What's New, Scooby-Doo?
Series, 2002, The early 2000s, Set in The Mystery Machine, updated
What's New, Scooby-Doo? is #15 of 24 in release order and #15 of 24 in chronological order in the Kids' WB Classics.
The story
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery, Inc. gang are launched into the 21st century, with new mysteries to solve.
What's New, Scooby-Doo? recap
The original gang returns in a modern setting, with laptops, cell phones and a Mystery Machine full of gadgets, but the format is the classic one: travel somewhere, meet a monster, set a trap, unmask the culprit. The characters are close to their 1969 selves. Fred is obsessed with building elaborate traps that usually fail, Daphne has learned to defend herself, Velma is the brains, and Shaggy and Scooby are still hungry and scared. Casey Kasem returns as Shaggy after several years away, and Frank Welker, the voice of Fred, now also voices Scooby. The gang travels widely, to Scotland, Mexico, Hawaii, Egypt, Japan and an Antarctic research station, and recurring characters include the Hex Girls and Velma's awkward admirer Gibby Norton. The pop punk band Simple Plan performs the theme and appears in one episode. The series aired on Kids' WB from 2002 to 2006, for 42 episodes over three seasons.
What's New, Scooby-Doo? ending explained
What's New, Scooby-Doo? ended without a finale. The last episode, "E-Scream", has the gang at a video game convention where cuddly characters turn evil, and it turns out the whole mystery was a virtual reality test Velma was running. The show led into Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! (2006), and its designs and voice cast carried on in the direct-to-video films of the period.
Where to watch What's New, Scooby-Doo?
What's New, Scooby-Doo? is streaming on Tubi in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.4/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Yu-Gi-Oh!, before Ozzy & Drix.
- Chronological order: after Yu-Gi-Oh!, before Ozzy & Drix.
Cast
- Frank Welker as Fred Jones / Scooby-Doo (voice)
- Casey Kasem as Shaggy Rogers (voice)
- Mindy Cohn as Velma Dinkley (voice)
- Grey DeLisle as Daphne Blake (voice)
- James Arnold Taylor as Owen DeCassle / Steve Fortescu (voice)
- Dee Bradley Baker as Crusty McPete / Lighthouse Keeper (voice)
- Jeff Bennett as Mr. B (voice)
- Jennifer Hale as Thorn (voice)
- John DiMaggio as Mike Fury (voice)
- Tom Kenny as Natlas (voice)
- Steve Blum as Melbourne O’Reilly (voice)
- Lauren Tom as Mandy Dinwiddie (voice)
Created by Sander Schwartz.