S13.E16: ScoobyNatural

[Wayward Son]

Quote

“JINKIES! “SUPERNATURAL” GETS ANIMATED WHEN SAM, DEAN AND CASTIEL ARE TRANSPORTED INTO THE WORLD OF SCOOBY DOO – Sam (Jared Padalecki), Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins) are transported into the animated world of Scooby Doo where they join forces with the Scooby gang to solve a ghostly mystery. Robert Singer directed the episode written by Jim Krieg & Jeremy Adams.

[sarthaz]

pleasedontsuck pleasedontsuck pleasedontsuck

[catrox14]

Edited March 29, 2018 by catrox14

[Casseiopeia]

#ScoobyNatural is trending #1 Worldwide so far.  Sadly not #Supernatural

 

Edited March 30, 2018 by Casseiopeia

[lovebug871]

???.  That is all i have to say so far.

[bethy]

I'm not sure red is your color, Dean. I still maintain that that ugly brown plaid shirt from Nightshifter is the best thing Dean's ever worn. Don't judge me.

I thought it was cute, overall. 

[gonzosgirrl]

Ah, I don't care about the dumb stuff - it was fun.

#Scoobynatural trended #1 the whole hour. I hope they count it for #Supernatural (which I never saw in the top ten)

[Lady Calypso]

So, I was a Scooby Doo fan as a kid. Maybe not the biggest fan, but I enjoyed watching the different variations. I thought they actually did a decent job with this crossover. Dean's giddiness over being in the Scooby Doo world was great. I totally get that they, then, needed Sam to play the straight-forward character, and it makes more sense for Dean to get caught up in the excitement. I wish Sam wasn't so straight-forward about everything, but I presume they're trying to dig into his depression arc more, along with needing Sam to keep Dean focused? But man, I wanted Sam to lighten up. 

I think they did a decent job balancing the Scooby world while still making it very Supernatural-esque. I knew it was going to be pure filler since they wrote this episode long before they started writing for this season. So the small live action scene to talk about what was going on in this season (the Tree of Life stuff) was kind of weirdly inserted, but understandable. 

I do think they went a bit overboard with both Sam and Dean, though. Halfway through, I was wondering why Dean was so nonchalant about being in the cartoon, and I also wondered why Sam was being so uptight in general about everything. He didn't even crack one smile. I thought they handled Cas ok. His comments did make me chuckle. I enjoyed Scooby and Shaggy being drawn to Cas because his name sounds like a pizza place. 

Dean flirting with Daphne worked well. Velma flirting with Sam...didn't work quite as well. Though I do think Dean getting the red ascot is way better than the kiss Velma gave Sam. 

I will admit that I got a stupid grin on my face when the Scooby theme song started playing. I also found myself laughing really hard at Shaggy's sudden burst of anger after he found out he broke his arm. I also laughed really hard at Fred being upset at his meaningless life before finding out about Sam and Dean. Man, the Supernatural things they brought into the Scooby world was great. 

Overall, I guess it was good. I'm not really sure. I loved some moments, and then got irritated by others. But overall, it didn't suck and I think it was done well enough for me to not outright hate it. Plus, no Mary or Lucifer, so that's a plus. It really was fun in the second half, more than the first half for me. I can't quite explain it; I guess once it started feeling more like a true Supernatural episode, it got good. 

[Bobcatkitten]

1 minute ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Ah, I don't care about the dumb stuff - it was fun.

#Scoobynatural trended #1 the whole hour. I hope they count it for #Supernatural (which I never saw in the top ten)

That was my worry the whole time. People tweeting with Scoobynatural won't count, I don't believe. 

[catrox14]

If I ignore Dean being stupid about Daphne and being jealous of Fred, that was okay and pretty fun.

Of course, Dean doesn't get a kiss and Sam does.

Can't believe they didn't have Dean say to Cas "No, I'm not a talking dog NOW but I was a couple of years ago"....

