I don’t think there’s much debate that the most popular and enduring character churned out by the Hanna-Barbera factory during its hey-day is none other than Scooby Doo. About the only franchise that even competes with the big dog is The Flintstones, which hasn’t been relevant for ages. Scoob has basically had an omnipresence ever since he debuted on the small screen back in 1969. The franchise hasn’t always had a new show in production since then, but for a long time one of the shows it spawned could be found airing somewhere on television. I grew up watching Scooby and the gang solve mysteries featuring guest stars that predated my existence by quite a bit. I also had A Pup Named Scooby-Doo for something more modern, and eventually the franchise made the move to the big screen during the early 2000s.

It’s hard to say what has made Scooby-Doo such a lasting entity. I watched the show often enough as a kid, though I don’t recall ever liking it. Scooby-Doo seemingly existed during an era where kids (especially) would just watch whatever was on. No streaming, few houses with a VCR, and few options on VHS for those house that did have a VCR meant we were at the mercy of the broadcast overlords. It’s a thing my own children can’t even comprehend when I try to explain it which is usually brought on by me getting frustrated watching them endlessly cycle through their streaming options to try to decide what to watch. I feel like a lot of shows benefitted from that same phenomenon as I watched a bunch of crap I couldn’t have cared less about. Unlike a lot of that stuff though, Scooby has continued to live on. His shows may have sucked, but I do think the character of Scooby-Doo (and Shaggy) is pretty charismatic and likable. People want to enjoy the show, even if the actual program makes that task an impossible one.

Because of my experience with the franchise growing up, it likely comes as no surprise that I have not paid much attention to it. I never watched the movies, and I definitely never sought out the many direct-to-video features the franchise has spawned over the years. I have heard some good things here and there, but they never were enough to get me to bite. It seems the franchise has had numerous stops and starts over the past decade and they almost all follow the same trajectory: premiere on Cartoon Network, air for a bit, move to Boomerang, see the remaining episodes unceremoniously burned off. Cartoon Network and parent company Warner seem like they don’t know what to do with the franchise, or they have unrealistic expectations for every new series they greenlight. They seem to give each one about two seasons, but no more. Right smack in the middle of this thing is the series Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! From an outsider’s perspective, it’s the most intriguing of the post 2000 Scooby-Doo productions because it features an art style most would deem “out there” for a Scooby-Doo cartoon. The characters have a much more “toon” vibe to them with unrealistic proportions and exaggerated features. I see a lot of different influences when I look at the characters ranging from American Dad!, Mission Hill, Powerpuff Girls, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. It also gives the series a throwback feel to the last version I paid attention to, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, which also had a far more toon aesthetic.

More importantly, this show features a Christmas episode. The stuff from the 70s and the aforementioned Pup did not tackle the subject which is both surprising and not. The approach of a lot of Hanna-Barbera productions was to produce content that television networks could air at basically anytime. Scooby always had a mild horror element at play due to the mystery format, and maybe that contributed in keeping the franchise away from Christmas. Most of the classic Hanna-Barbera series avoided the subject though, with The Flintstones basically being the exception. Come the 80s, they embraced it a bit more as we’ve looked at Christmas episodes from The Smurfs, The Jetsons, and even Don Coyote. It’s a touch surprising that A Pup Named Scooby-Doo didn’t get to do a Christmas mystery, but then again neither did The Flintstone Kids, Fantastic Max, and a host of others.

The episode begins with a cold open. A soft, instrumental, rendition of “Deck the Halls” can be heard as we pan from the sky to a warmly lit home on Christmas Eve. Two boys are putting out the customary milk and cookies for Santa Claus. If I’m supposed to know who these kids are it’s lost on me for having never watched the show. There are two boys listed in the credits, Aiden (Todd Haberkorn) and Braiden (Debi Derryberry) and I assume these are them. The younger of the two is pretty concerned with this whole Santa thing and is pointing out the gaps in the logic that allow Santa to visit millions of homes in a single night. He’s either some sort of math whiz or he simply memorized the conditions needed for Santa to complete the task. It begins with more innocent questions, like how does he avoid getting burned, before the kid launches into the more complicated questions. When he’s done, the older one just says “He’s fireproof.”

