Scooby Doo! Ghastly Goals, on Tubi

While they are in Brazil, maybe the Scooby gang can solve the mystery of the missing light-rail. They started construction to service the 2014 World Cup, but it remains unfinished. At least you can see long stretches of rail going nowhere. That is more than the state of California has to show for the $15.7 billion spent on its light-rail boondoggle. However, Mystery Incorporated has a more pressing monster to unmask in Victor Cook’s Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals, which premieres tomorrow on Tubi.

If ever there were a man and a dog who could appreciate Brazilian churrascaria, it would be Shaggy and Scooby. Instead, they partake of that famous Brazilian street food, pancakes-on-a-stick. Seriously? Frankly, every Brazilian who visits America wants to have a big lumberjack stack of pancakes because they believe (not unfoundedly) that is a very American thing to do.

However, there is plenty of soccer/football. Ghastly Goals was an original episode-length Scooby mystery commissioned for a sports-themed boxset to tie-in with the then upcoming World Cup in Brazil. To be fair, they do a decent job recreating the sights and colors of Rio. The monster, the Eshu, is of Yoruba origin, which does indeed have a place in Afro-Brazilian tradition and lore. Perhaps the lab they visit, thanks to an empty test-tube clue, also appears to be somewhat inspired by Oscar Niemeyer’s flying saucer-looking Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum.

Obviously, this is a cartoon featuring a talking dog who likes to eat, so you should judge it by those standards. However, screenwriters Eric Maher & Kay Reindl’s ultra-frenetic caper, involving a missing autographed football injected with a dangerous super-bouncy formula, lacks the spookiness of the best Scooby episodes. It also ignores the best of Brazilian cuisine, like feijoada, coxinha, pao de queijo, and picanha. They can blame the Eshu, but Scooby and Shaggy do Brazil all wrong.

Of course, very few fans will care. This is a Scooby mystery a lot of people probably haven’t seen, even though it has been kicking around for over a decade. It also features an appropriately sinister guest voice-over performance from Danny Trejo.

Sure, Ghastly Goals is fun, but how did they miss out on the opportunity to take Scooby and Shaggy to an all-you-can-eat churrascaria? Amusing in the lightweight kind of way a lot of fans probably would prefer, Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals starts streaming tomorrow (4/1) on Tubi.