Most will undoubtedly know what famous film the episode title is referencing, Scooby Doo more than once referenced famous films and songs in its episode titles. "Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" was one of the earliest episodes of 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' (again didn't see them in order when seeing the show for the first time in single digits on Saturday morning television) seen and it left quite an impression on me first time, despite some of it confusing me.
On rewatches, "Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" still is a good outing for 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' although it is not one of the first season's best. Compared to the other seasons where it is just Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, it fares more than favourably. The pacing is not always there and one character annoys me (some younger viewers may find parts of the episode more complicated than needed), but the villain and the atmosphere still win me over. It is also one of those episodes that is better from an adult perspective.
"Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" has a lot of good things. The animation has some nice contrast of colour, lively detail and good atmosphere, especially later on. The setting is very creepy in atmosphere and in the animation and is used very well. The music has a good amount of character and atmosphere throughout, with familiar themes well used and not repetitious. The alien is a good villain, if not one of my favourites of 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo', the design is freaky and personality wise the alien lives up to the look. The dialogue is amusing and Shaggy and Scooby bring a smile to my face. The voice acting is good, particularly from Casey Kasem and Don Messick.
The ending is clever, the perpetrator didn't leave me completely floored but actually it wasn't obvious as the episode did well in making me think for a while that it was someone else. How everything is done by the alien is incredibly clever and actually came over as surprising and more complex than usual. One of the main reasons as to why "Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" comes over better at an older age is that when younger some of the revelations confused me, which is thankfully not so much now. The beginning immediately grabs the attention from the get go, with a cool retro chase that makes one nostalgic for the action genre films from that decade.
By all means, "Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" isn't perfect. Scrappy's puppy power catchphrase and the mistaken identity running gag has already started to grate and became completely stale by the end of the season. His over-eagerness and abrasiveness are still overdone.
Pacing is also not always secure, some of the middle drags and a little on the bland side.
Concluding, not great but nicely done on the whole. 7/10.
On rewatches, "Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" still is a good outing for 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo' although it is not one of the first season's best. Compared to the other seasons where it is just Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, it fares more than favourably. The pacing is not always there and one character annoys me (some younger viewers may find parts of the episode more complicated than needed), but the villain and the atmosphere still win me over. It is also one of those episodes that is better from an adult perspective.
"Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" has a lot of good things. The animation has some nice contrast of colour, lively detail and good atmosphere, especially later on. The setting is very creepy in atmosphere and in the animation and is used very well. The music has a good amount of character and atmosphere throughout, with familiar themes well used and not repetitious. The alien is a good villain, if not one of my favourites of 'Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo', the design is freaky and personality wise the alien lives up to the look. The dialogue is amusing and Shaggy and Scooby bring a smile to my face. The voice acting is good, particularly from Casey Kasem and Don Messick.
The ending is clever, the perpetrator didn't leave me completely floored but actually it wasn't obvious as the episode did well in making me think for a while that it was someone else. How everything is done by the alien is incredibly clever and actually came over as surprising and more complex than usual. One of the main reasons as to why "Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" comes over better at an older age is that when younger some of the revelations confused me, which is thankfully not so much now. The beginning immediately grabs the attention from the get go, with a cool retro chase that makes one nostalgic for the action genre films from that decade.
By all means, "Strange Encounters of the Scooby Kind" isn't perfect. Scrappy's puppy power catchphrase and the mistaken identity running gag has already started to grate and became completely stale by the end of the season. His over-eagerness and abrasiveness are still overdone.
Pacing is also not always secure, some of the middle drags and a little on the bland side.
Concluding, not great but nicely done on the whole. 7/10.
