Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog (2024)

Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog is a crossover direct-to-video film based on Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo and Cartoon Network's Courage the Cowardly Dog. It was released on September 14, 2021.

It is the first feature film based on the show since its conclusion in 2002, and later followed up with a short in 2014.

Summary[]

When the Mystery Inc. gang goes to Nowhere, Kansas to find Scooby-Doo, they stumble upon a cursed object located in the Bagge farm that garners the attention of a swarm of Cicadas leaving Scooby and friends to team up with Courage and his owners Eustace and Muriel Bagge to stop the manifestation that is plaguing Nowhere and the culprits behind it.

Plot[]

During the unmasking of a bank robbing clown, Scooby-Doo hears a strange noise and is driven to dance and then run away. Meanwhile Courage appears to be having the same problem, though Muriel and Eustace Bagge don't seem to notice. The gang rushes after Scooby only to find that they have ended up in Nowhere, where a group of hostile cicadas are attacking Courage and Scooby. After killing the cicadas, they are called inside the Bagge household and properly meet Muriel, Eustace, and Courage. Muriel and the gang have a nice chat, and she stumps them with a few riddles. Meanwhile Courage and Scooby try to force a hostile hairball back down the drain. A cicada also clings onto Shaggy's back, but is quickly defeated.

After the encounter, Muriel tells Shaggy, Scooby, and Courage to go watch some television. The trio have a talk about their fears. Though Courage doesn't speak while he talks through his fears, Shaggy and Scooby say that they can feel his fear. Eustace then makes it known that he's in the room by complaining about the trio. They then get an invite for dinner at the Mayor of Nowhere's place, pets welcome.

Immediately everyone starts to head to the Mayor of Nowhere's house; Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Muriel pile into the Mystery Machine while Scooby-Doo, Courage, and Eustace take Eustace's truck. However, Eustace is replaced by the Queen Cicada. The cicada rams into the back of the Mystery Machine with Eustace's truck, and the gang goes on a high-speed chase to save Scooby and Courage that ends with Eustace's truck destroyed.

After reuniting with Eustace, everyone arrives at the Mayor's house. Her Glockenspiel leads them into the parlor where they are attacked by furnitures. They escape this encounter when the Mayor greets them, saying it's just an old house. Over dinner, the Gang tries to bring up all the weird happenings in Nowhere with the Mayor, but he is dismissive. The Mayor encourages everyone to check out the museum wing of his mansion, but Eustace, Courage, Shaggy, and Scooby stay behind to eat. After complaining about the food, they all head to the kitchen. Eustace gets frustrated while cooking and heads home. Scooby, Shaggy, and Courage continue to look for more ingredients, but instead run into the mayor who appears to be devoured by the Queen Cicada. A chase scene begins.

Meanwhile the rest of the gang gets a quick recap on the history of Nowhere in the museum. Eventually they find a secret passage that leads underground where they see a meteor hooked up to machinery. Velma notes that it's making calls. The people receiving calls seem immediately hypnotized. Shaggy, Scooby, and Courage end their chase by falling onto the machine, breaking it. Without the machinery, gravity begins to act strangely.

At the Bagge's, Eustace is making a very Shaggy-esque sandwich when he gets guests at the door. Each one is one of the call recipients and they leave large amounts of money behind. Eustace then sings 'Outta Nowhere', where he brags about his newfound wealth.

The Gang along with Courage and Muriel return to the Bagge's house, immediately noticing that the Bagge's farm actually has corn growing on it. The Queen Cicada then shows up and chases everyone through the cornfield. A swarm of cicadas shows up though and abducts everyone except for Scooby, Shaggy, and Courage. Shaggy give a heartfelt speech about how Courage is not the absence of fear but action in the face of fear. He is immediately abducted afterwards. Courage and Scooby decide they should act and go to Computer for help. It is unable to help them until they hook Velma's tablet up to it. Together they tell them to dig straight down for the meteor, as it should be directly below them. They do, though they seem to suffer from the compulsive dancing from the beginning of the film as they dig. It doesn't seem to impede them at all.

Scooby-Doo and Courage retrieve the meteor but are chased by a swarm of cicadas . They also free their kidnapped friends and family and fight cicadas. It isn't enough though, as it ends with Muriel being kidnapped by the Queen Cicada and causing a cave-in. Courage forces his way out from under the rubble to save her, however when he gets Muriel to safety, the meteor is compromised and turns the Queen Cicada giant. After a pep-talk from Muriel, Courage retrieves the meteor and turns himself giant to fight the Queen Cicada. Courage is soon overpowered and almost killed before Muriel turns him back to his normal size so he can take the meteor and run. The Queen Cicada is eventually trapped by the scraps of a windmill that she destroyed. Courage then uses the meteor to get everyone to safety.

Everyone gathers around the trapped Queen Cicada and Daphne unmasks her. She is revealed to be the Mayor of Nowhere, but then the Mayor is unmasked by Velma and is revealed to be Katz and Le Quack. They wanted to destroy Courage and his family and take the money they had delivered to the farmhouse when they were done. Then, Her Glockenspiel and Frau Glockenspiel come to arrest the two criminals, revealing themselves to be the Lieutenant and the General respectively.

With everyone having a dance party with the meteor and villains included, Courage closes the movie by saying "Well goodnight folks, Bye!".