Before the boy can respond, a sound from the roof excites the two and they run to an upstairs window. They open it up and take a look out and spy a shadowy figure on-top of a nearby chimney. They both ask aloud “Santa?” with a sense of awe before the shadow turns and reveals its true identity: a pterodactyl! The two kids scream as the beast jumps into the night and they retreat into the safety of their house as the opening title comes storming in. I don’t know about you, but I’d be pretty impressed with the sight of a pterodactyl on my roof, even if I was looking for Santa. The opening title features a pretty simple rock instrumental for its song. The characters dodge spooky creatures while Fred drives around in the Mystery Machine until eventually he collects the whole gang and Scoob ends it with his catchphrase, “Scooby-dooby-doo!” It’s a far cry from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

When the song ends we find the gang in Rockwellville which boasts a population of zero naughty individuals and all nice. I’m guessing that sign will be proven wrong before this one is over. Fred (Frank Welker, the only original cast member still at it) and Velma (Kate Micucci) are admiring the scenery while Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scoob (Welker) are doing exercises to keep their metabolism up as they’re in the prime eating season. Fred is very taken by how all-out the town goes for Christmas while Velma seems a bit overwhelmed by it. Fred decides to check on Daphne (Grey Griffen) and see how the decorations in the Mystery Machine are coming along, only when he opens the rear doors to the van, the group is greeted with a “Surprise!” and a face full of confetti. It would seem that Christmas also happens to be Daphne’s birthday and she says she’s always wanted to have a birthday all to herself and not have to share it with Christmas. Velma points out that this means she threw herself a surprise birthday party hoping the others will acknowledge how silly that sounds, but no one does. Fred isn’t really onboard with this decision from Daphne as he’s brought the gang to this festive town in search of the perfect Christmas mystery that will lead to them helping orphans or something. As he explains his reasoning, he’s bathed in a warm light from above which is literally coming from a street light that was just switched on by a fellow named George (Christian Lanz). Fred thanks him and gives him a tip hoping the fellow will return for any other epiphanies he may have.

Velma points out to Fred that he can’t just choose what kind of mystery falls into their lap, but Fred asks aloud what other mystery could possibly occur in a town as festive as this one? Cue some nearby carolers who sing about the town being terrorized by a giant pterodactyl. Velma seems ready to pounce on this one as she mentions they passed by an archeological site on their way into town, but Fred refuses to believe it. He suspects someone saw a giant reindeer and mistook it for a pterodactyl, but Velma just corrects him and states it was a pterodactyl, but in an excited tone. Fred continues to try and pushback, but Velma just gestures and repeatedly tells him it’s a pterodactyl!

And sure enough, the massive beast has landed on a decoration over the street and spreads its wings in a menacing fashion that sends the crowd scattering. The gang heads for the Mystery Machine, but as Fred tries to drive away, the van won’t budge. That’s because the pterodactyl has grabbed ahold of the roof rack with its massive claws and is now lifting the Mystery Machine high into the air! The beast flies above the city and inside the van the crew gets tossed around while Daphne struggles to save the birthday cake she bought/made for herself. Fred tells everyone to hold on and pulls a lever which releases the roof rack. Now free from the beast’s talons, the Mystery Machine races back towards the Earth, but Fred keeps his cool. That’s because this Mystery Machine really earns its name as Fred simply pushes a button in the shape of an airplane that converts the van into an actual plane. They land safely on a nearby road, but once they come to a complete stop Velma jumps right back into this mystery issue pointing out that Fred didn’t get the Christmas mystery he wanted. He simply narrows his eyes and says he knows exactly where they need to go next.

The Big Sad Eyes Orphanage! The gang stands outside while a boy, with big, sad, eyes, presses his face on a window to look at them. Daphne is not happy with this development and what it means for her birthday celebration while Velma questions what they’re doing here when they could be exploring the archeological site that just so happens to be right next door. Fred rolls his eyes at her and points out they can’t help orphans at an archeological site which forces Velma to point out that he’s just trying to ignore the mystery they have in favor of finding a Christmas one. Fred sort of groans, but gives in and tells Velma they can go explore the site. As they approach the tunnel with flashlights in-hand Shaggy gets scared, per usual, and they take a look around. A light returns theirs from inside a dark tunnel and a shadowy figure comes rushing towards them!

