The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection [Blu-Ray]

Cast: Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Frank Welker (VOICES)

Release Date: June 4, 2019

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

For the first time ever, nearly all episodes from The New Scooby-Doo Movies, the Scooby-Doo series featuring celebrity guests, are available to own in one collection! It’s star-studded hijinks on The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection, which includes 23 highly-entertaining episodes available on DVD/Blu-ray™. That loveable Great Dane and the Mystery Inc. gang encounter some of pop culture’s most legendary names, including Jonathan Winters, Dick Van Dyke, The Three Stooges, Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas, Laurel & Hardy and many more, as they embark on their mystery-solving adventures.

Please Note: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

Just in time to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of everyone’s favorite mystery solving canine, ‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection’ brings home nearly the entire collection from the popular hour-long animated series that ran from 1972-1973, as well as marking the first time the series (or any classic Scooby series for that matter) has been released on Blu-ray. So round up the entire family and get ready to dive back into the 70’s with this groovy fun 2-disc Blu-ray collection featuring 23 unforgettable episodes including such noteworthy guest stars as The Three Stooges, Don Knotts, The Harlem Globetrotters, Laurel & Hardy, plus superheroes Batman and Robin and a number more!

‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection’ brings home all but one episode of the hour long animated series (the release is missing the episode ‘Wednesday is Missing’ Featuring The Addams Family, hence the release being dubbed ‘The (Almost) Complete Collection’) and while it may be somewhat disappointing to have an absent episode in the collection, most fans will still be quite thrilled to finally have the other eight episodes included this time around which have never previously been available on DVD, not to mention the excitement over the show’s Blu-ray debut. Compiling the 23 included episodes over a 2-disc Blu-ray set which features each episode in gorgeous high definition (and presented in its original 4×3 presentation, so don’t be too concerned when you notice the rear cover listing a 1.78 ratio) for the first time ever. Now older Scooby fans can relive every memorable moment with the gang and their various celebrity guests while also being able to introduce its magic to a whole new generation for them to enjoy, and in by far the best quality the series has ever seen. The release may not be overloaded with extras and still offers only a 192 kbps Dolby Digital audio presentation, yet considering the age of the series and the more than satisfying video presentations featured within, this one will almost surely still make an absolute must own for fellow Scooby fanatics that have been hoping against hope for years to see some of the classic toons finally hit Blu-ray; an event in itself to be sure.

Overall, Warner’s 2-disc Blu-ray release of ‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection’ is a tremendously welcome release and a perfect treat to help celebrate Scooby’s fiftieth anniversary, featuring fairly impressive high definition video presentations on all 23 included episodes, and a couple of fun extras on top of it. Altogether, this 2-disc Blu-ray collection is highly recommended for fellow hardcore Scooby-Doo fans. It may be somewhat lacking in a couple areas, but fortunately the good still definitely manages to outweigh the negative and this new set featuring all but one episode of the fan favorite animated series from the 70’s in glorious high definition on Blu-ray for the very first time probably isn’t something fans will want to pass on; easily marking the definitive collection of the ‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies’.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation on all of the included episodes, each utilizing the original 1.33:1 Full Frame Aspect Ratio in which the series was originally broadcast. The video presentations look pretty great for the most part (especially when taking into consideration the age of the sources) and deliver sharp, smooth and richly detailed presentations on every episode while still retaining plenty of grain, pops and other welcome elements representative of its age and source. Overall, these are pretty solid high definition video presentations that should excite fellow fans and certainly the best quality presentations the series has seen.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release includes a 192 Kbps 2.0 (dual mono) channel Dolby Digital soundtrack on all 23 included episodes of the series. These dual mono soundtracks may not be anything exceptional, but they hold up quite competently nonetheless and offer clean, sharp and smooth audio presentations on each episode, with no complications arising along the way; always nicely balancing the audio activity and never allowing dialogue or music to conflict with other audio elements that may be occurring simultaneously. Overall, these 2.0 dual mono Dolby Digital soundtracks may not be what some fans were hoping for, but fortunately still manage to provide quite capable and smooth audio presentations that deliver in every way required of them.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection’ includes a few brief and enjoyable extras, all three of which can be located on the second disc. The release includes ‘The Hanna-Barbera Kennel Club Roasts Scooby-Doo’ (running approximately 5 minutes in length), along with ‘Uptown with Scooby-Doo and The Harlem Globetrotters’ (running approximately 9 minutes) and ‘Girls Rock!’ (approximately 9 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 6.5/10

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‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection is Now Available to Own on Blu-ray & DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

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You can purchase your copy of ‘The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection’ by clicking on the Amazon Cart icon below!