Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) Review

 

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

I know, I know, the new Scooby-Doo just came out. But I wanted to first hearken back to a favorite of mine as a child—Zombie Island!

Scooby-Doo and the gang come back together as part of Daphne’s new show to look for real ghosts. An adventure that leads them to Moonscar Island in Louisiana where they find much more than they bargained for in zombies, voodoo, and...cat people?

As I stated above, this and the whole run of 90s Scooby-Doo movies, are classic favorites of mine. But it’s been years for me, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that this still holds up wonderfully.
The movie was able to reinvent the format a little, adding a TV show element to it that felt fresh but not forced at all. I loved how 90s it felt, considering I haven’t been satisfied with Scooby-Doo since What’s New Scooby-Doo ended in 2006. Keeping with that feel was the animation style as well, which was great! The colors were dark but when they needed to, they popped in a way that kept the exposure the same, which looks reaaally good. Getting the colors an animation style down is half the battle.

The other half is voice acting, which was done to perfection. Billy West as Shaggy, Scott Innes as Scooby, and Mary Kay Bergman stood out especially, as they brought a mix of classic but new elements to their characters voices.

Above all else, the story really drives this home. It was reinvented for the world at the time, but still kept the heart of Mystery Inc. the same. The setting, the zombies (which were terrifying), and the spook factor were all done extremely well, with this probably being the Courage the Cowardly Dog of Scooby-Doo movies with its darker tone and subject matter, and being genuinely scary at times, while still being hilarious and lovable in a way only Scooby-Doo is capable of.

Lastly, I can’t forget to mention the badass soundtrack that is driven over the top by Sky Cycle’s “It’s Terror Time Again” which is as 90s cartoon rock as it gets! I love it!

8.7/10