It's time for Scooby-Doo to unmask the ripoffs. For this list, we’ll be ranking the animated series that took the “Scooby-Doo” template and ran with it for all they were worth.
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00:00 ♪ One by one we're gonna meet them all and solve that mystery ♪
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 rip-offs of Scooby-Doo.
00:13 "Oh! Three cheers for me! Woo, woo, woo!"
00:18 For this list, we're ranking the animated series that took the Scooby-Doo template and ran with it for all it was worth.
00:24 We're not saying these shows were bad, per se,
00:26 but rather commenting on how far-reaching the Mystery Incorporated brand has lasted over the years.
00:32 Did you grow up watching any of these shows? Let us know in the comments.
00:36 Number 10, Super Friends.
00:38 "Wait," you might be saying, "Isn't Super Friends a DC animated series?"
00:43 Well, you're correct, actually, with one minor difference.
00:46 Actually, make that two minor differences, the Wonder Twins.
00:50 These crime-fighting superheroes activated their powers in the Super Friends animated franchise from Hanna-Barbera.
00:56 "Wonder Twin powers, activate!"
00:58 However, they weren't the only connective tissue to Scooby-Doo's mystery-solving legacy and this DC series.
01:05 Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog were a trio of crime-fighting sidekicks
01:08 concocted by Hanna-Barbera to make Super Friends feel more like a Scooby-Doo show.
01:13 "Those three junior Super Friends, Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog!"
01:21 And you know what? Both efforts worked.
01:24 After all, the phrase "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" still gets mentioned in the pop culture zeitgeist today.
01:30 "Dad always used to say we're stronger when we stick together."
01:32 "Powers activated!"
01:39 Number 9, Fang Face.
01:41 The Scooby-Doo formula of attaching a pet or monster to a group of mystery-solving young people
01:46 wasn't the exclusive property of Hanna-Barbera.
01:49 At least, not when it came to Fang Face.
01:50 "Hey, cut that out! It's us!"
01:54 "Ooh, ooh, sorry, ooh, ooh!"
01:56 That's because this animated series came from the minds of ex-Hanna-Barbera employees.
02:02 So it's totally different, right?
02:04 Well, not really.
02:05 The Scooby-Doo-isms are definitely still there, right down to the group of nosy kids.
02:10 "Looks to me like we're all gonna fall into another adventure."
02:13 The main difference here is that one of these kids, Sherman Fangs Fangsworth, is a werewolf.
02:18 Make that a crime-solving werewolf.
02:21 It's as silly as it sounds and definitely a product of the late 70s,
02:25 but it's also a lot of innocent throwback fun as well.
02:28 Number 8, Clue Club.
02:38 The post-Scooby-Doo universe featured a bevy of animated upstarts,
02:42 seeking to cast their lot in against Mystery Incorporated.
02:47 "Clue Club solves a crime! I knew it all the time!"
02:51 Clue Club was one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it attempts,
02:54 a series that never hid its pretensions as a sub-Scooby imposter.
02:58 Still, Clue Club tried to up the ante by including not one, but two mystery-sniffing dogs.
03:04 "Just where do you all think you're going?"
03:07 "Check around back."
03:08 Woofer and Wimper were certainly no Scooby-Doo.
03:11 Heck, they weren't even up to Scooby-Dum's level.
03:14 However, they're still heaps better than Scrappy-Doo.
03:17 Although, that isn't saying much.
03:18 Woofer, Wimper, and their human pals got into a single season's worth of adventures
03:31 before episodes were shaved down and slid into other Hanna-Barbera programs.
03:45 Number 7 - The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
03:48 The character of Charlie Chan definitely possesses a complex history
03:55 when it comes to Asian representation.
03:57 The most popular iterations of Chan were never portrayed by actors of Asian descent.
04:02 That said, it was important that The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
04:06 featured Chinese actor Key Luke voicing the title character.
04:09 "But if Buckley's here, who?"
04:11 "I believe the gentleman you have there should turn out to be the curator."
04:16 The show hit all of the expected Scooby-Doo story beats,
04:18 along with their pet dog Choo-Choo assisting in solving the mysteries.
04:22 Oh, and they also perform rock music in their spare time, of course,
04:26 usually in music video form for the audience at home.
04:29 The show, unfortunately, didn't last long.
04:39 And some of the stereotypes haven't aged well.
04:42 But the Chan Clan still holds a historic part of Asian-American TV history.
04:46 Number 6 - Dino Mutt - Dog Wonder
04:50 Dino Mutt - Dog Wonder had something of a leg up on its competition back in 1976.
04:55 This was due to the fact that Scooby himself would occasionally appear on the show,
04:59 creating something of an early crossover.
05:06 The titular Dino Mutt was actually Cybernetic,
05:09 a robot dog similar to Inspector Gadget,
05:11 who's tasked with helping another superhero, the Blue Falcon.
05:15 The show was simple and throwaway entertainment for the Saturday morning generation.
05:18 But this doesn't mean that it didn't have fans.