Dean just decided to pick up an ascot because Daphne likes them or because Fred wears one? I'm just sayin' that could be read either way. LOL

[Jediknight]

Holy crap, that was awesome.

Both Jensen and Jared were clearly having a blast, Jensen in particular.

Velma lived, she had a thing for Sam, and she lived.  It's a Scoobynatural miracle.

Dean got to say the Scooby line, they busted a real estate developer, and we got meddling kids.

[Jeddah]

Well, I loved it! I liked how excited Dean was. I liked how the Scooby Gang has their G rated catchphrases and then Dean had his classic “Son of a Bitch!” Dean also got bleeped! I always feel like the boys would swear a lot.

I liked Sam pointing out that the newspaper had no words.

But real Dean in the ascot was the best part.

[Katy M]

I liked it.  It was just fun.  My favorite cartoon meets my favorite show  

I remember Dean saying he had a thing for Daphne way back in Playthings.  And, when he was eating that giant sandwich I remembered how he said he needed a bigger mouth in Changing Channels.

I don't mind that Sam was grumpy the whole time.  That's kind of his thing with weird stuff.  He was pretty put out during all of Changing Channels whereas Dean was fangirling over Dr Sexy and eating huge sandwiches, and hooking up with bikini girls.  Totally in character for both of them, IMO.

Good to know Dean would take a bullet for Scooby, I guess, LOL.

I loved it when the villain was laughing maniacally and Dean told Sam he was the bad guy.  Yeah, duh, I think we all figured that out.

[SueB]

My thoughts (see TL;DR for summary):

Premise:
Kinda perfect.  Scooby Doo IS the cartoon ancestor for Supernatural.  And it’s still omnipresent. The poor ghost kid trapped to do the shady real estate guy’s bidding pulling them into the TV makes sense.  Of course he’d pull them into Scooby Doo. I like they are consistently using purple for “magic”.

Production:
So VERY well done.  Blended Scooby Doo and Supernatural in all the right ways.  The Scooby writers are clearly fans. 

Characters:
Dean – this was really HIS episode IMO. These are his childhood heroes and they are SACRED to him.  And I love how he immediately went into cosplay mode.  I’d pay real money to see Jensen Ackles in a nightshirt too.  Dean’s ability to reconnect to his inner child is both believable and very poignant.  If you think about the constants in his life, Scooby Doo was definitely one of them.  And of COURSE he loves Daphne.  Dean’s always been able to just “roll with it” wherever he’s landed.  1940, prison, Jurassic World.  So hitting on his childhood crush, Daphne, makes perfect sense (see below).  I loved his running commentary about Fred.  And Fred was just a “good guy”.  Dean was right, however, Fred’s plans don’t work out. But does anyone else think that Weechester Dean evaluating Fred’s plans when he was young was part of how he got so good at tactical thinking?  I do.  I can see so much Scooby Doo influence on Dean’s character (even though that was never part of the story until now, it fits perfectly IMO). 

Dean & Daphne - Dean doesn’t get that Daphne is a little two-dimensional when it comes to men. She’s with Fred. That’s frankly a large part of her character.  He’ll drop the ascot when the nostalgia wears off.  For now, I thought his crush was kinda sweet.

Sam – LOVED the running commentary on the plot holes of Scooby Doo. “Do these kids always leave dead bodies just lying around?”  But Dean had Sam’s number, he may not have every episode memorized but of COURSE he likes Scooby Doo. 

Cas – He turned out to be my favorite in this episode.  And his “Superman” moment! when he slows down Shaggy’s fall.  Just kinda perfect.  I loved his attachment to Shaggy and Scooby that was clearly forming as the episode continued.  Cas in his most sincere mode is always a hit with me. Plus he's now apparently married to the Queen of the D'jinn who manage the Tree of Life.  Someone write that fanfic now!

Velma – You go girl.  You give Sam a little kiss.  He DOES have big shoulders. 

