Day six for Cartoon Network and I thought it'd be fun to talk about a beloved classic, wherein Scooby and the gang encounter a true supernatural threat. Creepiness kicks off the movie, like the other popular Scooby movies, with the gang catching the "Moat Monster" at an abandoned castle. After a hectic chase that involved Freddy almost getting injured, they unmasked the creature, revealing it to actually be real estate agent Mr. Beeman. Years later, the group has split peacefully and Daphne is on a talk show to promote her show "Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake," on which Fred serves as the extra hands. Though this was one of the scariest mysteries to Daphne, her desire now is to find something that's real, since before they always found men in masks. Scooby and Shaggy have become security guards at an airport, handling confiscated contraband food. When left on their own, they can't resist the massive supply they find, and are fired when their boss finds they ate everything. Fred gets in touch with them and Velma, who is bored running a book shop, and the gang agrees to meet up. He picks up the group and surprises Daphne for her birthday, revealing he has repainted the van as the Mystery Machine and that they can search for monsters together just like they used to. They head to New Orleans, where they easily debunk numerous mysteries: a projected ghost, a jewelry thief disguised as a bat, a woman dressed as a riverboat captain, and a lobster creature in a factory revealed to be a normal man. Daphne becomes frustrated that they never find anything real, and as Shaggy and Scooby check out the local cuisine, they catch the attention of a woman named Lena. Having overheard their troubles, she explains that she works as a chef for a home on Moonscar Island, which she claims is haunted by the pirate it's named for, Morgan Moonscar. Daphne searches the island on her computer, finding that a slew of disappearances have indeed been reported from there. Intrigued and convinced, the two agree to head there with the others. They follow Lena to a bayou, excited about possible footage and food they'll experience, and meet the ferryman Jacques, who confirms that they've come to the right place if they want somewhere haunted. Lena becomes worried upon seeing Scooby for the first time, noting that her employer, Ms. Lenoire, has cats, though Shaggy says it won't be a problem. Fred tapes the bayou as Jacques explains that pirates used to use the area to hide, including Morgan Moonscar, who was the most famous. Scooby and Shaggy take a fall in the water after seeing a large catfish, which Jacques calls "Big Mona." Jacques is unable to spin the ferry back around in time to save them from alligators, but angry fisherman Snakebite Scruggs stops the gators, giving the boys time to board his boat. He berates them for scaring the fish away, revealing his hatred for tourists. He ignores Jacques, who says he'll never catch Mona, and tells Shaggy and Scooby to leave his boat after they meet his hunting pig Mojo. The gang gets a bumpy drive to the plantation, where Scooby causes trouble chasing the cats, annoying gardener Beau and Ms. Simone Lenoire. Daphne apologizes and introduces herself, but Simone is unimpressed, so Lena tells her why she brought the group. Simone explains that the house has been in her family for generations; the plantation has some of the hottest peppers in Louisiana. She confirms to Velma that the house is indeed haunted and invites them in to look around, and even tape, on the condition that they rein in Scooby. He and Shaggy head to the kitchen, where Lena allows them to try her gumbo. They decide to add some extra peppers, which makes it too hot to handle, and their anguished cries attract the others from the sitting room. Simone and Lena get a laugh out of their pain and everyone leaves to continue the house tour, so Shaggy tries to get Scooby to eat another pepper. As the dog refuses, they notice a sudden intense temperature drop. Shaggy suggests they split a pepper to warm themselves when suddenly a ghostly wisp gets their attention carving "Get Out" into the wall behind them. Their following screams draw the exasperated group back, finding them shaking in the pepper closet. The horrified Shaggy tells them about the writing, and Daphne excitedly tells Fred to ready the camera so she can interview Simone. She begins her pitch, but upon mentioning the chill in the air, a gust of wind blows in. She is annoyed until Velma points out that the word "Beware" is now also carved into the wall. Simone says the ghosts will become more active at night, and Velma studies the wall, finding it normal. Fred turns his attention to Velma despite Daphne's complaints, as the brainy member has suddenly begun levitating. She suddenly comes back down when Shaggy and Scooby try to help, and they revisit the footage, where Daphne notices a ghostly pirate figure in the back when the new word was carved. Simone reveals that it's Morgan "Moonscar" McReight," known his the scar under his eye, and she is confused when everyone but Shaggy and Scooby are more excited. Fred holds to his belief that it's fake, and Shaggy and Scooby decide to go pack some food. Velma arrives as they walk out, wanting to check the wall again. They leave her to it, and she realizes that it's not hollow, but something is under the paint, so she scratches it off, to Lena's horror. Simone demands to know why she did so, and Velma reveals that the word underneath, "Maelstrom," was the name of Moonscar's ship. Simone isn't surprised, pointing out parts of his ship may have been used to build the house, as he supposedly buried treasure on the island that was never found. Fred excitedly determines that it's someone dressed as a pirate ghost to get the treasure, but the other's aren't convinced. Scooby and Shaggy's picnic outside is interrupted when Scooby again chases the cats, with Shaggy trying to fix his problems as he chases the dog. Scooby ends up in the swamp, accidentally scaring Big Mona again. Scruggs sends Mojo after him, and the pig chases them into a hole. Shaggy tries to climb out, unintentionally pulling a root out of the ground and revealing a skeleton. Energy swirling around the whole puts the skeleton together and reanimates it as the zombie of Morgan Moonstar, complete with rusty sword. Moonscar lumbers toward the two but the escape and run off, bumping into Beau. They try to tell him about the zombie, but the others show up when they point to a noise coming from where they were. Shaggy leads them back to the whole after explaining, and the skeptical group asks Beau why he was out there anyway. He snaps that he was going to plant some things, and when he came back from getting a drink, he bumped into Scooby and Shaggy. A suspicious Velma asks why the hole he dug is so big, but he simply walks off grumbling. Since