For some reason I have really fond memories of this and...totally blocked Scrappy out of them.

Again, like Ghoul School and the Reluctant Werewolf, this is when they scaled back on the Puppy Power and made Scrappy somewhat less annoying.

It's not all bad.

As a child the main source of humor came from how obvious the exterminators were...and as an adult the main source of humor comes from, well, it comes from how obvious the exterminators are.

Imagine yourself in a collegian recreational state of mind watching a kids cartoon and screaming at the TV because the characters are missing what is blatantly obvious.

It's kinda sorta just like that...but in a fun way...because with the odd exception, Scooby Doo is still fun.

A feature length spin-off from the classic cartoon series, in which Shaggy discovers that his uncle Colonel Beauregard has died and left him his country estate, which is apparently frequented by ghosts. Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy head for the estate in order to claim Shaggy's inheritance. However, on their arrival they are pursued by a headless horseman and by the alleged ghost of the Colonel who taunts them telling to leave or else. Meanwhile, they meet the creepy manservant Farquard who tells them that a vast fortune in jewels is hidden somewhere on the estate and that its rightfully his and that Shaggy has no business there. Intrigued, the gang decide to hunt down the jewels much to Farquard's chagrin and the local Sheriff who is on the trail of an escaped circus ape is skeptical about the jewels' existence. They follow the trail through a number of clues that the Colonel has hidden for them, but their progress is interrupted by a number of ghostly apparitions that include living skeletons, headless corpses and the ghostly Colonel. In order to exorcise the ghosts they call upon the "Boo Brothers", three bumbling ghost hunters who have a novelty - they're ghosts themselves! Is Beauregard Manor really haunted or are the ghosts created by someone who is out to get the treasure for themselves? There are plenty of suspects including Farquard and the late Colonel's neighbour Billy Bob whose family has been rivaling with the Beauregard family for generations.

SCOOBY DOO MEETS THE BOO BROTHERS is an excellent extension of the classic cartoon series. The animation is up to standard and Shaggy and Scooby are as lovable and as cowardly as ever. Shaggy is quick to say yikes whenever something supernatural happens and Scooby leaps for cover under Shaggy's t-shirt. As ever, Scrappy the smallest of the two dogs is always full of courage and can't wait to knock the ghosts for six. The film also pulls every hokey haunted house thriller cliché in the book including the moving eyes in the Colonel's self-portrait in the drawing room and bookcases crammed with dusty old hardback books open to reveal secret passages and creepy attics. The premise may be childish as one would expect of a kids TV programme, but this is more distinguished in that it manages to lay down a genuine creepy atmosphere, which manages to compete with the more adult ghost stories through its dark animation and mood music. Kids will get plenty of laughs as well as a few mild scares and adults will probably have a blast too!

This entry suffers from the presence of Scrappy. It was made in the mid-eighties when Scrappy was at the height (!) of his fame (?). He doesn't do much in this so it's not that bad. The story is about Shaggy (minus the rest of Mystery Inc.) being left a spooky mansion house in his uncles will. Conveniently said mansion is in the middle of a creepy swampland in the Deep South. The kind of place where there are always eyes watching from the trees.

As soon as he arrives, Shaggy has to deal with an annoying southern stereotype sheriff, a weirdo butler who wants to get his hands on the old uncle's hidden treasure, hickabilly neighbors and the ghost of his uncle telling to leave (then why did he give him the house?). There is also an escaped ape on the loose but even though only Scooby sees him (Shaggy doesn't believe it) he's just a big, cuddly monkey who wants to play.

The Boo Brothers are basically ghost versions of the Three Stooges. They're listed in the phone book as being experts in the busting of ghosts. This isn't a job they do well though, so Shaggy's payment at the end is a bit too generous.

There are some laughs to be had and the plot is mildly interesting but too many running jokes are just plain bad. The hillbilly neighbor joke becomes very boring and could have been done without. The animation is a bit dated, though it has enough modern touches (lens flares in car lights) to distract you from it. And I like the dark, decaying atmosphere of the swampland. The color pallet is mostly made up of dark blues and purples (the story takes place all in one night) and the backgrounds are not as generic as the earlier, cheaper TV shows.

For the average fan this is a worthy effort though I would just catch it on the Cartoon Network instead of forking over the cash, unless you're a Scooby completist.

The DVD is in 1.33:1 full frame, as drawn, with a Dolby Mono soundtrack that is unsophisticated but workable. The Region 2 release comes in a sturdy Keep Case but the Region 1 is still in a cruddy snapper. Extras are minimal childish fluff.