Plot Points:
The Gang has an existential crisis – that was 6 kinds of perfect.  “Am I going to hell????!!??!?”  This moment was worth the whole episode.  This is why Kripke called the episode a bit subversive.  It really was.  Seeing them on the brink of emotional breakdown and how easy they fell for the “corn syrup” story was just what you would EXPECT (if cartoons could suddenly be real).  I mean, think about it.  Dean could unhinge his jaw and eat a huge sandwich.  The “rules” of this universe/dimension/scenario are cartoon rules.  But of COURSE our heroes are going to make it all right again.  I fully believe Dean would take a bullet for Scooby – and Dean knows what that really feels like.  So making sure they “reset” these characters was essential.  I have no idea under what reality it would actually matter, but best not to chance it.  And I think the little ghost kid liked helping too.

It WAS the shady real estate developer!  Kudos to casting.  Did anyone NOT suspect him the minute he showed up with those cartoon-like eyes.  I haven’t seen eyes like that since Marty Feldman.

The Dean Cave, The Fortress of Deanitude: Yes. This. The bunker needs this room.  I LOVE nesting Dean.  Again, it reminds me that THIS is his home.  It’s not the “apple-pie life” but it’s a good life in Dean’s mind (if they can get Mary & Jack back, get rid of the Devil, and stop AU Michael from yet another apocalypse). 

Bits & Bobs:
- I thought the animation was great for the guys.  SO COOL to be turned into a cartoon.  Jared kept saying it was surreal.  I bet it really was.
- The “Scooby-Doo” from Dean at the end – too cheesy.  So I’ll ignore it.
- Couldn’t care less that Dean’s crush was not mutual.  She’s a cartoon, it’ll never work out.  But I loved the sincerity Dean felt towards these characters.
- NICE blending of Supernatural “shots” into a cartoon format.  The guy’s decapitated body looked like a ham … that was gross.  Well done!

Bottom Line for the TL; DR:  This was a great idea for an episode.  Once again they push the envelope on meta and I think it’s kinda brilliant. The cartoon premise worked out well. Scooby Doo and the gang as the heroes for Weechester Dean makes perfect sense.  Poignant how attached to them he was.  Loved Sam’s running commentary on the plot holes.  Sincere Cas is ALWAYS a great Cas to experience.  I’ll re-watch this episode a LOT. 

[Morrigan2575]

So much love! I'll be back with more after Arrow

[gonzosgirrl]

"We don't have a talking dog."

"Cas is kind of a talking dog."

Hehehe.

The only thing that bugged was Dean asking Daphne what she went for. Yeah, no, not Dean. Otherwise, it was mostly just fun. I hope Dean gets another TV for his man cave!

[MysteryGuest]

I was never a huge Scooby fan, but the episode was cute.  On the whole I think it worked, but I will be glad to get back to our regularly scheduled programing next week.  

[BoxManLocke]

As someone who as zero interest in Scooby-Doo I wasn't exactly hyped for this episode and I kind of zoned out a few times but it was okay. It pandered to scooby fans obviously and it did it well. It also provided an escape from the bloated, awfully-written black hole of gloominess that season 13 is. It was just simple and fun, two words that are completely lost to the SPN writers nowadays (that's especially true because it wasn't written by SPN writers).

I could have said I was disappointed they didn't take the opportunity to attach the ep to the main plot (Jack or Gabriel theoretically could have had the power to send the brothers to scooby land), but this season is such a giant steamy turd it's probably better that the episode gets to stand on its own and can be rewatched anytime without the baggage attached to it.

So yeah, I'm glad fans had a good time and that the episode did both scooby and SPN justice. I hope the show can go back to producing "normal" episode that are both fun and intense, but I'm not holding my breath.

