Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire

I don't know where Imdb got the description for this movie, because it's nowhere close to the plot. What it's really about is the gang heading to Little Bat Town for a bat-themed vacation after they get an invite from Vincent Van Helsing, a less than famous horror writer. During a performance from a vampire loving theatre troupe, it appears that the soul of a real undead bloodsucker has broken free from his coffin. With various clues and suspects lurking around it takes a while to solve this mystery. The overall plot was pretty good, but the music was a little overdone. It kind of seemed like a last-minute add-on to get people's attention and wasn't really necessary.

The whole concept of going to a Vampire Festival to get a break form monsters only to find monsters is classic Scooby Doo thinking.

Need a vacation from all the scary monster stuff? Then go to a monster festival, makes total sense...and fits brilliantly into the philosophy of the Scooby gang....sometimes you wonder if they don't do things like this just to torture Shaggy and Scooby.

It fits extremely well into the Scooby world, even down to the humor involved.

And the parody of the vampire story fad, is, of course, the only reason this installment was made. It brings the movies back to the Rice/King parodies in Zombie Island and Witch's Ghost...

...and the twist is fun...unfortunately that's where it dies and continues just long enough to turn what was potential into yet another lackluster conclusion.

It came VERY close to being one of the most solid Scooby Doo movies in the catalogue though. Certainly worth a purchase.

Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire (2011)

*** (out of 4)

Feature cartoon has Scooby and the gang solving a mystery and then heading down South to enjoy a vacation. They end up in Louisiana where there's a Vampire Fest being put on and sure enough they soon find themselves in another mystery. This time a vampire wants to make Daphne his new bride. SCOOBY-DOO! MUSIC OF THE VAMPIRE is actually a fairly entertaining film that manages to have a few good laughs, a couple nice throwbacks to the old TV show and of course there's even a little bit of TWILIGHT spoof thrown in. As you'd expect, the animation is really top-notch and we're given some wonderful visuals to look at. This is especially true with the darkness of the swamp, which simply looks wonderful as do the scenes inside the vampire museum. Another major plus is that the monsters themselves are all pretty good. I thought the vampires looked quite effective and especially the main leader who often finds himself flying through the swamps throwing fire balls. I'm sure these vampires will scare some really young kids as they're quite creepy. The vocal performances are also quite good with all of the main cast members doing a fine job and especially Matthew Lillard who has really perfected his Shaggy work. The film even turns into a musical as there are a couple songs played throughout and they're actually not too bad. They're certainly put to better use than some of those songs that were added to episodes in the second season of the original series. Fans of Scooby should certainly find enough here to keep them entertained and at just 75-minutes the film never overstays its welcome.

Tired of Cummings voice already. His character is disgusting & annoying. No Micucci to voice Velma, thank god. Dracula is a romantic story, always has been. Lately Hollywood has beend ragging it badly in the mud. Langella & Lugosi were perfect Draculas. They has the sensualness that goes with it. This one leans more towards Nosferatu so it kind of reminds you of Max Schreck being back again after quite an absence. The music is good, some of the songs are annoying but hey just fast forward. Nice to watch like some of the others but will obviously never beat the old or the originals. Still no one's voice expect Cummings is genuinely irritating.

The gang solves another mystery. The sewer adventure is too much for most of the team and Velma decides that everybody needs a vacation. She takes them to a town in the bayou founded by a Van Helsing. It's Vampire Palooza. The girls are eager to meet the author of Silverlight. Vincent Van Helsing's old fashion vampire book is not selling. Fangenschanz is a vampire themed performers. A seemingly real vampire is on the loose which attracts media attention and helps liven up the failing festival.

The new animation style is fine although the colors are a bit too glossy. The greens are radioactive. I like the opening adventure in the sewers. I like the new adventure setup. A couple of plot elements do annoy me. I don't like Daphne as the damsel in distress. Daphne should be more than the girlie girl of the group. Along with being scared of roaches, it gets too stereotypical. I would also the group to have more time together solving the mystery. It's the best part of the group's chemistry. That's why I like the opening so much. Overall, this is pretty good but it's not a classic.