While the original SCOOBY-DOO series has to be looked upon with nostalgia to really enjoy, there is still a charm to Scooby-Doo that people relate to. The series has been remade endless number of times, whether on film, TV or direct-to-video. I must admit that the first DTV, SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND, had a satirical that I enjoyed. But productions like this latest, GOBLIN KING, just harkens back to so many of the bad, cheapo 1980s theatrical 2D animated releases like TOM & JERRY THE MOVIE and THE CHIPMUNKS ADVENTURE. You take established characters stick them in a random string of adventures and throw in some songs to fill up time.
This time Scooby and the gang are at the Coolsville Halloween carnival where they go to see the second-rate magician Amazing Krudsky (Wayne Knight, TV's SEINFELD). To get back at the dog-hating snob, Scooby and Shaggy reveal Krudsky as a fraud — a magician with no real magic powers. Does anyone over five really think they'll find real magic at a Halloween carnival? But I digress. Later Krudsky captures the Princess Fairy Willow (Hayden Panettiere, TV's HEROES) and steals her power in an effort to con the Goblin King (Tim Curry, LEGEND) out of his scepter, which would give him unbelievable magical power. So Scooby and Shaggy have to venture into the spirit world to stop Krudsky and save Halloween. Along the way they'll run into ghosts, goblins, fairies, witches, the headless horsemen, and a talking Jack O'Lantern, who sounds just like Jay Leno.
How a production like this gets the aforementioned voice cast, which also includes Wallace Shawn, James Beluschi and Lauren Becall, is beyond me. And yes, that Lauren Becall. Relegated to voicing a no-name witch, who has to give Scooby and Shaggy magic broom flying lessons. These talented performers are given material that's as old as a mummy. And if you thought that my joke was bad then you'll understand the attempts at humor in this production. Included in the mix are three uninspired songs, one of which set in a bar seemed like a bad copy of a similar scene in CORPSE BRIDE.
Frankly, none of the material is inspired. Outside of possibly someone doing a Scooby/Shaggy 1970s hip dialogue sweep, there is little in the script that even shows that anyone had ever seen the series before. There's no hint at mystery, there are bad attempts at tacking on a message, and did I mention it has songs? And as a new cool sidekick Jack O'Lantern isn't as annoying as Scrappy-Doo, but they might hang out.
I don't mind mining a franchise over and over again, because it's popular. Kids will see this DVD on the store shelf and want it and parents will buy it because it's Scooby-Doo and it's Halloween time. Little, little kids will love it. But the audience young and old deserve better. When movies are viewed as products, they often turn out like products. But when you make something with this many cracks in it, you can't just slap a label over it and pretend you're not selling something broke. ZOMBIE ISLAND is a good example of how you mine the DTV market in an "entertainment" friendly way. I hope Warner takes the Scooby franchise back in that direction. At least they didn't stick in poop jokes and hire Freddie Prinze Jr.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
