Since 1998, Scooby-Doo movies can most often be found in direct to video releases, with well over thirty films already released (and more in the works, including a theatrical film). The films initially began with darker stories that included genuine supernatural twists and saw the gang all grown up, with careers of their own, and had a bigger focus on the romantic undertones of Fred and Daphne’s relationship.
Nowadays, the movies have returned to the familiar formula we’re well acquainted with: the monsters are always men in masks, not creatures of any supernatural origin. With recent films taking a look back at some of the greatest hits in Scooby-Doo history, we decided to do the same and select the five best and worst Scooby-Doo films in recent years.
Best: Zombie Island
Any film that features the song “Terror Time Again” is an automatic cinematic masterpiece, but Zombie Island takes things to a whole new level for Scooby-Doo — the monsters are real, and they’re scary.
It should be telling that Zombie Island is actually listed as a horror-comedy because it’s easily one of the scariest Scooby-Doo films released. Set in New Orleans, the gang go to investigate a haunted plantation on Moonscar Island, and soon discovers a world of genuine horrors. It makes our list as one of the best due to the twist that everything is supernatural, and for pushing the boundaries of Scooby-Doo media.
Worst: Return to Zombie Island
Released in October 2019, Return to Zombie Island was meant to be a direct sequel to Zombie Island, and while it certainly includes plenty of homages to the original, it ultimately fails thematically.
Return to Zombie Island continues the recent trend of characterization of the gang, including a stubbornly skeptical Velma who has apparently decided that she missed something in the original case to explain away the paranormal events they experienced. Furthermore, the film goes on to directly contradict the initial film by trying to pass off the gang as teenagers in Zombie Island when they clearly weren’t. It’s a nice nostalgia trip when it isn’t retconning its own history, but the flimsy storyline and mystery isn’t enough to hold the film up.
Best: Legend of the Vampire
Set in Australia, the gang are ready to attend the Vampire Rock Musical Festival as part of their vacation, but as always there is more than meets the eye. Several contestants in the festival have gone missing, kidnapped by the Yowie Yahoo, who haunts the rock foundation.
Legend of the Vampire makes our best-of list because it gives us a well-written genuine mystery with plenty of heart and humor. And, let’s be honest, you can’t write a bad film with the Hex Girls in it.
Worst: Big Top Scooby-Doo!
The gang goes undercover at The Brancusi Circus to pursue an apparent werewolf who has been scaring people away from the circus and stealing jewelry. Big Top Scooby-Doo! makes our worst list because of the unnecessary conflict between Shaggy and Scooby through the film, due to Shaggy receiving all the praise in his and Scooby’s act in the circus.
Shaggy lets the praise get to his head and becomes downright unlikeable, and apart from a small outburst from Scooby and some silent treatment, the conflict is resolved in such a rush that it feels anticlimactic and as if there was no real point to it.
Best: Cyber Chase
Undoubtedly one of the best Scooby-Doo films ever created, Cyber Chase found Scooby and the gang reuniting with an old friend, a computer coder who’s created a video game inspired by the gang’s adventures. The catch? There’s a sentient virus that can emerge in and out of the game known as the Phantom Virus — and it’s trapped the gang inside the video game.
Certainly one of the most unique films due to its setting, the film includes many clever homages to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? thanks to the various video game settings and monsters. It’s also a film that doesn’t shy away from making its antagonist powerful and terrifying, and gives us one of the best showdowns in Scooby-Doo history.
Worst: Where’s My Mummy?
Where’s My Mummy? initially sees Velma separated from the gang as she works to restore the legendary Sphinx in Egypt with the help of Prince Omar. Unbeknownst to the viewers (and to the rest of Mystery Inc, who arrive to visit Velma), a plan has been made between Omar and Velma to keep treasure hunters away: they use the curse of Cleopatra and devise a fake haunting, with Velma dressing as Cleopatra’s Mummy and creating statues of the workers to cement the tale that anyone who enters will be petrified.
Despite the twist that Velma is actually the culprit, the film is ultimately a forgettable flick that the most memorable thing is its which — and the fact that it doesn’t live up to its premise.
Best: Witch’s Ghost
Set in a gorgeous New England town, Oakhaven, Witch’s Ghost sees the Mystery Gang getting to know Velma’s favorite author, Ben Ravencroft, a horror writer with ties to Oakhaven’s local ghost Sarah Ravencroft, who was convicted of being a witch and executed by the town in the 1600s.
Witch’s Ghost is an interesting film that continues what Zombie Island started by making the mystery paranormal in origin, as well as holding a focus on Velma and her budding relationship with Ben — which unfortunately ends in betrayal. The film is also unique in the sense that it freely discusses the Wiccan faith, and even features the Hex Girls, an eco-goth rock band, of which its lead singer, Thorn, is Wiccan.
Worst: Goblin King
Although Goblin King takes us back to real monsters, it’s not enough to save the film for us. The film centers around the consequences of Shaggy and Scooby’s actions of exposing a carnival magician as a fake by explaining how each of his acts are done. The magician eventually discovers and kidnaps a fairy to use her powers — and sets his eyes on taking the Goblin King’s power as well, which could result in everyone turning into monsters, so Shaggy and Scooby have to stop him.
The film itself has an interesting enough plot, and we certainly appreciate having magic be real again in Scooby-Doo, but the story itself is quite forgettable, and the prominent separation of Shaggy and Scooby from the rest of the gang hurts the film more than helps it.
Best: Loch Ness Monster
A trip to Scotland to visit Daphne’s cousin Shannon turns out to be a brand new adventure when the Highland games are overshadowed by a certain Scottish sea creature that has been wreaking havoc on local properties — and has Shannon left rattled. So, naturally, the gang takes it upon itself to solve the mystery.
Loch Ness Monster is easily one of the best Scooby-Doo films made, with gorgeous animation as it beautifully brings to life the deep waters of Loch Ness or the rolling green fields of Scotland. It also features designs for the characters more in line with their depiction of What’s New, Scooby-Doo?, with additional costume changes like jackets and coats, which adds a level of realism to the film and helps bring its setting to life.
Worst: Frakencreepy
When Velma discovers she’s to inherit her uncle’s estate in Transylvania, she wants nothing to do with it, but circumstances (a curse on the inheritance) force the gang to journey there anywhere, where Velma reveals she’s descended from a baron who created a creature known as Frakencreepy. Strange occurrences follow the gang, like Daphne suddenly putting on weight, or Shaggy and Scooby feeling brave and no longer hungry…and Velma goes a little bit nuts.
Frakencreepy lands on our worst list due to its uninspired and easily solved mystery, but primarily because of the “curse” that makes Daphne put on weight, and makes her question if she’s truly beautiful until Fred assures her otherwise. Body image is something almost everyone deals with, but women especially due to social pressures to look a certain way. It’s horrendous that Scooby-Doo would include such a fat-phobic storyline into one of its films, and makes the movie downright unwatchable.
