As I’m sure I have in common with quite a few of you, Scooby Doo was one of my favourite cartoons growing up. And like a lot of Scooby Doo fans, particularly ones that were around in the 90s, Scooby Doo on Zombie Island is one of my favourite things the franchise has ever produced. It was highly anticipated (and bear in mind, this was still in the embryonic days of both the internet and satellite TV, so online information was scarce, short video clips took about 6 months to download and play, and when, eventually, there were adverts for it on TV, you watched them again on the +1 channel an hour later; though I’m willing to concede that last one may have just been me), not just because it was the first new thing to come out of the franchise for a while, but because of its central conceit: this time, the monsters were real! It wasn’t technically the first time that Scooby Doo had featured “real” monsters: a handful of episodes of The New Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show (1983) featured real supernatural creatures, and was the entire premise of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo (1985) and the three TV films –Boo Brothers (1987), Ghoul School (1988), and Reluctant Werewolf (1988) – that preceded Zombie Island. It’s maybe, however, the more comedic tone of these previous outings, as well as the strength of Zombie Island’s advertising that made this seem like a radically new thing.
The story sees the gang reunite after going their separate ways several years ago, the monster or ghost always turning out to be a bad guy in a mask having grown tiresome. Daphne is now a successful TV presenter and they begin touring America, looking for real hauntings. Sure enough – more bad guys in masks. But just as they’re beginning to despair, a woman, Lena, claims that she works in a real haunted house. And so they make their way to Moonscar Island in the Louisiana bayous, the place where legendary pirate Morgan Moonscar is said to have buried his treasure, and a chequered past full of mysterious disappearances. They soon find that the island is indeed haunted, and that they’ll need to solve its mystery if they’re to escape with their lives.
The story is well paced, managing to mesh the comedic elements with the darker tone (well, as dark as the G/PG rating will allow, but a few scenes really push the envelope) without turning into parody, slowly raising the tension and playing the moments of horror straight so that the peril and stakes feel real. The central mystery is similarly well- constructed, even managing to throw in a couple of genuine surprises on first-viewing. This is complemented by both the visuals and the soundtrack. The character designs (most notably Fred and Daphne) have been updated and the gorgeously detailed animation, courtesy of Japanese studio Mook animation, has real depth and weight. The score works to enhance what’s on screen when it’s needed, plus, it wouldn’t be Scooby Doo without some catchy songs over a chase sequence, and Zombie Island provides a couple of belters, provided by rock bands ‘Skycycle’ and ‘Third Eye Blind’. While most of the original voices were re-cast, with the exception of Frank Welker, the voice acting itself is stellar, with character acting & voice acting veterans such as: Tara Strong, Cam Clarke, Jim Cummings, Adrienne Barbeau and Mark Hamill (with Hamill playing one of the best incidental characters ever).
The film was well-received by both critics and audiences – aided by a $50 million promotional campaign and sponsorship deals – and the VHS sold better than the studio expected. (I’d certainly worn out my copy of that neon green cassette by the time we said goodbye to our video recorder.) This would mark the beginning of a long line of direct-to- video Scooby Doo films (still ongoing to this day), new TV series’ and even live-action films (with decidedly mixed results). And although they did become progressively lighter in tone, Zombie Island’s darker elements and real monsters remain popular and have been used in subsequent outings, most notably the following year’s The Scooby Doo Project (1999), Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated (2010-13), and even a crossover episode of season 13 of Supernatural, ‘Scoobynatural’ (2018). 2019 even saw a direct to DVD sequel, Return to Zombie Island (which unfortunately went on to retcon everything from the previous film, but that’s a rant for another time).
So if you’re a Scooby Doo fan looking for a bit of nostalgia or you want something spooky to show your kids, may I heartily recommend Scooby Doo on Zombie Island?
Sing along with me now: ‘You hear the screeching of an owl, you hear the wind begin to howl, you know there’s zombies on the prowl. And it’s Terror Time again!…’
Gosh it was one of my favorites too 😍