Scooby Doo on Zombie Island

Well...we've been doing a lot of horror films lately, but none of them are exactly kid-friendly. With that said, I figured we should do at least one film for the kiddos. Now, what movie should we do? How about visiting one of Scooby Doo's many adventures?

Let's see...which one to pick...how about Scooby Doo on Zombie Island?

Behind the Scenes of Zombie Island

By the time the 1990s came around, Scooby Doo was hitting 30 years old, but it hadn't been doing too well. When A Pup Named Scooby Doo, another spinoff series in the franchise, wrapped up, the character disappeared from TV screens for a while - until the appearance of Cartoon Network.

When Cartoon Network launched in 1992, Scooby Doo reruns revived enthusiasm in the franchise. Zombie Island wasn't the first film to be made; there were several animated movies made throughout the late 80s, including Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf.

The film's animation was done by a Japanese company called Mook Animation. Scooby and the gang were redesigned to look more modern. It was released in 1998 to critical acclaim, with particular praise aimed at the film's darker tone.

A Darker Storyline

After years of doing the same old mystery-solving, Mystery Inc. splits with the gang all going their separate ways. Daphne Blake starts a TV series called Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake. The show is super successful, and Daphne announces her plan to try finding real monsters.

Fred Jones gathers the rest of the gang, and they begin their adventure. After several failed searches, the gang ends up in Louisiana. While there, they're approached by Lena Dupree. Lena works on a pepper plantation on Moonscar Island, an island that's apparently haunted by the ghost of a pirate - Morgan Moonscar. She invites the gang to the island to investigate the hauntings.

The gang, although skeptical, agrees and heads off to the island; it doesn't take long for them to encounter some very real monsters...

What Works on Zombie Island?

So, what works in Zombie Island? Well, there's plenty to like about the film.

• I loved the animation of the film. The gang's modern look is fantastic. I loved the anime-esque aesthetic.
• The music is great, the tracks Terror Time Again, and The Ghost is Here are some of my favorite tracks from a film soundtrack ever.
• The film is really, really well-paced.
• The film's twist of the monsters being real was great, and the backstories of Lena and Simone are really dark. Those backstories with the pirates driving their friends into the swampland, some 200 years before were much darker than anything the franchise had seen before and I loved that!
• Tone and pacing-wise, the film is great and consistent which is great.

What Doesn't Work on Zombie Island?

Is there anything that doesn't work in the film? Well...I don't know. I can't really think of anything that's too crazily bad. The curse that led to Lena and Simone's fate, isn't really well explained.

There are also a few instances where the humor sort of falls flat. The hot peppers sequences are somewhat irritating at times. Scooby chasing cats is a gag that, while funny the first time, isn't so funny the next time.

Final Verdict: Is Scooby Doo on Zombie Island Worth Watching?

So, is Scooby Doo on Zombie Island worth your time? Absolutely, yes. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth checking out. The film was, as previously mentioned, a major success. It has since developed an even larger following over the years.

I hope you guys enjoyed this one everyone, thanks for reading and Happy Halloween!