Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold – DVD Review

Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold partners up the Mystery Incorporated with the Caped Crusader for a fun and surprisingly self-aware crime-solving adventure. Warner Bros. has just released the Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold DVD as well as a Digital format.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.

I had fun watching the approximately 75-minutes long crime-solving adventure on the Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold DVD. I love animated features being self-aware, making for funnier joke delivery. The premise is simple enough. Batman is interested in having Scooby and the gang join the big leagues. He tests the gang out and invites them to solve their first case. Of course, the Mystery Incorporated kids decide to pick a case that Batman couldn’t solve. However, their plans are hindered by a robbery. What follows are twists and turns, all connecting back to Batman’s unsolvable case from his past.

The film is directed by Jake Castorena from a teleplay by Paul Giacoppo, based on a story by supervising producer James Tucker. Michael Jelenic serves as the producer. Sam Register, Benjamin Melniker, and Michael Uslan are credited as Executive Producers.

What’s cool is that Diedrich Bader, who voiced the Caped Crusader in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated television series, reprised his role for this film. The cast also includes Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo & Fred), Grey Griffin (Daphne and Black Canary), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy) and Kate Micucci (Velma). The guest voicing talent includes Jeff Bennett (Joker), Jeffrey Combs (The Question), John DiMaggio (Aquaman), Nika Futterman (Catwoman), Nicholas Guest (Martian Manhunter), John Michael Higgins (The Riddler), Tom Kenny (Penguin, Plastic Man), Kevin Michael Richardson (Detective Chimp), Tara Strong (Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy) and Fred Tatasciore (Harvey Bullock).

From the voice cast, you can tell that the film has a lot of characters from the Batman lore. A lot of villains, even lesser known ones, have cameos.

The main enemy is the Crimson Cloak who shares a mysterious link to Batman’s past. While the film does try to derail the viewer from figuring out the identity of the real culprit, you’ll probably be able to realize what’s going on if you’re familiar with a certain comic book villain.

Making the characters self-aware and knowing that most things don’t necessarily have to make sense, especially Shaggy and Scooby’s antics, allows this film to deliver a lot of jokes. You’ll get to see Batman trying to understand the absurdity of how the Mystery Inc. solves mysteries and vice-versa. The film also has the standard Scooby chase. Furthermore, the animation styles of both properties complement each other quite well.

I also liked how Daphne was able to serve as an important member of the group. A lot of times, her character is overshadowed by Velma’s intelligence, Fred’s strategies, and Scooby and Shaggy’s comedy. However, in this film, Daphne holds her own and is able to help everyone solve things more than once.

Here’s the trailer!

Coming to the Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold DVD packaging, the front has the artwork while the back features movie details and a list of special features. The visual and audio presentation is what you’d expect from a standard DVD release from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. I really liked the use of darker shades in the overall color scheme. The DVD video is a Widescreen Presentation. The audio is English Dolby Digital 5.1.

The Special Features include two classic cartoons, ‘The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair’ (41:38) and ‘The Caped Crusader Caper’ (42:44), showcasing the time when Scooby and the gang teamed up with Batman back in 1972.

I recommend getting the Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold DVD if you’re a fan of the two franchises. It’s always great to see Batman’s comedic side. The film is currently available on both DVD and Digital.

Fans can also look forward to Batman: Gotham by Gaslight being released this month.

Do you own the Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold DVD? Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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