SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND (1998)
+ SCOOBY-DOO! RETURN TO ZOMBIE ISLAND (2019)
Double-Feature Blu-ray
Label: Warner Archive
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 76 Minutes 39 Seconds / 79 Minutes 51 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-MA HD 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles / English DTS-MA HD 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Directors: Jim Stenstrum, Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton & Ethan Spaulding
Cast: Scott Innes, Billy West, Mark Kay Bergman, Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) is a direct-to-video feature-length animated movie with some fun horror-chops that turned out a bit spookier than I would have imagined. The original show was sort of a catalyst for this horror-loving kid from a young age, and this new adventure featuring Shaggy (Billy West, Futurama), Velma (B.J. Ward, G.I. Joe: The Movie), Daphne (Mary J Bergman, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders) and Fred (Frank Welker, the only returning original voice cast from the original series,) who reunite after a year apart to celebrate Daphne's birthday by taking part in her and Fred latest endeavor, a ghost hunting TV show looking for some real ghosties. Initially they only find the usual ghouls in rubber masks, before arriving in New Orleans, Louisiana where they are invited by Lena Dupree (Tara Charendoff, Ben 10) to visit Moonscar Island, which is allegedly haunted by the ghost of the pirate Morgan Moonscar, and to stay at the pepper plantation mansion where she works, which is owned by her employer Simone Lenoir (Adrienne Barbeau, The Fog). There they encounter zombies, ghost pirates and a secret cabal of cat-statue worshipping voodoo were-cats! This flick is a truly frightfully fun spooktacular with some actual supernatural elements as opposed the the gang's usual unmasking a rubber-faced villains that are very human in nature, though it's not the first time, but it was pretty rare for the franchise. Also onboard for this adventure are a curmudgeonly gardener named Beau Neville (Cam Clarke, The Tick) who has a secret of his own, and a weirdo local fisherman Snakebite Scruggs (Mark Hamill, Batman: The Animated Series) who is always chasing after a legendary local catfish "Big Mona". This has everything a monster kid could want from a Scooby-Doo toon, Shaggy and Scooby scared witless and perpetually ravenous with hunger, secret passageways, a creepy bayou plantation, ghouls galore, and life-force draining were-cats - it's a real banger of a Scoob flick. It also benefits from animation that closely approximates the style and look of vintage series, with animation done by the Japanese studio Mook Animation (Æon Flux) that I found quite attractive. The character designs are terrific with cool-looking zombies, ghosts and were-cats, the backgrounds are classic spooky Scooby-Doo and add loads of atmosphere, and I loved all the wonks and nods to the original series.
The sequel Scooby-Doo!: Return to Zombie Island (2019), which came nearly two decades later, also a direct-to-video offering. As the flick opens Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard, who also portrayed Shaggy in the two live-action Scooby-Doo movies), Fred (also Welker), Daphne (Grey Griffin, Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!) and Velma (Kate Micucci, Garfunkel & Oates) have sold off the Mystery Machine and retired Mystery Inc.. However, when Scooby and Shaggy win a tropical vacation as a prize package on the a televised program hosted by Elvira (Cassandra Peterson, Elvira's Haunted Hills) the whole gang boards a ferry to an familiar looking island in the bayou, hardly tropica;. Arriving at the Moonstar Island Resort they are greeted by proprietor Alan (John Michael Higgins, Vampire's Kiss), and the hotel staff, but Scoob and Shaggy find themselves attacked by zombies, which are revealed to be the hotel staff in masks, and that hotel Manager Alan is actually film director Alan Smithee, a clever name indeed, and that he is secretly shooting a film, on what is actually Moonscar Island from the first film! Mystery Inc. kind of like the idea so they join in n making the film but the film crew and the the gang find themselves once again facing off against were-cats, juts like the first flick. This one is quite a bit lesser in my opinion, but still a fun Misery Inc adventure, though far less dark and atmospheric that the first film, coming off as far more goofy, which was a serious dilemma for me. The animation style is much more thick-lined modern looking as well, and while it looks fine as an old fart it's certainly not my Scooby-Doo.
Audio/Video: Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island and Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island arrive on 1080p HD region-free Blu-ray from Warner Archive, the former in the original 1.33:1 fullscreen presentation with the sequel getting in 1.78:1 widescreen. The colors on both look wonderful, deep saturated colors that are bold and vibrant, the moody backgrounds looks terrific, black levels are deep, the characters are well-defined and animation lines are clean. The first film shows some of the original fine film grain, maybe a tad DNR's in spots, but not awfully so. The sequel was created digital so there's no film grain inherent to the source, and it looks flawless aside from some minor banding.
Audio on the first film comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo and the sequel gets a more immersive DTS-HD MA 5.1, both with optional English subtitles. The tracks are clean and well-balanced, the spookier elements are effective, and the music sound great, Notably the first film features a version of the "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" theme by 90's alt rockers Third Eye Blind, as well as a pair of song "It's Terror Time and "The Ghosts are Here" by Skycycle, which I quite enjoyed, and a score by Steven Bramson (Tiny Toon Adventures). The sequel sound terrific as well, the surround offering a wider soundstage that occasionally makes use of the surrounds. The only extras are Promos for each film. The single disc release arrives with a single-sided sleeve of artwork in a standard keepcase.
Special Features:
- Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island Promo (3:27)
- Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island Promo (1:42)
It's great to see Warner Archive delivering some classic Scooby-Doo in HD, following the release of the terrific 10-film Hanna-Barbera's Superstar 10 set which included three (four if you count the flick on the extras!) Scooby-Doo flicks, and they have promised more Scooby-Doo is on the way in the near future, so that's pretty exciting. For me personally the first flick Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is a stone-cold Scooby classic, the sequel Return to Zombie Island is more or less just an enjoyable extra, but having them both lovingly restored and on physical media in HD is a real treat, as both a monster-kid and an classic animation fan I say grab this one for your collection.
Buy it!
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Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray:
SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND (1998)
SCOOBY-DOO! RETURNS TO ZOMBIE ISLAND (2019)
