DVD : Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Scooby Doo delivers
Kids love this Scooby Doo movie. Can't go wrong. Bought an extra as a gift.

Rating:

- The man in the mask is back!
If you have read my other "Scooby Reviews" you will know that I have had an issue with some of the newer Scooby movies that have been released which have had real monsters in them. Because this was pretty much a sequel to "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost" I was concerned that there would be real Vampires. Fear not parents! They have returned to the "Man in a Mask" stories which made the Scooby Doo series so lovable to begin with.

A Quick Summary: The gang (Voiced by the Original Actors) heads to the land down under to see a battle of the bands held in the Outback. Suddenly bands begin disappearing before the show. The mysterious Yawie Yahoo of Vampire Rock begins making appearances, so the gang decides to go undercover as a rock band to catch the mysterious monster.

My youngest (4 when we bought the movie, 6 now and still watching it) absolutely LOVES this movie. Fortunately for parents, the artwork is fairly good, the soundtrack is excellent for a Scooby film and the acting is good. Meaning that you can actually sit through this one several times in a row without wanting to make it "Disappear" like some of the other Scooby movies (sorry little buddy, I don't know WHERE that DVD could have gone too...)

The Hex Girls (from Witch's Ghost) show back up in this one, but they are much friendlier and don't mention Wicca that I can recall. At the end of the movie you even get to watch the gang perform a rock song, which my son now knows by heart. My final opinion, this is one of the better Scooby's that has been released in recent years, and I recommend it to parents provided you don't mind listening to a decent amount of cartoon rock music.

Rating:

- Scooby-Doo in Australia
The Mystery, Inc. gang is on vacation in Australia and discover a mystery at the rock concert at Vampire Rock. This is one of the new generation of Scooby-Doo animated movies with better mysteries and story lines than the traditional Scooby-Doo cartoons.

Scooby and the gang have to solve the mystery of the disappearing rock performers. There has to be a logical explanation, even though everything points to minions of a real vampire doing the kidnapping. Scooby and company discover that rockers experienced with make-up, special effects and theatrics are responsible for the strange goings-on at Vampire Rock. There's even a "cameo" by the "Hex Girls."

Rating:

- Review on Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire
I thought this film was quite funny but also a little bit scary. It spooked both me and my sister the first time we watched it but as I grew up I saw it more often and kind of got out of being scared of it. In general it is a good film for family. I enjoyed the second band which was kidnapped (Bad Omens) the best. They were funny at the beginning when they were first organising the Vampire Rock Contest but when the vampires crept up on them it was probably the scariest of the kidnapping. It was also quite a suprise to see the Hex Girls in this film as well as on one of the previous Scooby-Doo films (Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost). The first scene right at the beginning was the second most scary of the kidnapping because Matt Marvelous only got to do one chord on his guitar and then the vampires were off with him. I won't give away the ending but the ending was a happy one.

Rating:

- May Actually Be Scooby's Best Movie!
If you follow my reviews, you know that I really liked "Scooby Doo On Zombie Island" and "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost." I didn't much care for "The Alien Invaders" or "Cyber Chase." And the less said of the live movie, the better. This brings us to chapter 5. While "Zombie Island" will probably always be the best to me, this 5th chapter brings about the right compromise. It tones Scooby Doo back down to a safe level for children, but it still has mystery, suspense, and a good impact. Before our gang comes on the screen, Daniel is getting ready for a rock concert, but a 'would be' performer is seemingly kidnapped by vampires. Our favorite gang goes on a vacation to Australia to see a rock concert. And a really great treat is that while Frank Welker never abandoned his role as Fred, he is rejoined by original cast members Heather North (Daphne), Nicole Jaffee (Velmah), and Casey Kasem (Shaggy). (GREAT!) Well, when they get to the concert site, they run into the Hex Girls from "Scooby Doo and the Witch's ghost." (Nice continuity.) They also meet Daniel and Rus who warn them of the disappearances. Rus gives the legend behind the disappearances and we are permitted to wonder if the legend is real or if we are dealing with a bad guy in a mask. (If we watched "Zombie Island" and "Witch's Ghost," we know that the supernatural is at least a possibility now.)The gang decides to disguise themselves as another rock band to see if they can find out what is going on. They later meet a rival band (Bad Omens) who are not overly nice as well as their manager Jasper who is an opportunist, but not necessarily a bad person. Soon afterwards, we meet the 'head vampire' again, and learn that he has 3 'friends.' We are lead to suspect that the not so nice Bad Omens may be them, but circumstances later remove that as a possible conclusion. So, our gang must look elsewhere or be willing to accept that the vampires are real. Unlike "Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders" or "Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase" this mystery is not so obvious. The gang's case takes on a more personal nature when their friends the Hex Girls disappear. Without ruining the ending, we are given the familiar search with some new twists. The soundtrack, though not quite on par with that of "Zombie Island" seems to make a comeback from "Alien Invaders" and "Cyber Chase." The gang's final confrontation is certainly toned down from "Zombie Island" and "Witch's Ghost." But it does rise back to acceptable levels that carefully balance tension and comedy. (Being that the original cast is back, they probably could not resist having a scene where Fred carries the whole gang! And in a sense, Frank Welker did help to carry Scooby Doo as he remained the voice of Fred through a number of different supporting actors.) The conclusion is a little more than we would have expected, and it does seem appropriate that the reunified cast gives a great performance of the Scooby Doo theme. The original cast would remain together to perform the next movie. (Chap # 6 "Monster of Mexico") And even though this 6th chapter is not as good, it's probably worth it just to see (or hear) the original cast together one more time. FINAL NOTE: Even if like me, you were disappointed with "Alien Invaders," "Cyber Chase," and the horrible live movie, DO NOT overlook this 5th chapter. It is a well done return to form, and may actually be Scooby's best movie!

page 1 of 6