[bettername2come]

That was beautiful. One of those rare, beautiful, late-season standalone episodes that reminds me why I've never fully quit this show. These ridiculous premises that work because they're true to character and the show's roots. Sympathetic victim of the week (pawn shop guy and the Scoobies), solid mystery, classic sympathetic child ghost, excellent use of Castiel, lovely Scoobyesque breakdown at the end, and the human villains are some of the scariest. Also loved Dean's speech about the Scooby gang being heroes and love that Castiel loved Scooby and Shaggy. And the Velma/Sam kiss was surprisingly fun. Love that she loved his shoulders. Nerd girls always like Sam. And by always, I mean Becky and Velma. And she kissed him without dying! The protection of being a cartoon character is strong. 

Called the guy at the beginning as a bad guy buying up the neighborhood, but failed to make the connection to Scooby Doo's crooked real estate developers. I am shamefaced.

Edited March 30, 2018 by bettername2come

[gonzosgirrl]

I missed the 'cameo'. Did you?

[SueB]

I missed it the first time too.  Glad I got to see it this time.  First I thought it was just Scooby and then rewound and saw the small body.

[Katy M]

I thought I saw Scrappy, but then I thought I was just imagining things.

[catrox14]

5 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

I missed the 'cameo'. Did you?

I missed it.

[gonzosgirrl]

I found Dean in his nightshirt and cap (and loving it) exceedingly hot. I have a problem.

[SueB]

3 minutes ago, catrox14 said:

I missed it.

It was a "blink and you miss it" thing.

[catrox14]

3 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

I found Dean in his nightshirt and cap (and loving it) exceedingly hot. I have a problem.

Dean does love a good cosplay. And yes it was hot.

[gonzosgirrl]

It's still trending #1 half way through the 9:00 EST hour - that never happens.

The Dean mischaracterizations do bug, but they were all having too much fun to get too mad about it. And I loved that he got to give the spirit-boosting speech to the gang.

[bozodegama]

Best episode of the season.  A classic one, finally.  Does anybody remember laughter?

[Lady Calypso]

28 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

I missed the 'cameo'. Did you?

I thought I saw Scrappy but I wasn't entirely positive.

[BoxManLocke]

10 minutes ago, bozodegama said:

Best episode of the season.  A classic one, finally.  Does anybody remember laughter?

I remember laughing over terrible writing a few times this season, does that count ?

[gonzosgirrl]

Still trending #1 at 10:00 pm

[SueB]

http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/29/supernatural-behind-the-scenes-scoobynatural/

Sneak peek at a BTS special available tomorrow. Jared is so right (IMO) about how well it works. "Supernatural: Scooby Doo for adults... and children" -- Jensen Ackles.

[TexasGal]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

I will admit that I got a stupid grin on my face when the Scooby theme song started playing.

Me too!  I maybe even clapped my hands like a giddy school girl when I saw Scrappy go running across the hallway.

[catrox14]

Look at this cutie pie. Gah. He's overwhelming in his cute hotness.

[Morrigan2575]

I LMAO when Scappy showed up.

[AwesomO4000]

I was glad they let Sam - finally - have a lighter moment at the end when I could tell that he thought that the experience was awesome. I loved the awed look on his face.

46 minutes ago, SueB said:

Sam – LOVED the running commentary on the plot holes of Scooby Doo. “Do these kids always leave dead bodies just lying around?”  But Dean had Sam’s number, he may not have every episode memorized but of COURSE he likes Scooby Doo. 

Hee. I liked all of this too. He just wouldn't be Sam unless he analyzed it.

As for Sam and Frozen, well - and this is probably blaspheme, but I've not seen it so I'm only going by the one song I know "Let it Go" but - of course Sam would turn his nose up I think. That's not Sam's kind of music. That's one of Dean's dichotomous choices (between classic rock and Air Supply / REO Speewagon.) I picture Sam being more of a Heavy Metal (for animation), or Tommy, maybe Jesus Christ Superstar kind of musical watcher. Or something a bit more surreal like The Wall.*** (I don't think Sam came up with his cover movie about a French mime who was really a giant cockroach (if I'm remembering that correctly) out of nowhere.) He'd maybe also like Rocky Horror... (it'd be in the Vince Vincente genre) but probably wouldn't admit it. I'd love to say "Little Shop of Horrors" - but that's just one of my favorites - but I think maybe the music's not quite esoteric enough in that one for Sam.

