Let's Watch This: An Episode of "Fangface"

Ah, the sub-genre of cartoons that is the Scooby-Doo cash-grab. We've already covered Jabberjaw, but there are tons of cartoons from the 1970s that were made for the sole purpose of duplicating Scooby's success. Usually, the only unique thing about these shows was whatever they had to be the Scooby equivalent, which were usually distinct enough to prevent them from just feeling like clones of him.

In 1978, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears - the guys who created Scooby-Doo for Hanna-Barbera - came up with a new idea to cash in on its success: what if you fused the Shaggy equivalent and the Scooby equivalent into one character? Hmmm, there might be potential in that.

The result was Fangface.

Fangface premiered in September 1978 and received two seasons, making for a total of twenty-four episodes. It starred four teenagers - Fred equivalent Biff (voiced by Jerry Dexter), Daphne knockoff Kim (Susan Blu), Shaggy clone Sherman "Fangs" Fangsworth (Frank Welker), and the only character NOT to be a copy of a Scooby-Doo character, Puggsy (Bart Braverman). Whenever he sees the moon, or at least a picture of it, Sherman turns into the Scooby-Doo-esque werewolf Fangface (also Frank Welker). If he sees the sun, or something resembling it, he turns back into Sherman. Oh, and in this show, the monsters aren't just guys in costumes, they're real. See? It's TOTALLY different from Scooby-Doo. In all fairness, though, Scooby-Doo would eventually do the "Shaggy is a werewolf" thing themselves with Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf... did Scooby-Doo copy the copy?

Y'know, in hindsight, since the show stars a werewolf, maybe this is another show that I should've waited until the Halloween season to post a review of. Ah well...

Ever notice that these Scooby-Doo knockoffs never have a Velma equivalent?

Well, since its run on ABC, Fangface has been rerun on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, and five episodes were released on VHS. In 2022, the show's first season was added to Apple TV. Nowadays, people only seem to bring it up when talking about the multiple Scooby-Doo cash-grabs that were created. Now, that being said, just because something is a cash-grab doesn't automatically mean it's going to be bad... after all, The Jetsons was made to cash in on the success of The Flintstones, and I watched an episode of Speed Buggy, another Scooby-Doo cash-in, and I thought it was pretty good. Does Fangface have enough going for it to stand out on its own, regardless of its original intent to get a slice of Scooby-Doo's pie?

No, no, not THAT pie.

Why don't we find out? I'm gonna watch the fourteenth episode of the show, "A Toothy Shark is No Lark", to see if Fangface is a howling good time. By the way, did I mention that the second season introduces an infant nephew for Fangface called Fangpuss (Frank Welker again)? Yep, the show even has its own Scrappy-Doo (I'm in the minority of folks who don't mind Scrappy, but come on, they weren't even trying to hide it by this point)...

The episode starts off with Biff, Kim, Sherman, and Puggsy on a cruise ship. Sherman talks about how great it is that they're taking a Caribbean cruise in the Mediterranean, to which Puggsy says you can't take a Caribbean cruise in the Mediterranean because, y'know, it's the Mediterranean as opposed to the Caribbean, all the while Sherman does this weird toweling off dance that looks even funnier out of context.

"Why, Sherman Fangsworth, I do believe that you're trying to seduce me!"

Biff, meanwhile, reads in the newspaper that Emperor Neptune escaped from the police after stealing secret electronic equipment from a government marine laboratory. Yes, Emperor Neptune as in Neptune the Greek god. Half-human, half-fish. THAT Neptune. What exactly would a Greek god want with secret electronic equipment? And if people know that, in this world, Neptune exists, why isn't anybody making a bigger deal out of it? Are Greek gods just commonplace in this world? Do people run into Zeus at their local grocery store sometimes?

Unless this isn't the actual Greek god Neptune but rather just somebody claiming to be him. Sherman seems to think so, seeing as he dubs the situation "fishy". Or maybe he just couldn't resist making that joke...

The paper also has a photo of Neptune and... holy frijoles.

THAT'S Neptune? Isn't he usually depicted as a top-heavy guy with a mermaid's tail? Not the missing link between humans and pirahnas?

Anyhow, Kim asks this guy who's with them named Professor Carson what he thinks Neptune's motive is. His belief is that the paper is exaggerating and that Neptune just wanted to return to the sea from which he came. "Now, uh, if you'll excuse me, I have an important matter to take care of," he adds, standing up and walking away. Calling it, Neptune's gonna be unmasked to reveal Professor Carson underneath.

He's wearing gloves, his hands aren't a different skin tone from his head.

