This episode scared me when I used to watch it when I was young seeing a man frozen in ice - spooky! Now not scary, I think you'd have to search real hard to find an adult afraid of this show, but the appreciation of the show is not gained from fear but from a well devised plot, with clues spread out evenly throughout the episode, with plenty of red herrings mixed in.
What's New, Scooby-Doo? (TV Series)
Uncle Scooby and Antarctica (2004)
User Reviews
Review this title2 Reviews
Scooby in the Antarctic
TheLittleSongbird16 December 2021
Antarctica is a familiar setting for the Scooby Doo franchise, at the top of my head examples of previous examples set there are 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "A Scary Night with a Snow Beast Fright" (pretty good) and 'The New Scooby Doo Mysteries' "South Pole Vault" (mediocre). The franchise on the most part has enough variety whenever revisiting familiar locations so that they aren't derivative, and "Uncle Scooby and Antarctica" is certainly not derivative of those episodes.
Of the three, "Uncle Scooby and Antarctica" is the best or at least the one with the least problems. Don't worry, that is not in any way intended to be derogatory. It is particularly worth seeing for the setting, the atmosphere and the characters and their relationships. Not to mention the villain. For anybody expecting anything original or a mystery that is hard to forget, other episodes of 'What's New Scooby Doo' do that better (i.e. "Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman").
The animation is typically great, with a nice mix of old and new. The Antarctica setting is both beautiful and eerie, it is a setting used a lot in Scooby Doo and it's not hard to see why as it lends itself so well to strange mysteries. The music is easy on the ears and fits well, the more action-oriented parts don't sound over-scored. The voice acting was always very good on this show, particularly Casey Kasem (Frank Welker's Scooby voice took some getting used to though), and it is here.
"Uncle Scooby and Antarctica" is very successful in the humour on the whole. Stealing the show in regard is actually the penguin, who is adorable and hilarious. Couldn't help awwing when interacting with Scooby, which was reminiscent of his interaction with the chick in 'Scooby Doo Where are You's' "Jeepers it's the Creeper". Shaggy and Scooby are still a delight, especially shining when on the plane and in the final trap. The monster is genuinely creepy as is the beginning.
While it is very atmospheric and grabs the attention on the whole, especially the beginning, the mystery is not that surprising, with a fairly obvious, very strange and not too memorable reveal, and gets a little on the thin side in the latter stages.
Also thought that the chase scene and song were not among the most inspired or catchiest of the show, though they are far from bad at all. Shaggy's elephant and ice cream joke has always gone over my head and even when eventually finding out what it meant it is not that particularly funny.
Summing up, very nice. 8/10.
Of the three, "Uncle Scooby and Antarctica" is the best or at least the one with the least problems. Don't worry, that is not in any way intended to be derogatory. It is particularly worth seeing for the setting, the atmosphere and the characters and their relationships. Not to mention the villain. For anybody expecting anything original or a mystery that is hard to forget, other episodes of 'What's New Scooby Doo' do that better (i.e. "Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman").
The animation is typically great, with a nice mix of old and new. The Antarctica setting is both beautiful and eerie, it is a setting used a lot in Scooby Doo and it's not hard to see why as it lends itself so well to strange mysteries. The music is easy on the ears and fits well, the more action-oriented parts don't sound over-scored. The voice acting was always very good on this show, particularly Casey Kasem (Frank Welker's Scooby voice took some getting used to though), and it is here.
"Uncle Scooby and Antarctica" is very successful in the humour on the whole. Stealing the show in regard is actually the penguin, who is adorable and hilarious. Couldn't help awwing when interacting with Scooby, which was reminiscent of his interaction with the chick in 'Scooby Doo Where are You's' "Jeepers it's the Creeper". Shaggy and Scooby are still a delight, especially shining when on the plane and in the final trap. The monster is genuinely creepy as is the beginning.
While it is very atmospheric and grabs the attention on the whole, especially the beginning, the mystery is not that surprising, with a fairly obvious, very strange and not too memorable reveal, and gets a little on the thin side in the latter stages.
Also thought that the chase scene and song were not among the most inspired or catchiest of the show, though they are far from bad at all. Shaggy's elephant and ice cream joke has always gone over my head and even when eventually finding out what it meant it is not that particularly funny.
Summing up, very nice. 8/10.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
