a review of

HOOPTOBER OCHO NIGHT THIRTY-ONE: Although I remembered this "short" (really just a set of Cartoon Network commercial bumpers stitched together) from back when it aired in pieces in 1999, I was surprised at how well-produced it was. Learning that the filmmakers went on to direct some of Adult Swim's interstitials (including the infamous "Too Many Cooks") was a big "aha" moment that brought the two CN eras together for me. As for the actual short, it's pretty much what you might expect: The late-'90s Gen-X nostalgia version of the Scooby Gang walking through the basic plot outline of Blair Witch, with some fairly slick animation compositing to put the characters into live-action footage shot on a handheld. It hits basically all the beats you might expect (save for the iconic Heather Donohue close-up monologue, kind of an odd choice to leave it out) but plays with the formula just enough to be fun.