Finally, we have reached the end of the classic Scooby era. The final bow for Don Messick as Scooby. Casey Kasem would only voice Shaggy one more time before a prolonged absence.
Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994) **/*****
I am almost certain they reused Shaggy's design from "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" and simply adjusted the scale.
This is basically animated as a 90's cartoon episode, except the budget is basically non existent and the animation pales in comparison to they stuff of HB's heyday. It's hard to explain, but it's extremely loosely designed and animated, almost as if they skipped the finishing step and said good enough.
Stylistically it's more reminiscent of "The Thief and the Cobbler" than any previous HB projects. Not necessarily bad, but kind of jarring if you are marathoning any of their work.
Scooby and Shaggy only have an extended cameo. serving as the storytellers to the young Caliph in order to save their own hides.
The first story is an Aladdin retelling that mixes and matches various elements from various retellings, with the roles of Aladdin and the princess gender flipped.
Aliyah-Din is the one who finds the lamp and wishes to win over the heart of the prince with the aid of the genie Yogi and his apprentice Boo Boo.
The second story is a Sinbad the Sailor retelling with Magilla Gorilla in the titular role. The segment is far closer to Looney Tunes in design and execution than a Magilla episode. Although it does have more a more unified character design than the Aliyah-Din segment.
Feeling more like a contractual obligation than anything else, none of the three segments are particularly memorable.
The one major thing in this specials favor is the orchestral soundtrack, starting with the beautiful main theme.
The major drawback is that Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Yogi Bear and Boo Boo don't look like they belong in their respective segments. It's a jarring clash of styles (Check out the
IMDB image gallery for more examples). Nor do any of the 3 segments intersect at any point. Though that is keeping with the long established trend of isolating Scooby from the pre-1970's HB characters. Which, with few exceptions, is still in effect.
This becomes more evident in the various HB specials of the late 70's and 80's.
Anyway, onto the voice cast which reunites Messick and Kasem for the final time, bringing to close the classic Scooby era.
Scooby segment cast
Don Messick giving a valedictorian performance as Scooby
Casey Kasem as Shaggy
Eddie Deezen as The young Caliph
Greg Burson as Royal Chef and Royal Guard #1
Brian Cummings as Flying Carpet Driver, Royal Guard #2,
Aliyah-Din segment Cast
Jennifer Hale as Aliyah-Din
John Kassir as Haman
Rob Paulsen as The Prince
Tony Jay as The Amulet
Brian Cummings as The Sultan
Greg Burson as The Genie (Yogi Bear)
Don Messick as Genie in training (Boo Boo)
Sinbad segment cast
Allan Melvin also giving his final bow as Magilla Gorilla [Filling in as Sinbad]
Charlie Adler as Pirate Captain
Frank Welker as vocal effects
Maurice Lamarche as M.Cyclops
I utilized more sources this go around to help fill in a few details and verify others
A lousy special that shows how far HB had fallen from their heyday, only recommended for diehard fans.
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