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

Release Date: January 9, 2018
Cast: Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard, Grey Griffin, Kate Micucci, Diedrich Bader, John DiMaggio, Tara Strong, and many more!
Director: Jake Castorena
Studio: Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment, and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
Extra Feature Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Spoilers: Low
Amazon | IMDB | Wikipedia | RT

Scooby-Doo and the rest of the gang meet Batman in their latest team up, Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold. A straight-to-DVD adventure, the world’s greatest detective and these meddling kids take on a wide number of villainous foes as they tackle what appears to be a literal ghost from Batman’s past. The animated film is full of the same kind of humor you would expect not just from the Scooby-Doo franchise but the great Batman: The Brave and the Bold series which was sadly cancelled several years ago.

It’s tons of fun both for younger viewers and long time fans of either show!

After meeting Batman while solving a mystery involving a devious puppet master Mystery Inc. finds itself inducted into a secret organization called The Mystery Analysts of Gotham City. Founded by Batman and some of his friends the group comes together on occasion to solve mysteries as a team. But while looking for a new case to take on the gang becomes fixated on Batman’s only remaining unsolved mystery. While Batman isn’t really keen on asking for help in this particular case there’s a particular ghostly visage that isn’t going to leave it alone.

Together Batman and the gang have to figure out the mystery of the ghostly Crimson Cloak. Along the way they find themselves at odds with pretty much all of Batman’s enemies (and a few friends, too). But with a little determination and some whacky hijinks they’re bound to figure things out by the end!

The film brings back a number of your favorite characters from Batman: The Brave and the Bold and features my absolute favorite superbuddy from the show, Aquaman. Those two were my favorite part about the show and since it’s been years since there have been any new episodes it’s great to see them back at it again! Both Diedrich Bader and John DiMaggio returned to reprise their roles as did a number of other voice actors from the show including Tom Kenny, Grey Griffin (DeLisle), Nicholas Guest, Nika Futterman, and more! (Plus Tara Strong who doesn’t love Tara Strong as Harley Quinn?)

My favorite thing about this new animated film really is that Scooby and the gang team up with this particular version of Batman. I always loved Batman: The Brave and the Bold because it really embraced Batman’s kookier side. And it did a fantastic job of introducing new DC Comics characters to younger viewers that they may not have learned about otherwise. The show’s particular brand of humor made it the perfect version of Batman to introduce to these classic Scooby-Doo characters.

The way the two casts and the story worked together you’d never think the two franchises weren’t always meant to come together!

Of course, this isn’t the first time Scooby and the gang have met Batman. There have been a handful of other crossovers featuring these characters including two stories from the old school The New Scooby-Doo Movies series. These two episodes, which feature a Batman and Robin based on their appearances in the old The Adventures of Batman animated series, are actually included as the only special features on the DVD release.

It was great to re-watch these episodes since I hadn’t seen them since I was a kid! Still, I think the folks that put together this home release missed a great opportunity to create a featurette where the voice actors reflected on returning to the Batman: The Brave and the Bold series.

All in all, Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a great new, animated adventure for Batman and Scooby-Doo fans alike. It’s a fun, hilarious film that you’ll love watching over-and-over again. If nothing else, it’s great to take one more journey with the cast and characters of Batman: The Brave and the Bold!

You can pick up Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold on DVD or buy it on Digital HD today!