The Great Eggplant says, run in place! – Courage the Cowardly Dog
One day in the middle of solving a case, a mysterious signal causes Scooby-Doo to find where the source is coming from. It’s located in a single house lacking a suburban area. Scooby meets Courage. He also felt the signal. They form a partnership to investigate with the help of Mystery Inc. A swarm of big bugs factor in. It’s up to Courage and the Scooby Gang to end this predicament.
“Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog” was released in 2021 (same year Spider-Man No Way Home came out) on physical and digital format. It earned praise from critics and fans alike. Anyway, it’s officially Halloween Month. I have a few spooky stuff to watch throughout October.
Today’s review contains no SPOILERS.
Right & Wrong Aspects
Right: Voice Actors including previous cast of animated Scooby-Doo movies, Marty Grabstein & Thea White reprise their roles and they all did a superb job for their respective voiceover performances.
Due to the passings of Lionel Wilson & Arthur Anderson, Jeff Bergman takes over as Eustace. He did a good job for his voiceover performance. In giving him the benefit of the doubt he’s a talented voice actor.
Animation gives Courage and HD upgrade. It’s not computer animated, but it enhances the cartoon’s style with Scooby-Doo. Wasn’t a distraction. A nice blend of both.
Funny Moments made me laugh. Good thing the writers retain Courage’s comedy. Ain’t an eye rolling disaster like “Teen Titans Go.”
Chemistry between Scooby & Courage serves as the main highlight. The pair have equal screen time.
Character Development involving Courage.
Pacing felt stable for a 78-minute animated movie.
A running gag with Scooby & Shaggy relying on a self-help audiobook.
A few pop culture references. Especially a Kaiju battle like Godzilla. It’s funny because The King of Monsters fought King Kong the same year Straight Outta Nowhere came out.
Courage speaks a few eloquent words. Seasons 2-4 mostly has him speaking gibberish.
We learn about Nowhere and a legitimate reason why it often has recurring supernatural events.
If you’re a huge fan of Courage, there’s a ton of Easter Eggs and Callbacks to the show. Meaning, almost every episode is canon. You can tell the writers and producers understood the assignment. This movie encouraged to look back at Seasons 2-4. I already wrote a review on Season 1.
A big reveal towards the end.
End Credits features a dance party. A perfect way to end Courage as a worthy finale. I thought the final episode, “Perfect” felt so underwhelming. Pales in comparison to the origin story, “Remembrance of Courage.” To me, that episode felt like a bittersweet finale.
Fun Facts
- This isn’t the first time Scooby & Courage had a crossover. There was a promo of the latter having a nightmare he encountered Scooby & Shaggy. He wakes up watching Scooby-Doo.
- As I recall, after watching “Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders,” a bonus cartoon featured that one episode, “King Ramses.” Another full circle moment.
- The movie’s title is a play-on-word of “Straight Outta Compton.”
- Scooby & Courage also had another crossover in “Death Battle.” Check it out on YouTube.
Random Thoughts
- I haven’t watched a direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movie since “Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase.” I moved on to other stuff including “Harry Potter” & “The Lord of the Rings.” I’m surprised Scooby had other crossovers with “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” KISS & Bobby Flay.
- I used to watch Courage the Cowardly Dog back when Cartoon Network aired Cartoon Cartoons.
Wrong: A random rap number with Eustace blabs he’s rich. Ugh! This game me “Space Jam: A New Legacy” flashbacks. That one scene with Porky Pig performing an unfunny rap number.
A hairy monster in the kitchen sink has nothing to do with the plot whatsoever.
John R. Dilworth himself wasn’t involved in making the crossover. Was never given an invitation. He reveals he got screwed over. John wanted to write and produce a Courage prequel.
The Final Verdict: B, FOR BIGGER & BETTER!
Not a perfect crossover movie like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Straight Outta Nowhere managed to give Courage the Cowardly Dog an awesome finale making up to the underwhelming episode, Perfect. Initially, I was gonna give Straight Outta Nowhere a B- the equivalent of a 7/10. Upon reflecting on good parts, it deserves a B. Which is an 8/10 in my book. If you haven’t checked out the Scooby and Courage crossover, it’s a must-see for anybody who grew up watching Cartoon Cartoons.
Rest in Peace, Thea White
