Whether one enjoys "When Urkel Bots Go Bad" is very dependent on one's feelings on Steve Urkel. Which is actually true for all the episodes of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who', but more so than others. Personally am not an Urkel fan to put it lightly, but still saw the episode anyway because of being such a big Scooby Doo fan, as one can tell from previous reviews, and as someone who on the whole has been very pleasantly surprised by 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who'.
Expectedly, "When Urkel Bots Go Bad" really isn't one of the best 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who' episodes. Really did want to like it more and for it to be one of those episodes that didn't have a lot of promise but was better than expected, but that was not to be. It is still a just about average episode due to liking the mystery and the character moments, but it is badly let down by Urkel himself and how he is used which really did take away from enjoying "When Urkel Bots Go Bad" more.
There are good things. The animation has a lot of atmosphere, rich colour and even richer attention to detail. The music is dynamic and groovy, also loved the modern spin on the iconic classic theme tune for 'Scooby Doo Where are You', although it is too short. The writing is fun and smart, the Shaggy and Scooby humour being on point and did love the more self aware jokes regarding the dislike of Urkel, something that is acknowledged. A vast majority of the voice acting is very good, with Matthew Lillard nailing it as Shaggy.
Did like the mystery quite a lot. It is incredibly entertaining and atmospheric, and it also boasts one of the show's most interesting and surprising reveals. Loved Scooby, who is goofier than usual but amusing in that. The villains are very creepy and the character dynamics in the gang are spot on.
Sadly "When Urkel Bots Go Bad" is brought down significantly by Urkel himself. There is too much of him to an overbearing degree, to the point where he nearly overshadows the gang which affects the interaction. Personality wise, Urkel is so overbearing and obnoxious to such an unfunny degree that it unbalances the episode. Jaleel White also tries too hard as his voice.
Also thought that the story could have been more eventful and too much of the dialogue is over the top goofy, especially Urkel's.
From personal opinion there was a lot to like here, but the guest star just didn't work and it stops the episode from properly coming to life. 6/10.
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