- This article is about the episode. For the monster, see Spirit of El Bandito. For the real bandit, see Benito Ureno.
El Bandito is the twenty-third episode of season 1 of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
Premise
During the Day of the Dead festivities, Fred wants to make himself a legend like El Bandito, who has come back to protect his treasure.
Synopsis
Two teenagers are watching clouds in a cemetery. After looking at some clouds, one of the teens notices a skeleton desperado with swords, who scares the two.
The gang is driving through the desert. Velma says that she's surprised that Shaggy and Scooby said yes to attending a Dia de Los Muertos celebration. Shaggy and Scooby say that Fred told them that Dia de Los Muertos is a big party with music, costumes, and food. They claim they want to eat something called Muertos, which makes Daphne confused and asks Fred, but Fred cuts her off and parks the van. When Shaggy and Scooby arrive they see the decorations and costumes of monsters, they scream and run back into the van. Velma and Daphne berate Fred for not telling Scooby and Shaggy the truth. Shaggy and Scooby are mad at Fred for lying to them but forgive him anyway after Fred mentions he'll buy food.
When they go inside, Velma tells Shaggy and Scooby the point of the holiday. Daphne tries to talk to her deceased ancestors for a sign, then gets hit in the face with a sign from a cookie store. Shaggy and Scooby leave for that store, but not before Fred gives them money. Daphne thinks the sign is a message from her Great Aunt Cookie, who was an outcast of her family. They meet Mayor Rogers, who welcomes them to the celebration and throws streamers everywhere. She asks them to have a good time or else someone named El Bandito will get them. Fred is quickly surprised by this, Mayor Rogers says that two kids were attacked by the Spirit of El Bandito over by cemetery hill, then claims they were just crazy. When Velma asks who El Bandito is, Fred explains that El Bandito was one of the greatest criminals in history. For over 50 years he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor then he robbed from the poor. He had an enormous stash of loot that was never found, but he swore his spirit would return to protect it. Mayor Rogers tells them not to worry, claiming it's just a legend, then warns Fred to stay out of trouble. Fred really wants to solve the mystery, because if he does he will be part of the legend and will be named El Frederico (which means "the Fred").
Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby get lost and become scared of the people in costume. They go into a dark alley and ask a mysterious stranger for directions, but the stranger turns out to be the spirit of El Bandito. Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, and Velma are looking for Shaggy and Scooby, when they crash into a nearby stand. Daphne claims it's a sign from her ancestors, but Velma just says it was just coincidence. Fred asks them what happened, but when Shaggy and Scooby explain Fred just claims that they got spooked by the decorations. The gang heads towards the cemetery, when Shaggy asks why they're here. Fred replies that focusing on the mystery will take their minds off the scary stuff. They find what appears to be El Bandito's boot prints, meaning he was here. They meet Mort, the cemetery's caretaker, who asks what they're doing here. Fred explains that they're investigating the El Bandito sighting. Mort claims he doesn't know what they're talking about, but he lets them take a look around because he can't stop them - legally. They arrive at the tomb of El Bandito, much to Fred's excitement. Velma notices that the tomb is sealed inside and out, while Fred theorises that he'll solve the mystery if he thinks like El Bandito. Then El Bandito himself comes and attacks the gang.
The gang splits up with El Bandito chasing Shaggy and Scooby out of the cemetery and into a hospital. Shaggy and Scooby trick El Bandito by dressing up like a doctor and a nurse and putting him on a hospital table. Shaggy and Scooby ride a trolley down the road and crash into an El Bandito themed stand owned by a man named Gustavo. Fred is intrigued by the merchandise, but Velma states that it may be less than authentic. Gustavo claims that he is the official El Bandito expert, but Fred says otherwise, so they start asking each other questions about El Bandito - his real name, his last words, his crimes, his foot size, his tattoos, and where he hid his treasure, to which Gustavo claims if he knew he wouldn't be selling the merchandise. Mayor Rogers comes and complains about the cemetery incident, but when the gang tries to explain about El Bandito, Mayor Rogers kicks them out of her town. When Shaggy and Scooby try to leave, Fred stops them saying to solve this mystery they need to go undercover.
The gang go to a costume shop and wear Day of the Dead disguises; with Velma and Daphne as senoritas, Shaggy and Scooby as a bride and groom, and Fred as El Bandito. They arrive at the cemetery party and head to El Bandito's tomb because they only open the tomb once a year on this day. They investigate the tomb and find it dusty, full of offerings, and has El Bandito's actual hat, scarf, and swords. Then the spirit of El Bandito shows up and traps the gang in the tomb with no way out. To their horror, the gang realise the tomb is airtight and they are in danger of suffocation.
