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Supernatural: Scoobynatural

"Beyond weird is kinda our thing."

I wasn't sure I was on board with the idea of an animated episode. But I have to admit that it was really, really good.

Loved the set-up in particular, with the exploding possessed green dinosaur. They didn't spend a lot of time trying to make it logical for the boys to end up in a cartoon – they just did it with a cursed object in a flat-screen. It made sense in a Supernatural kind of way. They even stayed consistent with the rules about playing their parts, like they did in "Changing Channels."

I'm completely unfamiliar with Scooby Doo. Maybe I had a deprived childhood. But the Scooby stuff was pretty easy to follow even without knowing the characters and storyline. I particularly liked the chicken race with Baby versus the Mystery Machine, the French farce door sequence, the soap slide to the washing machine, and the way the salt circle looked.

And, of course, the sandwiches.


And of course, that Dean decided to just go with being a cartoon, while Sam couldn't stop expressing his exasperation. Castiel was more bemused by the entire experience, which was just like Castiel.

The real conflict, and I loved how they did this, was how Dean and Sam found themselves trying to protect the innocent cartoon characters of Scooby Doo from the bloody, tragic, evil world of Supernatural, and sadly, not succeeding. The knowledge of sex pretty much went from Daphne completely oblivious to all of Dean's come ons and telling him that boys and girls don't sleep together, to Velma outright crushing on Sam and his shoulders. (I crush on Sam and his shoulders, too.) The violence progressed from finding actual dead bodies in pieces, to Fred's bloody nose, to Shaggy breaking his arm. Understandably, the boys became worried that the members of the Scooby gang could actually die because of them.

The solution to the mystery was a perfect fit, too: that it was the ghost of a child exploited by a "shady real estate developer" who was trying to buy out the pawn shop. It fit into the theme of innocent childhood turning into tragic adulthood, and it was sad in the way Supernatural is often sad. (It was also sad that Dean put so much fruitless effort into creating a TV room in the bunker.)

And yet, there was the little bit of joy of seeing Dean wearing a red ascot. Dean's opinion of Fred changed. Maybe Dean appreciates innocence a little more now.


Bits:

— Special cartoon credits. Of course.

— According to IMDb, there were only 25 episodes of the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You? (1969-1970). Dean noticed that they were in a specific episode called "A Night of Fright is No Delight," which IMDb lists as the highest rated episode of the series.

— For some reason, I was tickled the most by Dean in a nightie and Sam in pajamas. And the two of them arming everyone from Baby's trunk.

— Lots of Colonel Sanders jokes these days. I really like how the Supernatural writers have gone with the negative fan perception of Asmodeus instead of constantly trying to counter it.

— The animation wasn't at all like the anime version of Supernatural. For what it's worth.

— Note the ambiguous reference to the Trickster. Dead. Or is he? When's he comin' back? Huh? I'm waiting!

Quotes:

Sam: "Sorry about the mess."
Pawnshop guy: "You boys just took down an evil plushie that was trying to kill me. We're all good."

Sam: "Defective product. Sometimes the batteries in these... giant... stuffed... dinosaurs just explode."
Dean: "Yeah. Never buy anything from Moosylvania."
Moosylvania?

Dean: "We go to spooky places, we solve mysteries, we fight ghosts."
Sam: "Except our ghosts don't wear masks. And we don't have a talking dog."
Dean: "I don't know. I mean, Cas is kind of like a talking dog."

Dean: "They don't know that they're in a... C-word."

Velma: "Jinkies."
Daphne: "Jeepers."
Shaggy: "Zoinks."
Scooby: "Ruh-roh."
Dean: "Son of a bitch."

Castiel: "I'm back from Syria with fruit from the Tree of Life. The Tree was guarded by a pack of djinn. I killed most of them, bargained with the rest. I think I'm technically married to their queen now."

Dean: "It doesn't matter if we die. Scooby Doo could die. And that's not happening, not on my watch. I'd take a bullet for that dog."

Shaggy: "Castiel? It sounds like a great Italian pizza place."

Dean: "I should've known Velma was good to go. It's always the quiet ones."

Jay: "I would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"

The writers, producers, director, animators, they got it just right. Four out of four Scooby snacks,

Billie
---
Billie Doux has been reviewing Supernatural for so long that Dean and Sam Winchester feel like old friends. Courageous, adventurous, gorgeous old friends.

