Hanna-Barbera's insane (in number and concept) Scooby-Doo copycats - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

zombi2 · 11-22-2021, 06:43 AM

HB sure loved this concept of gimmicky characters (usually an animal, but not always) helping teens fight crimes/solve mysteries. Scooby-Doo alone has had multiple series but on top of that HB went to this well at least 20 TIMES by the early 1980s with other characters!

I first saw these on Twitter but the threads/branches are really hard to follow so I compiled them on imdb. You'd think that rehashing this concept so much must mean it worked for them, but did it? It doesn't look like a lot of these were very successful, lasting only a season or two.

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls507262382/

The nadir of these, at least as far as blatant thievery goes, must be Goober and the Ghost Chasers. If you've never seen the intro, it's so brazen and on-the-nose it's hard to believe it's even real...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_kqX5AEMY

merlinjones · 12-28-2021, 12:12 PM

Josie and the Pussycats is right up there with the original Scooby Doo, Where are You? The rest...

Videoranger007 · 01-09-2022, 03:54 PM

If the shoe fits......

H-B perfected the teens with animal sidekick/maybe a talking dune buggy/maybe politically incorrect stereotype family solving mysteries together formula.

Clue Club and Goober and the Ghost Chasers are basically Scooby Doo recycled to a T.

VHS Collectorkyle · 02-23-2022, 07:08 PM

It's funny how HB went out of their way to make ripoffs of their own show. It's one of the only studios that ever did that. Most of the time it was other studios ripping off other shows but not Hanna Barbera.

But to me I'm glad that it happened. Just wished that Warner Bros. could try and do new stuff with those Scooby Doo ripoffs.

I would love to see new series of Josie and the Pussycats, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Speed Buggy, Funky Phantom, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels etc.

Yeah I know that Scooby is always going to make money (hell I LOVE the franchise and the characters) but I could see Warner doing some straight to DVD movies like they do with Scooby but with those shows instead.

Yeah it's hard to say if they would bring in the dough like Scooby Doo does but they could at least try.

I know the Flintstones and the Jetsons WWF movies didn't do well but they were still enjoyable to watch. I liked them. Yeah they weren't all great but I really enjoy seeing older franchise make a come back. (sorry didn't mean to try and take this over and make it a different thread altogether)

11-22-2021, 06:43 AM	#1
zombi2 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 18, 2013 Posts: 65	Hanna-Barbera's insane (in number and concept) Scooby-Doo copycats HB sure loved this concept of gimmicky characters (usually an animal, but not always) helping teens fight crimes/solve mysteries. Scooby-Doo alone has had multiple series but on top of that HB went to this well at least 20 TIMES by the early 1980s with other characters! I first saw these on Twitter but the threads/branches are really hard to follow so I compiled them on imdb. You'd think that rehashing this concept so much must mean it worked for them, but did it? It doesn't look like a lot of these were very successful, lasting only a season or two. https://www.imdb.com/list/ls507262382/ The nadir of these, at least as far as blatant thievery goes, must be Goober and the Ghost Chasers. If you've never seen the intro, it's so brazen and on-the-nose it's hard to believe it's even real... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_kqX5AEMY

01-09-2022, 03:54 PM	#3
Videoranger007 Member Forum Regular Join Date: May 02, 2016 Location: USA Posts: 606	If the shoe fits...... H-B perfected the teens with animal sidekick/maybe a talking dune buggy/maybe politically incorrect stereotype family solving mysteries together formula. Clue Club and Goober and the Ghost Chasers are basically Scooby Doo recycled to a T.
	__________________ King of Cartoons. Love Superhero and Sci-Fi live action series. Vintage Anime fan and collector of rare English dubbed anime!

12-28-2021, 12:12 PM	#2
merlinjones Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 30, 2019 Location: los ángeles Posts: 931	Josie and the Pussycats is right up there with the original Scooby Doo, Where are You? The rest...

02-23-2022, 07:08 PM	#4
VHS Collectorkyle Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 16, 2022 Location: Sweetwater Texas Posts: 36	It's funny how HB went out of their way to make ripoffs of their own show. It's one of the only studios that ever did that. Most of the time it was other studios ripping off other shows but not Hanna Barbera. But to me I'm glad that it happened. Just wished that Warner Bros. could try and do new stuff with those Scooby Doo ripoffs. I would love to see new series of Josie and the Pussycats, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Speed Buggy, Funky Phantom, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels etc. Yeah I know that Scooby is always going to make money (hell I LOVE the franchise and the characters) but I could see Warner doing some straight to DVD movies like they do with Scooby but with those shows instead. Yeah it's hard to say if they would bring in the dough like Scooby Doo does but they could at least try. I know the Flintstones and the Jetsons WWF movies didn't do well but they were still enjoyable to watch. I liked them. Yeah they weren't all great but I really enjoy seeing older franchise make a come back. (sorry didn't mean to try and take this over and make it a different thread altogether)