It’s just some guy named Dr. Mezmit (Jeff Bennett) who is apparently working at the dig site. He immediately mistakes the gang for some volunteers he’s been waiting on, and when Fred tries to tell him they’re not who he thinks they are, he just ignores them. He starts handing out equipment and Velma chimes in again that they’re not the volunteers and they’re actually investigating the pterodactyl sighting. The very cheerful Dr. Mezmit just remarks “Preposterous!” at the suggestion a real, live, pterodactyl is stalking the town and Fred agrees and tries to walk off in search of a new mystery. Then the doctor keeps on yapping and says someone found a perfectly preserved pterodactyl nest in the caves along with perfectly preserved eggs. They would undoubtedly be worth a fortune, but unfortunately a cave-in occurred trapping the nest inside and the mayor is trying to put a stop to their excavation. When Daphne again tells the doctor they’re not the volunteers he’s waiting on he just says “Splendid!” and that he needs all of the help he can get implying he expects them to help along with the volunteers, whenever they show.

The conversation is then interrupted by the arrival of one of Mezmit’s original volunteers, David. David (Haberkorn) is dressed as an elf and that’s because he was apparently trying to recruit volunteers at the Christmas festival where he works, but they all got scared away. He speaks like he’s frightened and the doctor is oblivious to this, just as he is oblivious to a lot of things, it would seem. The two grab pickaxes and start hacking away at some stones outside of the tunnel. Seems it would make more sense to break the rocks inside the tunnel, but I’m no archeologist. With the doctor seemingly distracted, the others drop the equipment that he had shoved into their arms and back away slowly. Velma wonders what they should do next, and Fred tells her he knows exactly where to go.

The Big Sad Eyes Orphanage! Yes, Fred is determined to find a Christmas mystery affiliated with this orphanage and the same kid with the big, sad, eyes is still staring at them from inside. Velma angrily tells Fred this isn’t where they should be and points out that the mayor’s office is their next, logical, destination. Fred doesn’t really want to entertain her and says they can do pterodactyl mysteries any day, but this is their one chance for a Christmas mystery! I like how he just dismisses something amazing like a possible real, live, pterodactyl, existing. He also goes into a generic speech about coming together at Christmas time, but is interrupted when he’s hit in the face with silly string. It continues to spray on him for what feels like a rather long time. This show is digitally animated, as is every show post 2000 or so, but for this one sequence it really looks like shit. The silly string looks like it’s being applied to Fred’s face via Microsoft Paint from 1996 as it has zero detail. The culprit spraying him is Daphne, who is still trying to have a birthday celebration here. Shaggy then reminds Fred that he and Scoob need to train for their Christmas feast, which forces Fred to cut a deal with them. He guarantees Daphne a birthday party and that he’ll help the other two train for their feast if they help him with a Christmas mystery. When Velma points out that he can’t just make that happen, he dismissively tells her that he’ll get her a book or something. Shaggy questions what Fred can do for them which prompts Fred to whip out some remote for the Mystery Machine which makes a bunch of training equipment sprout from its hull. It’s all surprisingly conventional gym equipment, but as Fred explains how the treadmill can power the van itself Shaggy reasons all of this equipment could help he and Scoob to eight helpings of Christmas dinner! Scoob doesn’t seem convinced as he finally says something, then smiles and declares they’ll get 9 helpings! With everyone seemingly onboard, Fred declares they’re off to the mayor’s office!

I’m mildly confused that Fred wants to go to the mayor’s office since I thought he wanted to ignore the pterodactyl, but whatever. Shag and Scoob, via the treadmill affixed to the Mystery Machine, power the vehicle by running as the gang heads over. Inside the van, Daphne pelts Fred and Velma with balloon animals as she continues to try to force this birthday celebration while Velma ponders if these are the strangest circumstances she’s ever found herself in. Shaggy asks Scooby the same, if this is the strangest situation Velma has ever been in, but their seemingly simple ride over to the mayor’s office is interrupted by the reemergence of the giant pterodactyl! Shag and Scoob see it first and start running faster which makes the Mystery Machine go much faster. Fred tells them to slow down forcing Daphne to point out why they’re running in the first place. The van goes impossibly fast and the beast grabs an old-timey carriage to seemingly throw at them. It misses, but the now out of control Mystery Machine is heading right for a tour bus! We cut to a quick scene inside where the tour guide (Bennett) is pointing out a giant, novelty, candy cane to the patrons on the vehicle’s left and when he tells them to look to the right he’s immediately horrified to see the Mystery Machine baring down on them! He then yells at the people to return to looking left, as if that will save them, but Fred is able to cut hard to the left and avoid striking the bus. The pterodactyl is not so lucky as it clips the roof and crashes into the street. It then rises up and the gang find themselves looking directly at it. The dinosaur flies right at them, but rather than collide with the van it simply flies over it and off towards the full moon.