"The whole story's fishy! Fishy, fishy, fishy!" Sherman declares. You already made that joke, Sherm. We then cut to Professor Carson going back to his cabin, acting all suspicious-like, and... well, I was wrong. Neptune doesn't get unmasked to reveal Professor Carson underneath. Rather, Professor Carson unmasks himself to reveal Neptune underneath!

What a twist!

Neptune opens up his suitcase to reveal a bunch of high-tech crap inside, including something that sends out some sort of signal to a nearby shark underwater. Careful, Neptune, you don't wanna get sued by Aquaman for copyright infringement...

I guess since there's a shark, the show felt obligated to include at least ONE reference to
Jaws...

Back on the ship, Sherman and Puggsy have been walking in circles trying to find their cabin. Sherman opens the door to one cabin, thinking it's theirs... only to be greeted by Mr. Catfish Face... who, by the way, should really put some clothes on, because he does NOT look good in a speedo.

"ZOINKS! I mean, wowie-wow-WOW! I mean... what's my catchphrase, again?"

Sherman and Puggsy make a run for it, eventually hiding from Neptune in a lifeboat. When Sherman peeks out to see if they've given Tall, Buff and Olive Green the slip, he sees the moon emerge from behind a cloud, and... you can guess what happens next, right?

"I think there was somethin' funny in those oysters I ate at the all-you-can-eat buffet..."

Hocus pocus, abracadabra, Sherman turns into Fangface.

I bet he's a member of Team Jacob.

And what does Fangface do? He jumps out of the lifeboat and carries Puggsy over to Neptune. For some reason. Maybe it's because Puggsy is a grouch who can't go five seconds without insulting him. Neptune then, um, throws Puggsy into the air... if he doesn't want Puggsy, why was he chasing him and Sherman? I'm very confused. Fortunately, Fangface manages to save Puggsy...

"Ugh, I shoulda taken that job with Josie and the Pussycats..."

...and they wind up falling overboard. I was expecting this to be the part where they encounter that shark from before, but nope, instead we cut to them back on the ship, telling the captain about their encounter with Neptune. Biff and Kim are there, too. Where were they when all of that was going on? Making out in a broom closet or something?

Also, why isn't the captain at all fazed by the sight of a WEREWOLF in front of him?

The captain doesn't believe their claims of a half-human half-fish monster running around the ship, so they'll have to split up and search the ship themselves. To allow entry into every cabin, Fangface and Puggsy disguise themselves.

Please take a look at the following screencap.

Fangface really expects anyone to think he's a girl? If she's a lady, I'm a Vermicious Knid.

Puggsy and Fangface are held up by some burly guy forcing them to clean up his bunk. Fangface cleans up the whole room with what may very well be the world's most powerful vacuum cleaner (it sucks up the bed and the DRESSER, for one thing). Then Neptune suddenly appears in the doorway. Puggsy and Fangface pursue him into the ship's cargo hold.

Anyone else notice that we've barely seen any of Biff and Kim in this episode? I've heard that the reason why Fred and Daphne always went off together in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? is because the creators found them boring and wanted to get them off-camera so they could focus more on Shaggy and Scooby's antics. Maybe it's the same here?

Wow, the ship's carrying a bunch of CARS? Do ANY actual cruise ships carry cars
in their cargo holds?

In the cargo hold, Puggsy and Fangface hop aboard a motorcycle (who the heck brings a motorcycle onto a cruise ship?) and manage to corner Neptune... until he manages to trap them in a net.

One brief scene with Biff and Kim later, we see that Neptune has tied up Puggsy and Fangface in a bunk. What's Neptune up to? Well, y'know that giant shark from before? He has it grab ahold of the anchor and pull the ship in the opposite direction. Did he really need a shark to turn the ship around? Couldn't he just lock the captain out and take control of the steering wheel? Your plan seems unessesarily complicated, Fishface.

I suppose I should mention right now that the whole reason I chose to review the episode with a shark in it is so that I could make a bunch of Jabberjaw references. The shark doesn't actually look anything like Jabberjaw, but beggars can't be choosers...

"I don't get no respect!"

Puggsy and Fangface manage to escape, then meet back up with Biff, Kim, and the Captain. "We've gotta figure a way to get the shark to open his mouth and let go of that anchor!" Biff says... by the way, I love how they gave THIS Fred equivalent the same name as the Fred equivalent in Jabberjaw.

Fortunately, Puggsy has a plan. He and Fangface will hop inside a lifeboat, float over to the shark, and use a carjack to open its mouth. It's foolproof!

