What better way to get into the Halloween season than with a new entry into the long-running Scooby Doo franchise? This claims to be a sequel to the original Zombie Island film, but it's unique enough that it doesn't require that kids (or adults) watch the 1998 film first or have any knowledge about it. In fact, you could just accept the fact that the gang were on this island before and that many years ago they solved a mystery there....as Mystery Inc. is known to do.
In recent years, Warner Brothers has made strange decisions in redesigning the characters and changing the animation style. However, I'm quite happy that the animation and design of this film is very close to the original Scooby Doo cartoons. Frank Welker, AKA: the original Fred, is back, as is Matthew Lillard who, taking over from the late Casey Kasem and Billy West and has been acting as/voicing Shaggy since 2002.
The plot lures you in with what you think will be a pretty straight forward story, as far as Scooby Doo cartoons go, but then it hits you with something entirely different, which I appreciated. Its very funny, entertaining, good for all ages, but still at 80 minutes it felt a little long. It could have been condensed to an hour. Overall, a pretty good entry in the Scooby Doo brand. I give this film a 6 out of 10.
