Taking place after the Scooby gang has been split up for years, a call from Fred reunites the gang to search for a real ghost. This is spawned by Daphne, who now hosts a talk show and is tired of finding out every ghost is a fake. She is now on a quest to find a "real" ghost. Fred, the producer of her show, surprises Daphne by calling up Velma, who now works in a mystery book show, and Shaggy & Scooby, who most recently were fired from a security guard job. Mystery Inc. is reunited and begins its search for a real ghost!
After going on an investigation spree, the Scooby gang comes up empty with case after case of frauds. Daphne is about to give up when they get a lead on a supposedly true haunting in the Louisiana Bayou on Zombie Island! The gang discovers real ghosts, zombies, and cat creatures!
This is one of the rare Scooby mysteries in which the ghosts and monsters actually turn out to be real. While this is a rarity for the Scoobies, the outcome is not much different from that of the usual mysteries that turn out to be ordinary people dressed up as monsters to spook everyone. However, this might make it a little scarier for young children to watch. As usual, I recommend previewing this before allowing young children to view the movie.
The story is simple and easy to follow for viewers of all ages. Although simple, it is ever so intriguing for people of all ages.
The artwork is great and colorful as usual. The Bayou is the perfect location for a spooky Scooby tale. Although most viewers, who are fans of the original Scooby Doo shows, will notice much differences, but some with keener eyes for details will notice that some of the gang's appearances are just a tad "off." Mainly, Fred and Daphne look slightly different but, from time to time, Velma and Shaggy do not look exactly as they usually do. Scooby is almost perfect.
The atmosphere is somewhat scary. The location is a cool. The Bayou offers the right amount of swamps and fog to be cozy enough to give you that warm spine-tingling chill of a good scary Scooby movie!
The voice acting is great as always. "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" marks Scott Innes as the second person to voice Scooby (after the original voice actor, Don Messick, passed away in 1997) and Billy West as the second person to voice Shaggy' Rogers (after the original voice actor, Casey Kasem). Scott Innes has big boots to fill, but he gives a great performance as Scooby Doo and has given us many more performances in this role. Casey Kasem is missed as Shaggy this time, but Billy West does an almost perfect copy of Kasem's Shaggy. The great Frank Welker reprises his recurring voice of Fred Jones. Velma and Daphne's voice are well done.
As with other Scooby movies, there are famous guest voice actors. This time, we have the veteran Adrienne Barbeau as the voice of Simone, the estate's owner and cat woman, and Star Wars' great Mark Hamill as Snakebite Scruggs. Both do a terrific job.
The music is good. A great rendition of "Scooby-Doo Where Are You?" is performed by Third Eye Blind. Two other great songs are "The Ghost Is Here" and "It's Terror Time Again" is performed by Skycycle.
The DVD has a few extras to keep children busy. The features include Mystery Inc. Bios, The Scooby-Doo Dare (quiz about movie), Featurette, Trailer, and Sneak Peeks of Scooby Videos
"Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" is a good updated version of Scooby-Doo that is sure to please any Scooby fan!