We next find the gang at the mayor’s office and Velma is questioning Mayor Riker (Christian Lanz) why he shut down the dig. He points out the obvious, that it caused a pterodactyl to start terrorizing the town, as justification for it being unsafe. He also adds that some of the money for the dig was then redirected to the orphanage since it was on their land. This gets Fred excited as he’s still in search of a mystery that will benefit the orphans and have a Christmas component. The mayor points out that he didn’t mention anything about helping orphans, per say, but does point out the town tree which they put a gift for everyone in town on. Fred just gets more excited and asks about rogue elves or Christmas ghosts and the mayor just points out they have a pterodactyl problem. Fred frowns as he’s clearly sick of hearing about this dinosaur problem and walks off much to the mayor’s confusion.

Shaggy and Scooby spy some equipment nearby. It looks like an X-Ray machine, the kind you would find in airport security to check the contents of bags, but this machine has a different function. It’s a wrapping machine and it apparently runs on magic. When an item goes through it comes out on the other side fully wrapped. Shaggy even demonstrates its magic with a yo-yo as when the toy goes through it’s wrapped, but when it returns to him it’s unwrapped! Shaggy and Scooby seem entertained by this device, but when they peer in for a closer look they don’t notice the bicycle on the conveyor belt behind them. We then cut back to the mayor explaining more about the situation to Fred, Velma, and Daphne. As he starts to mention the development of the star for the town tree, Shaggy and Scooby ride by on the bicycle only they’re completely covered in wrapping paper. The others just look at them in confusion, but no one mentions what they all saw. Instead, the mayor explains that the man in charge of creating the star keeps taking it back for revisions. Fred declares this a mysterious act and is eager to investigate it as a Christmas mystery! Velma just snaps at him to knock it off as the mystery they have to solve is the pterodactyl which Fred has already conceded is not a Christmas mystery! Fred acknowledges this, but says it’s all pointing them in one direction.

The Big Sad Eyes Orphanage! We cut to the same scene of the gang standing outside of it only now Velma is insisting, “No! No! No!” As she and Fred resume their argument about the mystery they’re trying to solve, Scooby starts sniffing around the grounds of the orphanage. He raises his head to reveal a red bow is stuck to it and Fred pounces. This is the first Christmas related clue they’ve found, which just prompts Velma to point out their mystery has nothing to do with Christmas and therefore this is no clue! On the contrary, there are more ribbons just like the one that got stuck to Scooby’s nose and as the gang follows the trail it’s Shaggy who notices that the Mystery Machine isn’t where they parked it. They look around and suddenly the van drops from the sky in pieces! The pterodactyl then swoops in and grabs both Scoob and Daphne! As it flies away, Daphne can be heard yelling, “Worst birthday ever!”

Fred instructs the others to get in what remains of the Mystery Machine. They speed off after the dinosaur and as they do we get to hear what sounds like an instrumental rendition of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” but with a Christmas vibe. It’s good chase music as Fred and the others speed after the death bird in what is now basically a convertible. They find the streets are too crowded to proceed though, so Fred snatches a sled from some kid and they commandeer a horse. Velma and Fred ride on the horse itself as it pulls the sled with Shaggy standing on it through the streets. Along the way, the pterodactyl knocks over a lighted Christmas display that features two novelty candy canes with a wreath between them. Fred grabs one of the candy canes and the wire affixed to it and uses it like a grappling hook to grab the pterodactyl’s neck. Bad move, as now Velma and Fred get pulled into the air and Shaggy nearly collides with a truck! He avoids it on his sleigh, but winds up going airborne and the whole gang ends up on a giant, inflatable, Santa which is from earlier in the episode. The pterodactyl collides with the big novelty decoration causing it to deflate. The gang, including Daphne and Scoob, safely descend back to ground level while the pterodactyl, once again, heads towards the moon.