Cast[]

• Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo, Fred Jones
• Grey Griffin as Daphne Blake, Frau Glockenspiel
• Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers
• Kate Micucci as Velma Dinkley, Velma's Tablet
• Marty Grabstein as Courage, Clown/Mr. McGill
• Thea White as Muriel Bagge, Rich Old Lady
• Jeff Bergman as Eustace Bagge, Computer, Mayor
• Paul Schoeffler as Katz, Le Quack, Narrator
• Jeff Bennett as General, Self Help Book
• Chuck Montgomery as Lieutenant, Mr. Glockenspiel

Crew[]

• Cecilia Aranovich
• Mike Ryan
• Jody Gray
• Andy Ezrin

Songs[]

• Game of Life
• Straight Outta Nowhere
• The Opposite Of Fear Is Fun

Transcript[]

Main article: Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog/Transcript

Gallery[]

Main article: Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog/Gallery

Trivia[]

• It was originally called Scooby-Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog.^[1]
• According to series creator John R. Dilworth, who was not involved with the movie, the film was conceived right when his prequel Before Courage was still in production and was put on infinite turnaround as a result. He was approached to be a consultant after the story and production was mid-locked, but he immediately declined as he not only wasn't particularly fond of Scooby Doo nor the idea of crossovers let alone with his own productions, but felt that he should've been at least approached to write for the film early on.^[2] Despite this, he gave design style guides for the production team to use as reference for animating/designing the Courage characters.
  • Despite being the first feature film based on Courage the Cowardly Dog, it will be the first official Courage project without Dilworth's involvement.
• Not counting promotional adverts that aired on Cartoon Network during the series run, this will be officially the first time both Scooby-Doo and Courage are meeting each other proper.
• Marty Grabstein and Thea White reprised their roles as Courage and Muriel Bagge, while Jeff Bergman is voicing Eustace Bagge taking over for Lionel Wilson and Arthur Anderson, due to the former two of the three passing away in 2003 and 2016, respectively and Wallace Shawn from The Fog of Courage animated special from 2013. Paul Schoeffler reprised his role as Katz and Le Quack and Chuck Montgomery also reprised his role as the Lieutenant while the General was voiced by Jeff Bennett, replacing the late Ron McLarty whom passed in 2020.
  • Bergman himself had previously voiced Eustace in a promo for Cartoon Network's 20th Anniversary back in 2012.
• According to animator and artist Tracy Mark Lee, the film's original premise was pitched as an episode of Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?.
• Maxwell Atoms, whom directed numerous Scooby Doo films, was initally approached to direct the film but declined out of respect for John Dilworth's non-involvement.
• It will serve as a posthumous and the final performance of Thea White, who died during production.^[3]
• This will mark as the fifth Scooby-Doo crossover with a Cartoon Network series. The previous four being Johnny Bravo, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes and Teen Titans Go!.
• Courage the Cowardly Dog is the seventh Cartoon Cartoon to get a feature film. The previous six being Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Codename: Kids Next Door, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Ed, Edd n Eddy and Johnny Bravo.
• Although far from being their first collaboration in general, this film is the first Warner Bros. Animation animated film that featured Cartoon Network characters/properties without the involvement of Cartoon Network Studios.
• Not counting promotional adverts that aired on Cartoon Network during the series run, this will be officially the first time both Scooby-Doo and Courage are meeting each other proper.
• Mystery, Inc. is no stranger to meeting Cartoon Network stars; they previously met Johnny Bravo (1997) and guest starred in an episode of his show titled Bravo Dooby-Doo (1997).
• The title recalls the name of the 1988 N.W.A album "Straight Outta Compton".
• The opening credits feature characters from episodes
  • Katz' Spiders (A Night at the Katz Motel)
  • Big Toe (The Clutching Foot)
  • Snowman (The Snowman Cometh)
  • Evil Eggplants (Journey to the Center of Nowhere)
  • Fred (Freaky Fred)
  • Carmen (Serpent of Evil River)
  • Robot Randy (Robot Randy)
  • Dr. Zalost (The Tower of Dr. Zalost)
  • Duck Brothers (The Duck Brothers)
  • Jeeves Weevil (Evil Weevil)
• A verse in the song "The Opposite Of Fear Is Fun":"Are you looney as a tune?" is a reference to Looney Tunes.
• During the documentary for Nowhere, several pieces of footage from the show was used featuring some of the villains and anomalies Courage had faced; in order:
  • The Mask (featuring Kitty in the robe and mask)
  • The Revenge of the Chicken from Outer Space (featuring Courage's impersonation of the Chicken)
  • The Tower of Dr. Zalost (featuring Dr. Zalost)
  • A Night at the Katz Motel (featuring Katz)
  • Altered footage of Dr. Le Quack, Amnesia Specialist (featuring LeQuack)
  • Robot Randy (episode) (featuring the titular antagonist)
  • Night of the Weremole (featuring the Weremole snatching a rabbit)
  • Journey to the Center of Nowhere (featuring the Eggplants)
• When Courage, Shaggy, and Scooby were discussing their fears, Courage made impersonations of one of Katz's spiders, the Space Chicken, Big Toe, Jeeves Weevil, Banana suit dealer, and Carmen.
• In the mayor's mansion There are picture frames, props and displays of Courage's villain's.
• The Nowhere Newsman was credited as the Narrator even though there is no narrator in this movie.
• This is one of the few times both Muriel and Eustace (briefly) helps Courage as Eustace tries to fight off a evil chair and Muriel helps Courage defeat the evil Cicada Queen.
• This project actually supports a theory from the show “Gravity Falls”, in which an object of immense power attracts the paranormal. In this case, the Dark Matter Meteorite attracts all the paranormal activity to Nowhere.

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