While channel surfing this evening I came across the latest incarnation of this classic, cross-generational cartoon on Cartoon Network.  And I admit that I was surprised and very pleased by this latest version.

Probably, the biggest surprise concerning this 40 year old  franchise is Velma. First off, Velma looks like she lost about 20 pounds and secondly, she and Shaggy are a couple.  (Shaggy wants to keep this a secret from Scooby which irritates Velma to no end.)

The “meddling kids” in this version are in high school and live with their parents. Their home town, Crystal Cove, is the home of monster sightings and has built its tourism trade upon that fact. The gang still investigates sightings and attempts to expose the fakes, all to the dismay of the local sheriff.

As someone who has watched all of the resurrections of this series, to include the ones with Scrappy-Doo, this version is a delight. The voice acting is grand to include Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life) as Velma and Matthew Lillard as Shaggy (Shaggy in the live action movies). But what makes this show a winner is that the story is about the group dynamics of the people trying to hook up and discover who they are and not solely about Shaggy and his dog as comedy relief. It means for the first time in more than 25 years I can actually watch an episode from beginning to end. It means I liked what I saw and hope for more of the same.

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