Daphne doesn't want to lave and Simone points out the sun is going down, at which point the ferry won't be going, she offers them rooms at the house. Lena shows everyone to their rooms, and while Shaggy and Scooby prepare for dinner, they get a massive shock when the ghost of a civil war soldier appears in the mirror, telling them to "Get away." They run to Fred, and when Scooby bumps into Simone again, it gets everyone together. Everyone searches the room, and though Velma says the mirror is normal, she finds something written on the back. Scooby accidentally knocks her with the mirror by sneezing, and she realizes she's lost her cleaning clothe when she retrieves her glasses. With the dust gone from the mirror, Velma finds "Colonel Jackson T. Pettigrew, 8th Lousiana" on the back, and Simone confirms there were Confederate barracks on the island. Though everyone is concerned with what Scooby and Shaggy saw, Lena interrupts with a call to dinner, and they exit. Simone declares that Scooby must stay in the kitchen, so he and Shaggy exit. The gang is suspicious when Lena says Beau wasn't in his trailer, but Simone simply says he's been with them for months and had great references. Scooby interrupts the chat, having chased the cats again, so Simone, having had enough, demands that he stay outside. He and Shaggy head to the van, eating crawfish and biscuits, only for the cats to bother them again, and Shaggy decides to drive elsewhere to eat in peace. Back in the kitchen, Fred and Velma throw around possible reasons the "ghosts" want them off the island, and an annoyed Daphne says that maybe for once there's no rational explanation. Shaggy and Scooby burn their mouths with peppers again and rush to get a drink from some nearby water (ooh, delicious stagnant bayou water). A gust of wind suddenly becomes the same energy that resurrected Moonscar, and a large number of zombies spring from the ground. The zombies, including pirates, soldiers, and tourists, follow the terrified duo, and though Shaggy manages to drive away, one clung to the roof. Shaggy shakes the zombie off but it stands again, and trying to reverse causes the van to sink in mud. With zombies surrounding them, Scooby and Shaggy abandon the van, running into Beau again. Taking him for a zombie, they rush off, and their screams reach the house. Simone remind the others that the hauntings will now be worse, and the group heads out. They find Beau, who tells them about the others screaming of zombies. Fred and Velma are suspicious, since he claims to have seen nothing, but Daphne reminds them to focus on Shaggy and Scooby. They pair off, with Velma following Beau, who demands to know why he's being treated like a suspect. When she says he is one, he seems to become angry, grabbing her and picking up a rock. In reality, he's tossing it ahead, revealing quicksand, and though Velma is grateful, she says he's still a suspect. Daphne and Fred, meanwhile, find the van, and as they search, a zombie arrives, which Daphne gets to the ground just before Shaggy and Scooby also appear. She tries to unmask the zombie, only to determine it seems real, so Fred gives it a go. He goes through suspects while pulling, only to conclude it could be real as he yanks the zombie's head off. Horrified, he tosses the head, which ends up back at the body. He says it must be animatronic, and the body suddenly raises the head and puts it back on. Energy from the sky again raises a force of zombies, with some now in old-fashioned gangster era clothes. They surround the group as Shaggy and Scooby try to run, and when Daphne says Fred is in denial for still rationalizing, they hear Lena scream. Fred and Daphne try to run, dropping the camera in quicksand in the process, and we go into a pretty great song sequence as everyone is chased, leading to the climax. This is definitely a much more popular classic than I've talked about thus far, which is why I was saving it.
For me, Zombie Island is a classic part of my childhood, giving me entertainment and scares as far back as I remember. It's a definite twist on typical Scooby Doo mythos of the time, as while there were series like 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, and the later live action films, a big point of most Scooby Doo franchises is that what appears to be a monster and/or magical os always a man in a mask. Here, unlike the skeptical Fred thinks, there's no smoke and mirrors. The gang is face-to-face with real zombies, and they're everywhere. Adding to this, the zombies seem to appear from anywhere, and the only seemingly safe place is the house, since they're on an island and the ferry isn't running at night. The gang is ill-prepared, and their world is essentially being shattered as they find actual supernatural creatures. Despite this, they're always determined when facing something like this, and now there's the mystery of how there could be real zombies and why. Over time Scooby Doo had ups and plenty of downs, (looking at you, art style of Be Cool, Scooby Doo) but this movie and the first batch to follow are nostalgic and enjoyable for me. This one is definitely the best, with a clear understanding of what made Scooby Doo great and doing it in a new way. The group splitting up was later done with the live action movies, though it feels more believable here, where the gang simply decided to part ways and pursue their dreams. The art and animation are both great, with a good look throughout the movie, and though some would immediately assume it's just simple kids' "horror," it can be legitimately creepy. Of course like I've said, being for kids doesn't mean something is immediately lower quality, and there are some great things out there for kids that are dark. A great majority of Don Bluth films have incredible darkness, especially The Secret of Nimh, and Disney has given us things like Tarzan's villain hanging himself. I don't know about you, but I would certainly be frozen with fear if I were in Scooby and Shaggy's shoes as a pile of bones was suddenly brought together and reanimated as a pirate zombie. The movie is full of red herrings, though one is actually real in a way, and of course people new to the movie most likely wouldn't be able to figure out the truth. For those who have seen the movie before, it's still enjoyable 20 years later, and now there are definite signs of the truth that you can notice. With other creepy Scooby movies after this, next year I'll for sure be taking a look at them, in particular when the gang met a Tim Curry character who needed help. For now there's the movie that started the trend, and though there are questionable moments, like Velma having the audacity to take it upon herself to scratch up Simone's kitchen wall, this movie is still great all-around.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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