User Reviews

I rarely review single episodes, but this one is an exception. The storyline is your typical Scooby Doo plot - the gang are having fun --> cut-scene to scary, spooky monster --> the gang meet the monster --> clues are found --> the reveal. It was a good episode, set in Scotland for a change. The monster resided in a big castle to add a bit more spookiness to the story. It was really quite an enjoyable episode

However, the reason why I am reviewing this episode is because of one reason...the accent. Aggie is a friend of Velma's from Scotland. She even wears the stereotypical Scottish attire! However, the voice actor is clearly not one with a talent for the Scottish accent. I cannot even pinpoint what he/she was trying for when voicing this character. It sounds like a hybrid of all the Eastern European accents when they speak English. Whatever it was, it was clear that English was not the first language of this Scottish resident. It certainly made the episode fun to watch, although I can't imagine I could stand >23 minutes of it!

"A Highland Fling With a Monstrous Thing" as a kid was one of my favourite episodes of 'The Scooby Doo Show'. Just really loved the creepy atmosphere, the location, Shaggy and Scooby's humour, the use of the bagpipes and the climax. Regardless of the mystery being pretty formulaic, even for Scooby Doo, and one particularly hilariously bad accent that has always stuck out like the sorest of thumbs. Anything to do with the Loch Ness Monster legend is worth watching.

Which is the case with "A Highland Fling With a Monstrous Thing". Although it is not quite one of my favourite 'The Scooby Doo Show' episodes anymore, lacking the extra something that the best episodes of Season 3 and the show had. 'The Scooby Doo Show's' episodes fitted in a number of categories, "always favourites", "episodes that got better over-time", "feelings pretty much the same", "episodes that went down in my estimations" (not always by much though) and "didn't care for". There's a good number in all of them. "A Highland Fling With a Monstrous Thing" is in the fourth category, the positives are all there but the negatives are also the same and have become more obvious over-time.

There is a good deal to like. The animation is highly atmospheric and have really appreciated that in Season 3 that there was more variety in locations and that they were more exotic than before. Loch Ness may be very different to how it looks in the episode, but the atmosphere is still very vivid in a mysterious and creepy way. The loch is like an ominous character of its own and the castle is suitably formidable too. Loved the colours, the backgrounds are some of the best of the season and the quality of the drawing generally has come on a lot. The music is not repetitive or stock and has become more elaborate. The theme song is classic, and really liked the truly unsettling use of bagpipes. One will not look at bagpipes in the same way again.

Furthermore, the writing still entertains, especially Shaggy and Scooby and their timeless interaction, and never insults the intelligence. The story has a great atmosphere about it and isn't dull, the highlights being the ominous opening and the pretty ingenious climax (one of my favourites of the show). The ghost does have creepiness too.

However the voice acting is very variable. That for the regulars/gang is great. Casey Kasem and Don Messick to this day are unsurpassed as Shaggy and Scooby, in fact this is my favourite group of the Mystery Inc's voice actors. The voice acting for the supporting cast however is pretty awful with the accents being both stereotypical and obviously fake. Especially that for Aggie, one so hilariously bad (sounding more very vague French than Scottish) that the voice actress isn't credited anywhere online from what can be seen.

Although the Loch Ness monster is freaky, it is for my tastes underused (prominent in enough of the first half and then neglected until the climax). The mystery also could have been better, nice and atmospheric enough but very predictable and with a very repetitive final third until the climax redeems things. The ghost's true identity and their scheme were in no way a surprise, one that is easy to figure out once the incriminating clue is found.

In summary, pretty decent, with a great atmosphere, but not great. Needed a stronger mystery and a much better voice actress for Aggie. 7/10.