got to the point where the Scooby Doo formula has become a trope in and of itself. Not only am I not afraid of the monsters in that show, but I'm also not afraid to give such a controversial opinion. But I was afraid of what the fanbase would do to me. Hear me out, if you like Scooby Doo then more power to you. I'm not saying your opinion is invalid, and I appreciate anyone who would respect my opinion on the matter. Looking back; I suppose I was a bit hyperbolic when I said there's nothing redeemable about it, as it does teach younger viewers to use deduction skills and they've been instances where a joke actually worked. I can also respect later incarnations like 'Zombie Island' and 'Mystery Inc.' (from what I heard) that take the formula in a darker direction. But my point still stands. I just think whatever those meddling kids and their cowardly dog (who isn't Courage) are trying to offer to its genre and medium has been done better in other shows. I also think this American version of The Famous 5 has done more harm to animated programming than good. Again I don't have anything against anyone if it means so much to you, I'm just over the whole franchise.
So how are these hippy teens and their not-so great dane in their mystery machine going to celebrate their 50th anniversary? (Seriously that's half a century). With another series, because we already don't have enough of them already! But 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who' is a throwback to 'The New Scooby Doo Movies'; in which they would have a special guest celebrity or character from other properties to help solve the mystery. Now this Scooby Doo series was the earliest animated show to have the gimmick of celebrity appearances. There were examples that could do good things with guest stars, but there are others that come off as self-indulgent or just have guest appearances for the sake of appearing. But many of them weren't as blatant as how it was done in Scooby Doo. Perhaps having the gang meet stars like the Harlem Globetrotters drew in people back then, but even fans of the show as well as animation aficionados see them more as novelties. This type of things has only been parodied in the modern era, because of this no one really takes them seriously. Fans enjoy them for that reason, but it's not like people were demanding for more. I mean I can understand them resurrecting 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo', but do we really need more SD crossovers. You can argue that Guess Who is meant to be an homage to its early years, a ploy for older fans to indulge in their nostalgia, as its the bread and butter of this franchise.
With that said, let's talk about the look of Guess Who. This might sound like a superficial statement, but the franchise has always had poor character design. Why would you want to return to drawing SD like it was in the beginning? Yes, this is a homage to how it looked in that particular series, but that had a budget of a super Shaggy sandwich and a tight, tight deadline to put it together. So what's this show's excuse? Even I acknowledge that later incarnations tried to up the production values with much-advanced technology. They at least tried to adapt the original designs without any of the unflattening parts of 70s animation. Guess Who does this by invoking the aspects of that decade, even I've done that with some of my own projects. Even without these technical limitations, it still doesn't look appealing to me in the least. But considering the previous incarnation 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' looked like Brickleberry, I suppose drawing them like they've always been would make the fans feel better. Even if Guess Who is meant to be a "self-parody" of the original and its legacy, there's a group of fans that want the franchise to go to new places.
So here's why I think Scooby Doo and Guess Who will be an unnecessary throwback to its by gone era. It seems like these companies are trying to appeal to people's nostalgia, but they're not reviving the comebacks we truly need. And Guess Who is an example of that. People need to give other Hanna Barbera cartoons a chance, just as long as they don't mix them with any other random properties. If you want to watch this series for yourself, then go ahead I won't stop you. If you're one of those fans who like the novelty factor of the SD franchise, you might get a laugh from it. As for me, I don't need to waste my time to validate my opinion on something I Scooby Dooby Doo not want any part in. Gosh darn it!