*** That movie was super trippy.

[Castiels Cat]

I was prepared to hate it. I really liked it.  

My only quibble was that I thought purple hoodoo  juice was the color of witches.

[bozodegama]

1 hour ago, BoxManLocke said:

I remember laughing over terrible writing a few times this season, does that count ?

It’s a Led Zeppelin reference, man.  Fanmous line from Zep movie and Alomost Famous.  But yeah, the writing has been bad this year.  This episode, though, was great.

[companionenvy]

Oh, that was fun. With the exception of  Sam being an uptight jackass for half of the episode, I loved it, even as someone with only passing knowledge of Scooby Doo. 

Beyond the obvious highlights, I thought there was something sort of moving in the clash between the absolute innocence of Scooby's world and the darkness of SPN. It was often played for laughs (i.e, Dean being bleeped, Fred noting that of course men and women were in different rooms, the Scooby gang's total breakdown when they realized what they were actually dealing with), but ultimately, Dean and Sam really did want to preserve the innocence of the gang. Their faces as they burned the child ghost brought home the gravity of what they had to do compared to the Scooby gang - but then, in a lovely touch, they actually do get to solve the case in more or less Scooby-Doo fashion, complete with getting the (shady real estate developing) perp arrested, rather than killed.

Also, you know, their animated selves got to run around while a ghost chased them to the Scooby theme music. I mean really, who could ask for more? 

-

[Res]

While it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, it was mostly what I thought it would be and, per usual since Dabb took over, it was meh. 

They did do a decent job of making it work so that it wasn't too off book and the set up was plausible for it all to work but that was about it for me.

In the plus column:

Dean, Cas and Sam were all in the episode and there was more insight to how child Dean could at the very least have this constant growing up, almost like the gang were already family for him. I could also see how watching Fred's trap-making along with his father's training would help make Dean into the tactician he is today. 

Minuses:

I found Dean's constant pursuit of Daphne borderline too much and, of course, the characterizations were 2D with caricatures of who our main characters really are.  I really do not think Cas would have made the Philistine comment any more than I would think that Dean would run screaming from a ghost as much as he did. Also, Dean asking Daphne about what she looks for etc., NO! JUST NO! But for those who were okay with it, I'm glad you enjoyed. 

I also understand that Dean really, really loves to fanboy and that's apparently his thing. In addition, Jensen loves, like REALLY, LOVES to play that aspect up as well as the slapstick but I don't ever like how overboard he goes with it, much less how much they let him ad-lib on it sometimes. Part of me wishes I could enjoy it as others but I just don't because of past RL history. And I know Jensen has stated before that he always liked making his dad and family laugh which is part of the reason he plays these things up so much.

[Jediknight]

3 hours ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Still trending #1 at 10:00 pm

No longer number 1, but still trending.

Methinks, they've struck gold with this.  Put this episode by itself on Blu/DVD with some deleted scenes, and just call it an extended episode.  People will buy it.  They've gotta have enough BTS stuff to fill out the special features.

[Casseiopeia]

20 minutes ago, Res said:

I found Dean's constant pursuit of Daphne borderline too much

That "joke" went on way too long.  It wasn't funny to have Dean who was trying to protect the innocence of the Scooby gang then trying to get Daphne to go to bed with him.  Grumpy Sam got old as well.  Maybe being a Scooby fan would have helped.  I'm not.

9 minutes ago, Jediknight said:

No longer number 1, but still trending.