05:20 In fact, the Dino Mutt character is one of the few rip-offs from this era
05:32 that's still remembered today.
05:34 And that's gotta count for something, right?
05:36 Like, they solved crimes and saved the world together.
05:38 Speaking of forgotten,
05:50 younger viewers can probably thank the Mike Tyson Mysteries
05:53 for renewing interest in this otherwise obscure animated show from the early 70s.
05:57 That's because a character on that show,
05:59 a ghost of the Marquis of Queensberry,
06:01 bears a striking animated resemblance to the Funky Phantom.
06:04 - Okay, guys, listen up!
06:06 - Oh!
06:06 - Marcus, you're scared the bejesus out of me, man!
06:10 Why you gotta be creeping?
06:11 The OG series was actually a collaboration between
06:14 Hanna-Barbera and Australian producers,
06:16 seeking yet again to capitalize on the success of Scooby-Doo.
06:20 There's a supernatural element here, sure,
06:22 but also young protagonists and a dog.
06:25 Not to mention a ghost cat named Boo.
06:34 The show is profoundly weirder than other examples on this list,
06:38 and for that reason alone, worthy of some investigation.
06:41 Tell 'em Iron Mike sent you.
06:42 Contrary to other Scooby-Doo ripoffs spotlighted here,
06:54 Speed Buggy contains no crime-solving canine or feline in the lead.
06:59 Instead, this animated show decided to go the four-wheel route
07:02 and had a talking car take criminals to task.
07:04 It's honestly as strange as it sounds,
07:12 and definitely indicative of early '70s animation
07:15 and its "toss everything at the wall" approach.
07:17 However, Speed Buggy was another single-season series
07:20 that gained new life not only thanks to syndication,
07:23 but also to retro appreciation.
07:26 The titular Speed Buggy made an appearance
07:28 alongside many other Hanna-Barbera characters
07:30 in the adult swim series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
07:34 Here, an otherwise obscure Scooby-Doo knockoff
07:37 was brought out of retirement to ride once more.
07:39 Jabberjaw, that talking, crime-solving shark,
07:57 was another Hanna-Barbera character
07:59 that guest starred on Harvey Birdman.
08:01 However, it could be argued that Jabberjaw the series
08:04 may be a bit better remembered than some of its contemporaries.
08:08 Could it be due to the quality of animation and storylines?
08:10 Maybe, but better guess is probably just that
08:14 Jabberjaw was frankly a strange creation,
08:16 and an even stranger shark.
08:18 For starters, he played drums in a rock band, the Neptunes.
08:24 Jabberjaw's voice actor, the esteemed Frank Welker,
08:27 is clearly doing a Three Stooges impersonation of Curly
08:30 with his performance.
08:31 It all combines to make Jabberjaw perhaps
08:44 the greatest fish-out-of-water mystery crew
08:47 to rival Scooby and the gang.
08:49 Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels is the sort of glorious mishmash
08:53 that could have only been born in the 1970s.
08:56 After all, Charlie's Angel's Fever was still white-hot
08:59 after the show first debuted in 1976.
09:02 So why not try and capitalize on the animation front?
09:06 As a result, Captain Caveman combined the mystery-solving antics of Scooby-Doo
09:10 with a trio of young, capable female protagonists.
09:13 Of course, the fact that the antics of Cavey could also be gently connected
09:17 with something out of The Flintstones didn't hurt.
09:20 But the fact that the antics of Scooby-Doo could be gently connected with the Antics of Scooby-Doo,
09:24 and the fact that the antics of the Teen Angels could be gently connected with the Antics of Scooby-Doo,
09:29 is a bit of a surprise.
09:31 The fact that the antics of Scooby-Doo could also be gently connected with the Antics of Scooby-Doo,
09:34 is a bit of a surprise.
09:36 It all made little sense in execution.
09:38 But on paper, it was a whole bunch of popular properties smushed together
09:42 to make a very weird Saturday morning cartoon.
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10:06 The original "Josie and the Pussycats" only ran for a single season
10:25 before being revamped in an outer space setting a year later.
10:29 However, the legacy of this otherwise innocuous Scooby-Doo ripoff
10:32 has surprisingly endured far beyond its initial run.
10:36 Much of this success probably comes down to the fact that Josie and her bandmates
10:40 were already established properties of the Archie comic series
10:43 prior to being adapted by Hanna-Barbera.
10:52 However, the show was forward-thinking with the character of Valerie Brown,
10:56 the first recurring African-American character for a Saturday morning cartoon show.
11:01 Additionally, the show's memorable theme and likable characters
11:04 made it easy for "Josie and the Pussycats" to be adapted years later
11:07 for new movies and television shows.
11:09 ♪ Why do you do what you do to me, baby? ♪
11:13 ♪ You're taking my comfort and driving me crazy ♪
11:16 ♪ You know if I could, I'd do anything for you ♪
11:19 ♪ Please don't ignore me 'cause you know I adore you ♪
11:23 Do you agree with our picks?
11:24 Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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11:31 ♪ ♪ ♪