The gang, tired and bruised, are left sitting on the curb feeling like they blew it. Fred finally admits that his search for a Christmas miracle has done nothing but harm to their cause and declares it’s his fault Christmas is ruined. Daphne adds that he’s also ruined her birthday, in case he needed to feel worse. While they mope, a grumpy guy named Alistair Levinthal (Bennett) calls out from a shop just behind them asking what they did to his store? Velma tells him it was the pterodactyl, but the guy can’t be bothered as he needs to finish the star for the tree. This piece of information rekindles Fred’s holiday spirit as he stands up and declares he’s going to follow a star to solve this mystery. As he does, he’s once again bathed in light and accompanied by music thanks to George. The group heads inside the shop to question this Alistair fellow about his work. Turns out, he hates Christmas since it falls on him to design a lot of the town’s decorations. Velma points out he’s redesigned the star numerous times lately and he chalks it up to the mayor not sharing the dimensions of the tree accurately for him to design a star for. He adds that the mayor will be surprised once he gets a look at what he’s come up with this year which prompts Velma and Fred to share a knowing glance with each other. They leave the shop with some sense of renewed determination, though Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne aren’t really sure what’s going on. Fred vows to save Christmas and as he does he stands in front of a painted tree on a storefront window. He takes on his epiphany pose, but George wasn’t ready and comes running over and upset with himself for missing his cue. Fred tells him not to worry, he improvised, and the others reassure George as well. How nice of them?

We then cut to the center of town and the giant Christmas tree which awaits its proper coronation. The massive star is bolted to the top and the mayor is given the okay to light it up. He does and the star is a truly magnificent sight, but immediately upon lighting it seems to draw the attention of an uninvited guest. The pterodactyl comes soaring in and grabs the star ripping the tree from the ground. As it takes off, the gang comes flying up behind it in the somehow still functioning Mystery Machine! As they chase after the pterodactyl, Fred’s focus is broken-up by Daphne slapping a red party hat on his head followed by a clown wig and red nose on Scooby. This is her last chance to celebrate, apparently. Fred refocuses on the pterodactyl and they’re able to speed in front of it. Daphne then proposes they stop the beast in its tracks with her preferred celebration: silly string! It looks just as cheap as before as the crew sprays the dinosaur in the face. It drops the tree, which manages to end up right where it belongs, but the Mystery Machine is damaged and finds itself in a dive bomb. Scooby reminds Fred about the treadmill, and as he turns to regard him his face smashes into Daphne’s cake giving him a Santa-like “beard” to go with his red, party, hat. Scooby and Shaggy jump onto the treadmill and start running which fires the engines back up allowing Fred to avert total catastrophe. As they level off, they pass in front of the full moon and I’m counting it. Moon shot! They come to a screeching halt on a nearby rooftop prompting a kid on the ground to ask “Santa?” The Mystery Machine slides off of the roof, but the whole crew pops up out of a snowbank triumphantly seemingly unhurt.

With the tree returned and all of the presents seemingly saved, all that’s left is to unmask the individuals behind this heinous crime against Christmas. The pterodactyl is all wrapped up and tangled in Christmas lights from crashing into them and is seemingly no longer a threat as the mayor, some cops, and the mystery gang gather round. The mayor thanks the kids for saving Christmas from a pterodactyl, but he’s told that’s no pterodactyl. A door on the beast pops open and inside is David! The assistant dressed as an elf from the dig site! Velma explains that it was David who discovered the preserved egg and tried to steal it for himself. He took it to city hall to disguise it as a Christmas present via the wrapping machine, but it ended up getting mixed up with the actual gifts for the tree, so he came up with a scheme to steal all of the presents to find it. And to do that, he needed help from someone mechanically inclined: Alistair Leventhal! Leventhal wanted out of town, so he agreed to help David for a cut of the proceeds once the egg was sold. This required him to redesign the star to David’s exact specifications so he could steal the tree.

With the mystery solved, it’s now time to haul away the bad guys. David gets the honor of saying the “And we would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you,” but Levinthal cuts him off by saying, “Oh, be quiet! We didn’t!” Now the orphans can have their presents, but there’s one kid (Griffin) who can’t seem to find his. It’s the same kid who was looking at the gang from inside the orphanage earlier, and Fred walks up and hands the boy a gift. Their eyes meet, both welling with tears, and Shaggy and Scoob embrace each other as they watch. The kid opens the present to find a giant egg! His demeanor shifts as he announces his gift in a deadpan manner adding, “You really know kids.” Fred is completely unphased while Shaggy and Scooby sob with joy. Velma points out that’s the missing pterodactyl egg and the mayor comes over to declare that since it was found on orphanage land that it’s the orphanage that should benefit from its sale. He even declares that they saved the orphanage! Velma can only muster a “You gotta be kidding me,” while Fred looks rather proud of himself. Meanwhile, the kid still looks irritated by his crappy gift.

