Just re-watched this the other day and I'm ashamed to admit that I forgot how good it was!
[SPOILERS!]
The fact that this movie starts off with the super scary case of the Moat Monster is just genius. It really sets the tone of the entire movie and I must say that the little snip-it we get of this case is dually the most Scooby-Doo and least Scooby-Doo case ever. What I mean by that is it's the most Scooby-Doo in that all the classic Scooby-tropes are there; the chase, the music, splitting up, hilarious un-planned end to the case, etc. It's also the least Scooby-Doo in that I think this is the first time our Scooby-gang seem to be in true blue danger. Why Daphne and Velma would have surely died if they'd fallen from that castle. It also wasn't funny-scary. What I mean by that is many Scooby cases of the past are scary to the gang but funny to us as viewers because we know things they don't know, there's a canned laugh-track, etc. This case was actually
scary and we didn't even see the beginning of it!
I enjoyed the fact that the gang grew up and grew apart - my Shaphne heart hates that Daphne and Fred grew apart from the gang
together but that doesn't diminish my love for this title. It's very realistic that friends grow up and life takes them in different directions! It was believable for Daphne to be a television reporter; she's definitely got the personality and looks to be on TV but I like that she has the brains to report on things she's passionate about. I definitely see Fred as a behind-the-scenes camera man/producer and I can see Velma as a bookstore owner. (Even if I was a bit disappointed she wasn't doing something a little more...intellectual with her time.) And Shaggy and Scooby always being on the job-hunt, while sad in a way, was pretty true to form. (Even if I do think there would be a time where Shaggy would grow up and settle down into a more stable life.)
The gang coming back together for Daphne's birthday and the hunt for real ghosts, while ideal was genius and it's nice that Daphne's birthday was added as a reason for them to come back together instead of everyone just being along for the ride on the ghost hunt. It adds an element of closeness and friendship that is at the core of our beloved Scooby-gang.
It was also a nice touch to have many of their first cases compared to their old cases; men in masks. I like that they didn't just go out and get a real ghost the first time.
I like that they chose Louisiana as the setting for this movie as the deep south
is very mysterious and does have a lot of old folklore like this. Lena approaching the gang was strange but helpful and I really didn't think much of it at the time - which is good! I don't like to figure out the mystery way ahead of everyone. As I stated in another post on here, Jacques and Snakebite Scruggs were very interesting characters and I really enjoyed them. (I also have to say that their VA's did amazing jobs with matching voices with characters/personalities. They were very unique characters that really stick out in my mind when thinking about Scooby-Doo.)
Moonscar Island was equally beautiful and foreboding; you just know nothing good can come from this place and, while Simone is coolly civil at her introduction, I find that I was suspicious of her from the beginning and, at first, I wondered if she and Beau were in league together until Lena mentioned that he was new.
Later, though, I warmed up to him. He was too perfect for what was going on and it was clear as the movie progressed that, while you wanted to say it was him, that was just too convenient.
I have to say that the goings on in the kitchen with the writing on the wall and Moonscar on the tape were well and creepy but I wasn't truly scared for my favorite gang of meddling kids until green lights appeared, wind started swirling and old pirate bones came together and grew rotted skin! As a kid this was horrifying and the first, and probably only, time I've been well and truly scared by Scooby-Doo! Moonscar was frightening and I still get a little chill when I see the movie. As the night progresses, things just get worse and my list of suspects dwindles, especially after I see Snakebite FISHING in the middle of everything without a care in the world, until I'm not sure what's going on and who could be behind it anymore.
Terror Time was also an ingenious chase scene and the music was very fitting! One of the best songs from the Scooby-franchise! The chase had many classic tropes, just like the beginning, but put a twist on them so that they were Scooby-classic without being campy-Scooby-classic.
I also think that this movie brings up some really good points, like when Daphne says: "You're not a skeptic, Fred, you're in denial." It makes you think about how you would react if you were in a supernatural situation like this: would you be accepting and frightened or would you be frightened and trying to think of a logical explanation? How deep does your skepticism run? Are you easily afraid? I thought this was a very believable statement and added a sense of realism to the movie: there are believers and there are skeptics and the gang is mixed with a little of both.
The revelation that the zombies weren't the only creatures on the island terrified me, even if the zombies were only trying to help the gang. It's hard to look at zombies and think
friend. The cat creatures scared me so badly when I was younger and the fact that Jacques, a character I'd liked and trusted, was one of them and almost got my poor Scooby and Shaggy was just awful.
I think the mystery and sorcery, legend and myth mixed with reality was handled very well, way better than it was handled in
Witch's Ghost, and it just added to the awesomeness of this movie. While the ending to the cat creatures, the fact that they didn't really have to actively do anything to get rid of them, was pretty anticlimactic it was okay because I was totally scared for the Scooby-gang. As a kid, I thought they were total goners and was just happy to see them saved by the bell.
It was also very fitting that the camera and evidence sank in quick-sand. Very true to form because, when compared to real life, who really has hard-core, concrete evidence of the supernatural? It was nice that the movie left it so that only Beau and the Scooby-gang would really know what happened on that island.
The main thing I was left wondering at the end of the movie was: Would the gang stay together or would this event drive them apart again? And I think
Witch's Ghost answered that.
To this day, I still remember this premiering on Cartoon Network and forcing my mom and dad to watch it because I loved Scooby so much and the trailer and promise of a new movie were too much to resist. I remember how I felt and you can call it nostalgia or the true talent of the people involved with this movie but
Zombie Island will always stand the test of time with me. It will always be a true testament of what the Scooby-Doo franchise can and, in my opinion, should be.
It's simply the creme de la creme of Scooby media.