Look at that shark's expression. You can tell he's utterly humiliated right now. He didn't choose
to do a villain's bidding, he just desperately needed the money. He's got a wife and pups to feed.

The shark winds up going underwater, taking Fangface with it. And while they're underwater, Fangface spots a pufferfish that he thinks looks like the sun... uh oh.

Something I should mention is that, when Fanface turns back into Sherman, he has no memory of anything that occured while he was Fangface. That throws a wrench into Puggsy's plan, especially when Sherman does what ANYBODY would do if they saw a giant shark directly in front of them and makes a run for it.

"Hey, how am I breathing underwater anyhow?"

And by "makes a run for it", I mean Sherman leaps back to the surface and starts running on water (I guess being a werewolf gives you that power, too).

The shark tows the ship towards a creepy-looking island with a pirate fortress on it...

If you listen closely, you can hear them singing "Yo, Ho, Yo, Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me".

Neptune tells everyone on board, from the crow's nest, that they are now his prisoners. He plans to use them as slave labor to build a new Atlantis. Word of advice, Neptune - if you want a new Atlantis, just go to Nassau. Oh, and could you please keep the Hawaiian shirt on? Like I said, you don't look good in a speedo.

"BY THE WAY, I LIKE THE FUNKY PHANTOM BETTER!"

And to make sure nobody tries to escape, he's also holding the ship's crew members hostage. They're tied up in a boat that the shark is circling, which Puggsy describes as "a fine kettle of fish" (get it?).

It's up to Biff, Kim, Puggsy, and Sherman to save the day. They use a buoy to get to the fortress, then get their hands on a net off-camera which they plan to throw on Neptune. Because it's not like he can just tear through the net with his sharp teeth, is it? After that, Sherman will grab the shark-control device and use it to send Lenny from Shark Tale's evil twin on its way.

"Hey, wait... if Neptune is a sea creature, how can he survive on dry land?"

"I dunno, the same way you could survive underwater a few minutes ago?"

"Or maybe his being half-human gives him the ability to breathe air as well as underwater?"

"It's a cartoon, guys, don't question its logic too much..."

Wouldn't you know it? The moon returns (it sure took its sweet time) and Sherman turns back into Fangface... who promptly blows their cover to Neptune. Thanks a lot, moon.

Also, is it just me, or does Fangface look a bit like the Honeycomb Monster?

Puggsy grabs the shark control device, but then Fangface grabs him and the device goes flying out the window. Well, on the bright side, Fangface could easily just EAT Neptune. After all, he IS a werewolf. Half-wolf. A carnivorous creature. Maybe he just doesn't like seafood?

Neptune reveals that he has another device hidden on the ship, then rushes off to get it, the good guys in hot pursuit. Fangface manages to nab Neptune, and the good guys tie him up. Now they just have to deal with the shark. Fangface takes it down by running into its mouth, then dragging it onto dry land inside its tailfin, all the way to the opposite side of the island. Don't try this at home, kids.

"If I get a hairball, I swear to Poseidon..."

Neptune is locked in the ship's brig, the day is saved, and everybody who boarded that ship hoping for a relaxing cruise is probably going to ask for a refund. And Fangface now has a lot of girls going ga-ga for him. I guess there are a lot of furries onboard.

That one girl having suns on her bathing suit winds up turning Fangface back into Sherman.
That's the only reason why her bathing suit has suns on it as opposed to being one solid color like
everyone else's.

So all's well that ends well.

What's the Verdict?

I went into this with an open mind, but I think this is another one I'm gonna have to put in the mediocre category. The animation is fine, if nothing else, but the show does very little to hide the fact that it was made to cash in on the success of Scooby-Doo. The characters aren't very interesting - Biff and Kim are just Fred and Daphne 7.0, Puggsy is dull and his "constantly in a bad mood and insulting Sherman" shtick makes him unlikable (not Entree from Spliced levels of unlikable, but unlikable), Sherman is just a less funny version of Shaggy, and Fangface himself is pretty annoying. Not one of Frank Welker's better roles. There's nothing to see in this show that hasn't been done better in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, or even something like Jabberjaw or Speed Buggy. It's not an awful show, and I sincerely doubt it's even the crummiest of the various Scooby-Doo knockoffs out there (somehow I doubt it's worse than The New Shmoo, which I'll probably wind up reviewing at some point too [the rhyme was unintentional]), but as a whole? Meh.

Ah well, this does have one thing over Scooby-Doo... it didn't have an awful live action movie adaptation starring Matthew Lillard.