Scooby-Doo Movies - A History

Scooby-Doo has been delighting the world for over 40 years and is just as strong now as he was then. But there was a dark time in the Scoobyverse. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo ended in 1991 which lead to a seven year period without any substantial Scooby-Doo release (I don't really Arabian Nights...sorry).

But after that time, Scooby-Doo came back...in a big way.

In 1998, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island was released and so began the first era of direct-to-video Scooby Movies. The main draw of this new film was that the monsters WERE REAL! If you look into Scooby lore, you will find that this isn't the first time that the monsters weren't just people in masks...in fact, a lot of the material had him and the gang pitted against real monsters. But for me, as a seven year old kid, I couldn't have been more excited for it. The monsters were real! PINCH ME I AM DREAMING! If you ask anyone born in the late '80s, early '90s what Scooby-Doo cartoon they remember most, the answer will be Zombie Island. You just can't top this movie...I dare you to try.

The next year, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost was released. Again, the monsters are real and this movie is brilliant. You get the sexy Hex Girls (I love Thorn...always will) and a Stephen King style character helping Mystery Incorporated solve the mystery. It's so amazing...you can buy this movie at Wal-Mart or Target for $5. So I highly recommend getting it.

I guess it's true what they say..."Nothing Gold Can Stay". Alien Invaders, while not a bad movie, was not nearly as exciting as it's predecessors. But it holds a soft spot for me as Shaggy gets a musical number all to himself. Since the embedding feature is not being my friend, here is a link to that song. Groovy

Again, not really the best Scooby movie out there. While it's pretty nifty to see the alternate versions of the gang at the end of the film, Cyber Chase steps too far out of the general formula of Scooby-Doo. But it's still a very watchable movie.

After the first era of Scooby movies proved to be such a success, Cartoon Network began airing a new show called What's New, Scooby-Doo? It was nice to see Scooby on the air again, but this led to the second era of movies.

I'd be running too...Starting in 2003 and going until 2009, the second era of Scooby Movies were pretty poor. You have Legend of the Vampire, Monster of Mexico, Loch Ness Monster, Aloha, Scooby-Doo, Where's My Mummy?, Pirates Ahoy!, Chill Out, Scooby-Doo, Goblin King and Samurai Sword. These films used the animation style from What's New, Scooby-Doo? and I genuinely dislike a few of these. I do really enjoy Goblin King, as it's a lovely Halloween romp that focuses on Shaggy and Scooby much like the telefilms from the '80s.

In 2010, Warner reboots Scooby-Doo and we entered the third era of Scooby movies starting with Abracadabra-Doo.

Using a better style of animation more similar to the original series, Abracadabra-Doo was a triumph. I love every second of this movie. It brings back songs as well, which I felt was a very effect part of the first era Scooby movies. Followed by Camp Scare and this month's release called Legend of the Phantosaur, the third era of Scooby-Doo movies is where I hope we will stay for awhile. I'm still getting the bad taste of Aloha, Scooby-Doo out of my mouth.

On a personal note, I love enjoy how Warner is keeping the show, Mystery Incorporated on Cartoon Network it's own thing. There is no need for the films to use the same style of animation or story telling. It's more varied and I love it!

So if you want to get a little Scooby-Doo into your Halloween festivities, I would say the first two of the first era, Goblin King and then all three from the third era. That would be enough to make to bring a smile to any Scooby-Doo fan! Just grab a box of Scooby Snack and get to it!