A couple of weeks ago, I went to see the Harlem Globetrotters for the
first time. They're regular visitors to the area, showing up about once a
year to entertain crowds of kids in the middle of winter. I decided it
was time to get in on the action. Then, as a way of extending my
basketball wizardry experience, I hopped onto Netflix, hoping to rent The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island. Alas, I had no luck in that department but stumbled upon something else potentially promising: Scooby-Doo Meets the Harlem Globetrotters.
There was a time when I watched Scooby-Doo fairly regularly with my
brother. We watched it largely because it was so corny, and we got a
kick out of making fun of it. This collection of two 40-minute-long
Scooby-Doo cartoons is every bit as ridiculous as I expected. Both
involve a chance encounter between Scooby's gang and the Globetrotters
that lands them in a haunted mansion. Of course, neither house is
actually haunted; there's always a perfectly logical explanation for
everything that initially appears to be supernatural activity. But a
spooky old house is a Scooby standard, so it's not surprising to find
one in both episodes.
Other recurring elements: Shaggy (Casey
Kasem) and Scooby (Don Messick) stuffing themselves, Fred (Frank Welker)
making pointless observations, Velma (Nicole Jaffe) scolding Shaggy and
Scooby for their silliness and Daphne (Heather North) not doing much of
anything. And, because of the special guests, both episodes feature the
Harlem Globetrotters doing fancy tricks with their ever-present
basketballs. There are half a dozen team members that meet up with the
gang, the most striking of whom are the effeminate-sounding Bobby Joe
(Eddie Anderson) and the bald Curly (Stu Gilliam), whose abrasive voice
reminds me of Gilbert Gottfried. Meadowlark (Scatman Crothers) seems to
be the most level-headed of the bunch and tends to assume the leadership
role among them.
The Mystery of Haunted Island is the
more outlandish of the two tales. In this episode, Team Scooby and the
Globetrotters bump into each other at an abandoned shack (where Fred is
convinced they will find a can of gas for their car and a working
telephone). The Globetrotters have a big game tomorrow but accept the
gang's invitation to join the for lunch on Picnic Island. Except the
boat they board doesn't take them to Picnic Island. No, instead they
wind up on Haunted Island, after a long trip with only themselves as
crew. It's already dark, so the picnic idea is out the window and all
anybody is interested in is finding a place to sleep. Cue creepy
mansion.
This episode is one of the more ridiculous Scooby-Doo
episodes I can remember seeing, particularly once we find out who is
causing all the strange happenings on Haunted Island and why. It's
completely convoluted, an elaborate series of circumstances orchestrated
as a very complicated solution to a simple problem. Unlike in most
Scooby episodes, there's a fair bit of story left after the unmasking of
the villains, and this part is probably the most entertaining aspect of
the episode, as it allows the Globetrotters to really show off all
their fancy tricks in some creative ways. The good-natured guys are fun
to watch throughout, whether they're all huddled together under the
covers hiding from spooks or ransacking a library looking for a secret
exit, but they're most in their element in the last few minutes.
Loch Ness Mess
is a much more typical episode. Shaggy and his friends are off to see
his uncle in rural Massachusetts. On their way there, they stumble upon
the Globetrotters, who are having a roadside barbecue. The sleuths load
up on hot dogs and burgers and invite the guys to join them for some
R&R at Shaggy's uncle's expansive farmhouse. Before they get there,
they encounter ghosts in Revolutionary garb who warn them to stay away.
Later, a trip to the lake brings them face to face with a Loch
Ness-style sea serpent. Who are this mysterious beings, and what do they
want? The solution this time around makes more sense; the downside is
that the opportunities for the Globetrotters to do their tricks are more
limited.
Included on this disc are a couple of uninspiring
extras. One is a music video about Scooby taking on Hollywood, and it's
sung by Shaggy, whose voice seems even creakier when he's attempting
(poorly) to carry a tune. Less grating but barely worth accessing is a
game promising some fancy Globetrotters antics if you follow a series of
hints about the direction in which the featured player should toss his
ball next. There are only a few panels, and they're completely
two-dimensional, so it's hard to get too excited about a freeze frame
that doesn't so much resemble fancy basketball-playing as one of those Family Circus strips in which Billy wanders all around the neighborhood, with dotted lines indicating the path he has taken.
Renting Scooby-Doo Meets the Harlem Globetrotters
was a fun addendum to my evening, but it really is woefully silly. If
you're a Scooby fan, it's pretty typical stuff, but if you haven't
acquired a taste for his show, you might just find this collection a bit
too much to take.
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