Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics Complete Collection Blu-ray Review: Games Cartoon Animals Play

Interesting that this collection is titled Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, as that is the name of the Hanna-Barbera program block that Laff-A-Lympics initially appeared in alongside The Scooby-Doo Show, The Blue Falcon & Dynomutt, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, and reruns of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! as the opening credits reveal.

Based on Battle of the Network Stars, which brought together TV stars to compete under a network team, Laff-A-Lympics features three teams competing in various events. The teams were the Yogi Yahooeys, led by Yogi Bear and comprised of H-B characters from the ’60s; the Scooby Doobies, led by Scooby-Doo and comprised of H-B characters from the ’70s; and the Really Rottens, a team of villainous characters, led by Mumbley from The Mumbly Cartoon Show where he was previously a good guy.

Spread across three discs, 24 episodes find the teams competing around the globe. In each episode, the events are set in two locations that are usually not close to each other, which seems like a logistical nightmare. For example, they go from Florida to China in one episode, and from the North Pole to Tahiti in another. They even compete in the fictional land of Atlantis and on the Moon. The episodes are hosted by Snagglepuss and Mildew Wolf, who work as announcers. The winning team of an event scores 25 points, second place gets 15, and third place 10. The Really Rottens are usually caught cheating, even on challenges they are winning fairly, and are penalized.

The video has been given 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image looks clean. Colors appear in strong hues, blacks are inky, and whites are bright. Because the picture is so sharp in high definition, focus issues can occur when characters are drawn on different cels. The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. The dialogue is clear and supported by the effects and the score. Track sounds free from damage or defect.

The special feature on Disc 3 is Scooby Doo!: Spooky Games (23 min) – While not tied to the Laff-A-Lympics, this DTV short seems inspired by the 2012 London Olympics as the Mystery Machine gang head to England so Shaggy can run in the World Invitational Games. Part of the reason they are invited is in case something like the statue of Fortius, champion of the very first Olympic, comes to life (which he does).

Fans of these characters should enjoy seeing them brought together in this massive crossover series. The show delivers a lot of laughs and silliness and even an opportunity to gamble on the outcome. While there are some visual flaws brought forth by high definition, the a/v presentation is satisfying.