Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
Richard Petro / 31 October, 2017
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- Directed by: Jim Stenstrum
- Written by: Glenn Leopold
- Release Date: September 22, 1998
- 77 Minutes
With the constant disappointment of ghosts and monsters constantly being weirdos in masks, the Mystery Gang go their separate ways. Reuniting a year later for Daphne’s birthday, the gang make their way out once more to find themselves a real haunting for Daphne’s new reporter show. Meeting a young woman named Lena who tells them her employer’s mansion home on an island is haunted by a pirate ghost, the gang go to investigate before soon realizing that they may have gotten more than they expected.
The last Scooby Doo series to air in the 90’s was A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which had begun in 1998 and ended in 1991. Besides a TV movie named Arabian Nights where Scooby and Shaggy appeared simply as narrators, and re-runs, there was no new series or media involving the Mystery Gang. Once the franchise’s popularity was reignited with said re-runs, it was decided to make a series of direct-to-video films that would feature slightly older and more mature versions of the characters. The first of these, backed by a, apparently, $50 million(!) promotional run, was 1998’s Scooby Doo on Zombie Island.
Scooby Doo on Zombie Island is… awesome. Yeah, I can’t really go on about an intro here before cutting straight to it. I’ve always been a massive fan of the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Series, but can easily admit to its faults and shortcomings. It can get very bland, as the premise of the series follows such distinct and repetitive tropes from episode to episode, and this also made it more difficult to experience or have any sort of real character development. This wasn’t like The Flintstones or The Jetsons, where their stories were free to change episode to episode and tell new stories; the Scooby Gang was seemingly perpetually stuck in the same day over and over with different details and villains in the original series. Scooby Doo on Zombie Island was meant as a reinvention and it worked immensely. The film was given a more mature tone, but one that didn’t feel like it betrayed what made people fall in love with it originally. It was still slapstick-y at points and funny in a cheesy way while also being legitimately funny with some great lines of dialogue. It also worked on giving the characters a bit more depth than they had before.
This wasn’t the first time that we had seen real monsters in the Scooby Doo universe. 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo had dealt with real ghosts having to be dealt with, along with three films in the late 80’s that focused on real monsters and ghosts living their own, normal lives. Scooby Doo on Zombie Island was the first time, though, where we were treated to a more legitimate ‘horror’ tone for the series. There are quite a few moments here that are genuinely creepy and disturbing, especially with the fact that the film is wonderfully animated. There’s face melting, disembodied spirits forming back into (zombified) beings, transformations, zombies rising from the swamps of the woods, and a few others (the finale/conclusion is one example as well).
And yet, even with these more serious dives into horror, the film always retains the feel of what we know and love about Scooby Doo. It never loses its heart and humour. You can tell that this is a movie made by fans of the series and characters written for the fans.
I love where the gang end up before they reunite, all of it feeling natural. It’s upsetting that they had went their own separate ways for a year, but that happens. Friends, even close friends, sometimes have a hard time keeping in touch with life going on around them. Fred and Daphne working together makes perfect sense, along with Daphne having her own mystery book shop. And as sad it is to kind of know Shaggy and Scooby have been apparently bouncing between jobs, it’s something that is also pretty realistic considering the type of characters they are.
Another thing I love, character-wise, is the fact that it is Daphne who wants to find some real life hauntings. Fred and Daphne were the most one note characters in the original series, though even Fred had his whole “loving of traps” aspect going. It’s nice to see Daphne given success based on hard work and, honestly, personality. Having achieved as much as she had in the past year, along with missing the old times, makes it easy to see why she would be the one who aims to uncover some real ghostly sights and encounters.
One of the most important factors that make the film truly succeed isn’t just what comes with the original premise that they work with. Yes, there’s actual detective work here, on part of Velma, but the new characters we are introduced to are written just as well as the Mystery Gang. Simone and Lena are presented as real people, as are Jacques and Beau, two characters who get less screen-time than the aforementioned. It makes your investment with the plot deeper liking these new characters in a short period of time.
Mentioning the animation when talking about it being effective in presenting the horror elements, the animation as a whole in the film is outstanding. Not only that, the art is beautiful too, especially during the nights in the woods and the establishing sunset shots over the island. It is a really pretty movie to look at, working with the writing to showcase just how much love and care actually went into the film from the beginning.
There’s a lot I can still talk about in regards to the movie, and I’ll have to down the line as a lot of what I can and would like to talk about revolves around spoilers. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it, do so as soon as you can, especially if you are a fan of the characters and series. With the effort that went into the writing, directing, and the animation and art, I have a hard time believing that this wasn’t a theatrical release. It’s one of the best films based off of a television show, a perfect example of how to lovingly work with what came before while also working to reignite and revitalize the franchise in new and exciting ways. It is easily one of my favourites, and makes for an absolutely joyous and fun October viewing. Next year marks the 20th anniversary, and I hope we see some sort of special edition release that it rightfully deserves.