Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf is a 1988 animated comedy horror made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series.^[3] It marked Scrappy-Doo's last appearance as a protagonist in the Scooby-Doo franchise to date; he would not appear in a Scooby-Doo production again until the live-action Scooby-Doo film in 2002. It is also the last appearance of Shaggy's red shirt from The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo until Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase.

Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf
2002 Promotional poster
Created by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Based on	Characters by Hanna-Barbera Productions
Written by	Jim Ryan
Directed by	Ray Patterson
Voices of	Don Messick Casey Kasem Hamilton Camp B.J. Ward Rob Paulsen Frank Welker Alan Oppenheimer Pat Musick Ed Gilbert Mimi Seton Jim Cummings Joan Gerber Brian Stokes Mitchell
Composer	Sven Libaek
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Producer	Berny Wolf
Editor	Mark Bernay
Running time	91 minutes[1]
Production company	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Original release
Network	Syndicated
Release	November 13, 1988 (1988-11-13)[2]
Related
Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School

Plot

Every year, all of the classic Hollywood monsters, consisting of Frankenstein's monster, his wife Repulsa, a mummy, the witch sisters, Bone Jangles the Skeleton, Dr. Jackyll and Mr. Snyde, Swamp Thing, and Dragonfly (a dragon/fly monster) gather at Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania for the "Monster Road Rally", a road race whose winner is given the "Monster of the Year" award. The race's announcer is Dracula's wife and co-host, Vanna Pira. Dracula receives a postcard from the Wolfman stating that he has retired to Florida and thus will not be participating in any further races.

Dracula fears he will have to cancel the race until his wolf-like manservant Wolfgang notifies him of a way to create a new werewolf. The full moon will come into the perfect position to transform a human into a werewolf for three nights. The one in line to become the next werewolf is revealed to be none other than Shaggy Rogers, who coincidentally has won a recent car race, with the help of his pit crew, Scooby-Doo, and Scooby's young nephew Scrappy-Doo.

Dracula sends his henchmen, Brunch and Crunch, to turn Shaggy into a werewolf and bring him back to his castle for the race. The first two nights, the duo is unsuccessful due to Scooby noticing their plans and preventing Shaggy from being exposed to moonlight. On the final night, while Shaggy is at a drive-in movie along with his girlfriend Googie, the Hunch Bunch successfully transform Shaggy by dropping the sunroof of his car. Shaggy, trapped in his wolf form, is transported to Transylvania.

Revealing himself, Dracula explains to Shaggy why he was transformed, but Shaggy refuses to participate in Dracula's plans. After several failed attempts to extort Shaggy, Dracula offers him a bargain; if Shaggy agrees to drive in the race and wins, Dracula will change him back to human and allow him and his friends to leave. The deal is made, but Dracula has no intent on allowing Shaggy to succeed.

Dracula attempts to rig the racecourse by sending the Hunch Bunch to implement traps, but despite their efforts, Shaggy completes the course expertly. In response, Dracula alters the racecourse, sabotages Shaggy's car, and has the Hunch Bunch deprive Shaggy of sleep.

The next morning, Googie energizes Shaggy with a kiss and repairs his car. Throughout the race, Dracula and the monsters attempt to sabotage Shaggy and Scooby, but fail due to interference from Googie and Scrappy. Dracula loses his patience and unleashes Genghis Kong, an ape-like monster, to stop Shaggy. As the other racers near the finish line, Googie and Scrappy return and rescue Shaggy and Scooby before making Genghis Kong fall onto the other monsters' cars, putting them out of the race.

Furious to see all of his schemes have failed, Dracula goes back on his deal, stating that there is no way to turn Shaggy back. After Vanna Pira reveals that the solution is in Dracula's spellbook, the gang steals the book and make an escape. Dracula chases after them and summons a thunderstorm, but is hit by lightning and falls into the ocean below. Shaggy and the gang escape when their car lands on an airplane.

Returning home, Googie uses the book to change Shaggy back to human. That night, the gang all sit down to watch another horror film while eating pizza, but unknown to them, Dracula and the Hunch Bunch sneak up to their window to announce that they have returned.

Voice cast

Main article: List of Scooby-Doo characters

• Don Messick as Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
• Casey Kasem as Norville "Shaggy" Rogers
• B.J. Ward as Googie, Repulsa, and Woman on TV
• Hamilton Camp as Count Dracula, Police Officer, and Man in Drive-In
• Jim Cummings as Frankenstein, Dragonfly, Wolfgong, Snack Bar Manager, Genghis Kong, and Monster on TV
• Joan Gerber as Short Witch Sister and Woman at Store
• Ed Gilbert as Dr. Jackyll, Mr. Snyde, Spooky Voice, Doorknob, and the Narrator
• Brian Mitchell as Bone Jangles
• Pat Musick as Vanna Pira and Girl in Drive-In #1
• Alan Oppenheimer as Mummy and Swamp Thing
• Rob Paulsen as Brunch, Ghost, and Man in Car
• Mimi Seton as Tall Witch Sister, Girl in Drive-In #2, Boy in Drive-In, and Screamer
• Frank Welker as Crunch, Spider Monster, Plant Monster, Tyler Country Racer #1, Rooster, and Schlockness Monster

Home media

The film was originally released in 1991 on VHS by Goodtimes Home Video and got re-released by Turner Home Entertainment in 1992. It was released that same year on Laserdisc by Image Entertainment. Warner Home Video re-released the film on VHS and DVD in Region 1 on March 5, 2002.^[1]

The film was released on Blu-ray on February 20, 2024, as an individual release, and as part of a Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 boxset through Warner Archive.^[4]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 20% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 5.0/10.^[5]