18 comments:

  1. FWIW

    Moosylvania is a fictional island and micronation located in the Lake of the Woods along the Canada–United States border that served as a plot device in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moosylvania

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  2. "Note the ambiguous reference to the Trickster. Dead. Or is he? When's he comin' back? Huh? I'm waiting!"

    Isn't Asmodeus holding Gabriel in a cell? I'm pretty sure we saw that a couple episodes ago. Or is my medication messing with my brain?

    Anyway, great review of an offbeat episode.

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    1. Yes, Asmodeus has Gabriel with his mouth stitches shut in a cell somewhere.

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  3. So that's Moosylvania. Thanks so much!

    Isn't Asmodeus holding Gabriel in a cell? I'm pretty sure we saw that a couple episodes ago. Or is my medication messing with my brain?

    Yes, that's where he is. But that's all we've gotten! I'm waiting. :)

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  4. Supernatural has to be the most ballsy show ever...Every season they present a great premise and main plot only to abandon it for episodes at a time...But never fear because they almost always deliver excellent standalones.
    I was fuming they gave us no more forward momentum on Gabriel, Jack, Mary, Lucifer after such brilliant cliffhangers yet i was completely distracted by how good this mostly pointless episode was.
    Supernatural will live on for seasons yet.

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  5. Only supernatural could do this!!! Amazing!!!

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  6. About the conflict ofthe ep - it was so well put! Couldn't have expressed it better.

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  7. Great episode the scene when they captured the ghost and then the Scooby gang LOST IT AND FREAKED OUT was brilliant and depressing at the same time

    Also Dean saying Scooby's line was just lame but in a good way

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  8. Anybody else notice the scrappy doo cameo during the chase scene? This episode was awesome

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    Replies
    1. I thought I saw scrappy doo! Cute but honestly the little dog wasn't my favorite.

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  9. Am I the only one who's been creeped out because of Dean's behavior? It's supposed to be funny, but sadly it's not. 40 year old dude hitting on 16 year old girl. But mostly I like this episode. It's pretty good.

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  10. I'd stopped watching this show back in season 11, but I had to come back for this one. Supernatural is at at best when they take the challenge of turning a ridiculous premise into a pretty great episode. I'm thinking about picking it up again!

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  11. For those of you who missed (the original) Scooby Doo as a kid...they nailed it. I loved the Velma: "Jinkies."
    Daphne: "Jeepers."
    Shaggy: "Zoinks."
    Scooby: "Ruh-roh."
    Dean: "Son of a bitch."

    PERFECT.

    Sooze

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  12. This was a great episode.

    The review was a perfect dessert.

    Yes, Dean is creepy but I’m willing to be flexible. After all Daphne was 16 when he was 6. But yes, he’s getting older and he’s struggling to recognize this and I’d love it to be an episode between him and Rowena where he has to face this deadon.

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  13. The only series that I would imagine crossing-over with Scooby is of course Buffy, they were ven nicknamed the scooby gang. But Supernatural did it great. Made me totally forget the season main plot. :)

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  14. I am shocked that Sam’s line of “we saved the world...a lot” wasn’t mentioned here! It’s on Buffy’s tombstone, for crying out loud! Off topic, my son tried to make the case that since SMG played Daphne in the live action movies, that meant that all three shows share a universe and Sam is actually quoting her tombstone. I think that is far fetched and it was more likely a reference to the Scooby Gang instead.

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  15. Actually, I was uncomfortable with this episode. Yes, the "Jinkies" to "Son of a Bitch" line was funny, (the funniest line of the episode) but I ride the fence on taking the show seriously and any show where they rip down the fourth wall makes me cringe, even as I'm peeping out from behind my fingers. (Cheers, by the way, to the Supernatural family for not taking *itself* too seriously!) I loved Dean's protective stance toward the innocence of the characters, although I would loop it around to Dean protecting some shredded vestige of his own innocence. I guess on some level, my cringing at the show is me protecting my own childhood innocence. I do love how this show, even at it's "iffy-est" keeps making me think. Great comments everyone! You all help me analyze this stuff beautifully.

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  16. Loved the episode and of course cried when Dean shows his sadness at losing a bit more of childhood "normal", crushed my heart. I loved Castial lines from start to finish and the show did a fabulous job of blending old style with Supernatural style. I rate it 10 out of 10 Scooby-Doo snacks!

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