Top 10 Rip-Offs of Scooby Doo

“Wait,” you might be saying. “Isn’t ‘Super Friends’ a DC animated series?” Well, you’re correct, actually, with one minor difference. Actually, make that TWO minor differences: The Wonder Twins. These crime-fighting superheroes activated their powers in the “Super Friends” animated franchise from Hanna-Barbera. However, they weren’t the only connective tissue to “Scooby-Doo’s” mystery-solving legacy and this DC series. Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog were a trio of crime-fighting sidekicks concocted by Hanna-Barbera to make “Super Friends” feel more like a “Scooby-Doo” show. And you know what? Both efforts worked. After all, the phrase “Wonder Twin powers…activate!” still gets mentioned in the pop culture zeitgeist today.

The “Scooby-Doo” formula of attaching a pet or monster to a group of mystery-solving young people wasn’t the exclusive property of Hanna-Barbera. At least, not when it came to “Fangface.” That’s because this animated series came from the minds of ex-Hanna-Barbera employees. So, it’s totally different, right? Well, not really. The “Scooby-Doo”-isms are definitely still there, right down to the group of nosy kids. The main difference here is that one of these kids, Sherman “Fangs” Fangsworth, is a werewolf. Make that a crime-solving werewolf! It’s as silly as it sounds, and definitely a product of the late seventies, but it's also a lot of innocent, throwback fun, as well.

The post-“Scooby-Doo'' universe featured a bevy of animated upstarts, seeking to cast their lot in against Mystery Incorporated. “Clue Club” was one of those blink-and-you-missed attempts, a series that never hid its pretensions as a sub-Scooby imposter. Still, “Clue Club'' tried to up the ante by including not one, but two mystery-sniffing dogs. Woofer and Wimper were certainly no Scooby-Doo. Heck, they weren’t even up to Scooby-Dum’s level. However, they’re still heaps better than Scrappy-Doo, although that isn’t saying much. Woofer, Wimper, and their human pals got into a single season’s worth of adventures before episodes were shaved down and slid into other Hanna-Barbera programs.

The character of Charlie Chan definitely possesses a complex history when it comes to Asian representation. The most popular iterations of Chan were never portrayed by actors of Asian descent. That said, it was important that “The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan” featured Chinese actor Keye Luke voicing the title character. The show hit all of the expected “Scooby-Doo” story beats, only here with Chan’s children (along with their pet dog, Chu-Chu) assisting in solving the mysteries. Oh, and they also perform rock music in their spare time, of course, usually in music-video form for the audience at home. The show, unfortunately, didn’t last long, and some of the stereotypes haven’t aged well, but The Chan Clan still holds a historic part of Asian-American T.V. history.

“Dynomutt, Dog Wonder,” had something of a leg up on its competition back in 1976. This was due to the fact that Scooby himself would occasionally appear on the show, creating something of an early crossover. The titular Dynomutt was actually cybernetic, a robot dog similar to Inspector Gadget, who’s tasked with helping another superhero, The Blue Falcon. The show was simple and throwaway entertainment for the Saturday Morning Generation, but this doesn’t mean that it didn’t have fans. In fact, the Dynomutt character is one of the few rip-offs from this era that’s still remembered today. And that’s gotta count for something, right?

Speaking of “forgotten,” younger viewers can probably thank the “Mike Tyson Mysteries” for renewing interest in this otherwise obscure animated show from the early ‘70s. That’s because a character on that show, a ghost of The Marquess of Queensberry bears a striking, animated resemblance to “The Funky Phantom.” The OG series was actually a collaboration between Hanna-Barbera and Australian producers, seeking yet again to capitalize on the success of “Scooby-Doo.” There’s a supernatural element here, sure, but also young protagonists and a dog… not to mention a ghost cat named “Boo!” The show is profoundly weirder than other examples on this list, and for that reason alone worthy of some investigation. Tell ‘em Iron Mike sent you.

Contrary to other “Scooby-Doo” rip-offs spotlighted here, “Speed Buggy” contains NO crime-solving canine or feline in the lead. Instead, this animated show decided to go the four-wheel route and had a talking car take criminals to task. It’s honestly as strange as it sounds, and definitely indicative of early ‘70s animation and its “toss everything at the wall” approach. However, “Speed Buggy” was another single-season series that gained new life not only thanks to syndication, but to retro-appreciation. The titular “Speed Buggy” made an appearance, alongside many other Hanna-Barbera characters, in the Adult Swim series “Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law.” Here, an otherwise obscure “Scooby-Doo” knockoff was brought out of retirement to ride once more.

Jabberjaw, that talking, crime-solving shark, was another Hanna-Barbera character that guest-starred on “Harvey Birdman.” However, it could be argued that “Jabberjaw,” the series, may be a bit better remembered than some of its contemporaries. Could it be due to the quality of animation and storylines? Maybe, but the better guess is probably just that “Jabberjaw” was frankly a strange creation, and an even stranger shark. For starters, he played drums in a rock band, The Neptunes. Jabberjaw’s voice actor, the esteemed Frank Welker, is clearly doing a “Three Stooges” impersonation of Curly with his performance. It all combines to make “Jabberjaw” perhaps the greatest fish-out-of-water mystery crew to rival Scooby and the Gang.

“Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels” is the sort of glorious mish-mash that could’ve only been born in the 1970s. After all, “Charlie’s Angels” fever was still white-hot, after the show first debuted in 1976, so why not try and capitalize on the animation front? As a result, “Captain Caveman” combined the mystery-solving antics of “Scooby-Doo” with a trio of young, capable female protagonists. Of course, the fact that the antics of “Cavey” could also be gently connected with something out of “The Flintstones” didn’t hurt, either. It all made little sense in execution, but on paper it was a whole bunch of popular properties, smushed together to make a very weird Saturday morning cartoon.

The original “Josie and the Pussycats” only ran for a single season before being revamped in an outer space setting a year later. However, the legacy of this otherwise innocuous “Scooby-Doo” rip-off has surprisingly endured far beyond its initial run. Much of this success probably comes down to the fact that Josie and her bandmates were already established properties of the Archie Comics series, prior to being adapted by Hanna-Barbera. However, the show was forward-thinking with the character of Valerie Brown, the first recurring African-American character for a Saturday morning cartoon show. Additionally, the show’s memorable theme and likable characters made it easy for Josie and the Pussycats to be adapted years later for new movies and television shows.