Methinks, they've struck gold with this.  Put this episode by itself on Blu/DVD with some deleted scenes, and just call it an extended episode.  People will buy it.  They've gotta have enough BTS stuff to fill out the special features.

http://ew.com/tv/2018/03/29/supernatural-behind-the-scenes-scoobynatural/

 

Jensen saying Velma's lines was too much...

Edited March 30, 2018 by Casseiopeia

[catrox14]

4 minutes ago, Casseiopeia said:

That "joke" went on way too long.  It wasn't funny to have Dean who was trying to protect the innocence of the Scooby gang then trying to get Daphne to go to bed with him

For once, I'm choosing to ignore this because it's a cartoon and I don't think it's going to stand up as part of canon really. I hope not. But yes the joke went on way too long and was just ugh.

[Dobian]

Having grown up with Scooby Doo, this was all kinds of awesome.  That's still the same guy voicing Fred after all these years, sounds like.  Loved all the classic Scoobyisms.  Jinkies!

[Moonlit]

I rather liked it. I wasn't sure when it started but stuck with it and was entertained. I didn't see Scrappy! I might have to give it a rewatch and keep an eye out for the courageous yet impetuous critter.

...I did wonder what jinkies meant.

[Spartan Girl]

Best. Scooby. Episode. Ever.

[sigmaforce86]

That was the most fun I've had watching the show in awhile.  I think it helps to already be a Scooby fan which I am so for me it was perfect even if it wasn't perfect.  Any little nitpicks...I just don't care, the fun parts won out over them.  Basically loved all the call outs to the cartoon, they didn't really try to change or update the look and feel of it at all

Can't even blame Sam for being a downer - I figure the last time he got zapped into a TV show he had his nuts cracked and turned into the Impala (which as he mentioned to Dean was pretty uncomfortable when they needed something out of the trunk).

Caught Scrappy right away, loved the guys jumping into Castiel's arms, Sam's Marmaduke comment and Dean being indignant, Dean and the Sandwich.......it just goes on and on.  But sorry that I completely missed this when Dean slapped Sam.  They really did try to hit all the great things about being in a cartoon.

 

[Aeryn13]

I thought it was cute enough. And I don`t really have nostalgic feelings for Scooby Doo since I never really watched it as a kid, I know the basic stuff, though.

Yes, the joke about Dean hitting on an oblivious Daphne was overdone. And as expected the "funny pay-off" was supposed to be Velma pulling a Becky. But I just rolled my eyes at that briefly, instead of it souring the entire thing for me. 

At least I didn`t feel as if every moment with Dean was just goofy slapstick. I was glad that he got to explain why Scooby Doo meant so much to him growing up earlier in the episode. It put his behaviour more in context. 

Cas bonding with Shaggy and Scooby was funny, too.        

Sam was very uptight about it all but even that didn`t play as badly as I feared. 

The real life thing with the ascot at the end was just some throwaway humour and yes the Scooby-line was pretty cheesy but I could ignore it. 

Overall, I thought the episode was on the harmless fun side of things. Which these days puts it as one of the better ones.    

[Bobcatkitten]

I could dissect and find little things I didn't prefer. But why - when overall it was so amazing?

 

Baby vs. the Mystery Machine was classic. I'm glad they drew her into the episode. 

I loved the backstory of why it meant so much to Dean and him wanting to protect the gang. Seeing the gang meltdown at the thought of real ghosts was absolutely amazing. And how it all came back to a ghost from the pawnshop was brilliant. Another classic for Supernatural, for sure. 

[trudysmom]

My only complaint is the animated Dean didn't look like Dean, for me.  Sam, probably because of the hair, looked like Sam, but Dean just looked generic.  Still, I loved it.  I had to remind hubs that Supernatural likes to toss in a lighter episode when there has been a run of darkness and gloom for awhile, kind of relieves the stress level a bit to have a laugh and see the brothers be brothers.  He's all "What about Cass?  What about Mary? (I DON'T CARE!) What about Michael etc. etc etc.".  

Loved the man cave!