Fred announces that he couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas gift than this. The mayor then adds that since they saved Christmas they get to be the guests of honor at the Christmas feast. We then pan to find Shaggy and Scooby already devouring a bunch of food. Scooby, with a mouthful, seems to say his catchphrase and the mayor indicates he has no idea what the dog just said. Shaggy translates for him by saying Scooby said, “We’re way ahead of you!” Fred then puts an arm around Daphne and announces that there’s only one thing left for them to do: Everybody joined together in song! Daphne looks unsure of this suggestion as the others return to frame and start singing. The song is “Happy Birthday to Daphne” sung to the tune of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” The song is literally just “Happy birthday, Daphne,” only they add a third syllable to her name making it “Daph-ah-nee.” The towns people also join together and they all sing the song and Daphne actually looks pleased by this development. When the song is over, Fred adds a final, “Happy birthday, Daphne.” She smiles and says, “Aww, thanks guys. And merry Christmas!” The camera pans up to the sky and this one is through.

I knew those crafty kids would solve the mystery and save Christmas, I just don’t know why it took them almost 50 years to do it! Actually, I think there’s been other Christmas specials featuring Scooby-Doo and the rest, but this is the first one I’ve seen. Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! isn’t the most visually impressive show, but it’s far from ugly. It’s bright, colorful, and there’s plenty of Christmas décor to find in this one. The personalities of the gang we know so well are largely intact, but I enjoyed Fred’s dedication to Christmas and the conflict this seemed to create between he and Velma. Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby, the supposed star of the show, were surprisingly understated throughout this one. Daphne just had her birthday bit to stick to and it’s pretty much all she does while Scooby and Shaggy feel like they’re just along for the ride. I was surprised there wasn’t a concerted effort to give the pair funny lines or some humorous physical comedy bits, but really all they got was the brief interaction with the wrapping machine. Scooby barely has any lines and contributes very little to the plot. I don’t know if that’s how most episodes are or if this is an outlier. It certainly caught me off-guard.

Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing for Scooby to have a reduced role in this episode. Fred was basically the star with Velma his sidekick, to a point. It worked as I found him funny enough and I enjoyed seeing Velma push back on him. I like that he wasn’t made to be some idiot oblivious to the real issue, he just rejected it. The repeating bit with George was okay, but the repeating gag with the group returning to the orphanage over and over was better. I also enjoyed the absurdity of a pterodactyl terrorizing a town at Christmas. I don’t know how the Scooby-Doo faithful received this show, but it was a lot better than any of the stuff I grew up with. The only thing I found weird or wasn’t convinced was a great idea was the high-tech approach to the Mystery Machine. Do we really need that? I guess it makes things different, but it makes the group feel like an Inspector Gadget clone.

I can see the mystery component of the show being something hardcore Scooby fans might not be impressed with. It certainly wasn’t impressive in this episode, but I also think this show is aiming to make you laugh, not necessarily make you think. Our only clue that David was involved was pretty circumstantial at best. He was connected to city hall and the dig site and the only such character with a connection to both and our only clue the two were even connected were the bows Scooby found outside. Unless you want to count Fred forcing the issue of bringing Christmas into the mystery. The show made sure to point out that those bows were for gift wrapping and we saw the wrapping machine at city hall itself. Leventhal being involved was certainly not a surprise as he was angry and an inventor and I think the show expected the viewers to know he was at least partly responsible. Some modern Scooby shows have been willing to turn to real, supernatural, beings, but I figured this pterodactyl wasn’t an example of such a thing meaning it had to be a robot of some kind. It’s fine, I guess. Mysteries are hard to write and I can’t imagine needing to do 26 of them for a season of television so I’m not going to harp on it any further, but I’m also not a hardcore Scooby fan.

Given my experience with the Scooby-Doo franchise up until now, I suppose I can consider this episode of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! a pleasant surprise considering I enjoyed my time with it. It’s not a classic, but it’s a worthy watch and it gives a venerable character like Scooby-Doo a legitimately good Christmas special, something more famous and better cartoon stars can’t say. If you would like to watch this one it was released on DVD some time ago. Despite probably being out of print, it’s not an expensive buy and you can get Season One Part One or Part Two for 10 bucks most places. There are digital versions available as well, and it is streaming on the Max platform and might be on Boomerang as well. Unfortunately, like most Warner owned specials, it doesn’t get shown on Cartoon Network much which should be able to provide a massive, Christmas, blow-out every year, but chooses not to. When will they learn?