El Bandito attacks the party in the cemetery and scares the townspeople. The gang, still trapped inside the tomb becomes depressed at their predicament util Fred looks at El Bandito's hat and scarf very suspiciously. Daphne then figures out what her Aunt Cookie was trying to tell her, by discovering the initials for El Bandito's real name, which are B U. Daphne says it means to be yourself, even though it's a stretch. She says that Aunt Cookie had an old saying that meant you can't be something you're not because then you're not you. She encourages the gang to get out of the tomb by using their own skills, to which they all agree. They use El Bandito's sword to prop the door open right before they run out of air, then go after El Bandito.
El Bandito is seen scaring everyone until he is confronted by Fred. Shaggy then swings over, steals his scarf, and gives it to Scooby, who gives it to Daphne, who gives it to Velma who is using stilts. El Bandito has Velma cornered until Fred cuts a rope, which causes a giant El Bandito decoration to fall right on El Bandito. The police and Mayor Rogers arrives and orders the officers to arrest the gang. But Fred tells her to hold on as he unmasks El Bandito who is in fact Gustavo, the resident El Bandito expert. Gustavo studied everything about El Bandito to learn where his stolen loot was hidden, he finally figured out that the secret to finding the loot was hidden in plain sight, inside El Bandito's tomb. But the tomb was only opened one night a year for the day of the dead celebration, so Gustavo decided to dress up as El Bandito to scare away any witnesses. He then hoped to slip into the tomb unseen and grab El Bandito's scarf, which is actually a treasure map. Gustavo states that his plan was perfect and questions the gang on how they figured it out.
Gustavo's plan was too perfect, and pointed to the culprit being an El Bandito expert. This included wearing two different sizes shoes, just like the real El Bandito. But what really brought it all together was when Fred noticed that the scarf in the tomb wasn't covered in dust like the sombrero, because it had been recently replaced with a new cheap knock off from Gustavo's novelties.
The police arrest Gustavo, then Fred claims he wouldn't have gotten the loot because Gustavo never figured out that El Bandito's swords were the keys to the treasure! The skull marks on the swords match the skull mark on the map. Fred then flips over Gustavo's stand revealing a door and uses the swords to unlock it, which reveals El Bandito's stolen loot. After Mayor Rogers gleefully claims the loot, Velma congratulates Fred for solving the mystery, which makes Fred feel good.
Characters
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Mayor Rogers (only appearance)
- Mort (only appearance)
Villains:
- Spirit of El Bandito (only appearance)(no lines)(Gustavo's disguise)
- Gustavo (first appearance)
Other characters:
- Teen girl (only appearance)
- Teen boy (only appearance)
- Miscellaneous citizens (only appearance)(no lines)
- Cookie Blake (only time mentioned)(deceased)
- Benito Ureno/El Bandito (only appearance)(no lines)(flashback only)(deceased)
- Police officers (only appearance)(no lines)
Locations
- Mercado, Mexico
- Cemetery
- Gustavo's Gift Shop
Objects
- Velma's cell phone
Vehicles
Suspects
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Mayor Rogers | The town's tourism is built around El Bandito. |
| Mort | He doesn't like people in his cemetery. |
| Gustavo | He knows everything about El Bandito. |
Culprits
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Gustavo as the Spirit of El Bandito | To find the hidden loot of the real El Bandito. |
Cast
| Frank Welker | Scooby-Doo Fred Jones Gustavo |
|---|---|
| Matthew Lillard | Shaggy Rogers |
| Grey Griffin | Daphne Blake Teen girl Mayor Rogers |
| Kate Micucci | Velma Dinkley |
| James Arnold Taylor | Mort Teen boy |
Songs
Notes/trivia
- It was supposed to air on April 2, 2016, before Cartoon Network quickly removed it from their schedule. It was finally given a date on June 20, 2017 to be aired on Boomerang at 3:00am.
- Despite having the same surname, Mayor Rogers is not related to Shaggy.
- By the surname, it is implied that Mayor Rogers would be Mexican-American, mainly because the Rogers surname is not a Mexican/Hispanic surname, but an American surname, implying that she may be originally from the USA.
Miscellaneous
- Disguises: Shaggy as doctor; Scooby as nurse; Velma and Daphne as skeleton senoritas; Shaggy and Scooby as a skeleton bride and groom; Fred as skeleton El Bandito.
- Daphne Du Jour: Thinks her dead Aunt Cookie is communicating with her.
Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches
- TBA
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities
- TBA
In other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Greek | Ο Ληστής | The Bandit |
Home media
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!: Season 1, Part 2 - Teamwork Screamwork DVD set released by Warner Home Video on January 16, 2018.- Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!: Season 1, Part 2 DVD set released by Warner Home Video on January 11, 2017.
Quotes
DAPHNE: Heheh...Velma, coincidence's don't just happen, duh. |
Shaggy: Why do dead dudes always follow us? |
References
External links
- TBA
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| I Scooby Dooby Do | Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! Season 1 |
Into the Mouth of Madcap |