My Movie Review on Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders · 4:24am Nov 1st, 2021
Happy Halloween, Dudes and Dudettes!
This is your totally awesome film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for the 9th installment of this year's "Spook Spectacular", I'm gonna give you guys my 15th take on an installment of the Scooby-Doo franchise: "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders".
Here's the rundown of it:
During a drive through a desert in Roswell, New Mexico, Scooby-Doo and the gang accidentally get stranded after a sandstorm causes the Mystery Machine to crash, blowing its radiator. Unwittingly, though, they find themselves embroiled in the middle of a town crisis when they find out that aliens have been terrorizing the citizens of Scorpion Ridge, particularly at night.
With the Mystery Machine out of commission, the Mystery Inc. gang decides that the only way they can help Scorpion Ridge rest easy is if they solve their new out-of-this-world mystery.
Along the way, Shaggy and Scooby meet a photographer named Crystal and her dog Amber.
In all honesty, I've been interested in reviewing more installments of the Scooby-Doo franchise for a long time, mainly considering it's been over one year since I did my review on "Scooby-Doo! And the Beach Beastie". It was only a matter of time since there were other things I wanted to review first.
"Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" was often the franchise installment I had in mind the most in terms of what to review next. Despite not always having this movie in my personal collection, I saw it many times as a child by frequently renting it from Blockbuster, which was back when the company was running. I practically grew up with it! The interesting thing is that even though there were real aliens in this movie, I wasn't freaked out by that prospect in the slightest. Compared to when I saw "Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost" as a child once, this movie was one I was able to calmly sit through.
Coming from a guy who reacquainted himself with the film recently, I will admit that I didn't think the movie was flawless.
It's primarily because I noted that there were some minor animation errors throughout the film. The errors in question were that whenever characters were not too close to the screen their facial features would look faded or undone. That, and the "The Aliens Are Here" song isn't what I consider the best in the franchise, because there were moments where it was hard to understand the singers.
Other than that, "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" was as wonderful as I remembered it being!
For instance, despite the minor nitpicks I pointed out, the animation was still an amazing site to behold. The animators managed to make great use of their budget even by direct-to-video standards, and I can tell that they were working on it all with passion.
The direction by Jim Stenstrum, the story by Davis Doi and Glenn Leopold, and the screenplay by Doi and Lance Falk, were well-done too.
Having often remembered that this was the second out of two of the four Scooby-Doo films where the film team didn’t have too much oversight from Warner Bros. executives or clashed with them, I really must say that they did a better job with this movie than their work on "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island". The execution of the "monsters being real" scenario didn't feel as in-your-face as it did with the latter film, the tone was pleasantly light, and the filmmakers were clearly striving to make sure it felt like a Scooby-Doo film. The witty and humorous side of the film was likewise very entertaining, and the mystery was enrapturing to a tee. The movie wasn't without heart and emotion either, which came in the form of the growing bonds between Shaggy and Crystal, and Scooby and Amber.
The music by Louis Febre was magnificent, if I may add.
When it came to capturing the Scooby-Doo spirit while making music of his own in the process, Febre didn't mess around. His score carried a cinematic and emotional resonance that helped it be powerful beyond anything, and whenever aliens were featured there'd be a crescendo that would help the music feel like the kind someone would make after visiting space. Plus, the "How Groovy" song turned out to be a cute song to listen to, and the sequence it was featured in didn't distract from the story at all. The film's rendition of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" is also one of the most amazing renditions I ever heard.
Finally, the voice acting, characters, and character development were fantastic.
In my opinion, the film showcased one of Scott Innes's best performances as Shaggy and Scooby by far. With the two characters being taken on a main character-level compared to most installments, Innes sounded like he was really throwing himself into voicing them. His impressions and comedic-timings were as fun as ever, and the way he used his voice for the physical moments that Shaggy and Scooby were involved in made him sound like he did more than provide their voices. The developments that Shaggy and Scooby had throughout the movie were also quite powerful.
The additions of Crystal and Amber were wonderful as well. Their chemistries with Shaggy and Scooby were entertaining, they had lovable personalities, and they weren't without development either; or surprises for that matter. As a plus, Candi Milo was terrific in her portrayals of both Crystal and Amber.
The rest of the performances and characters were brilliant too.
Whether I learned about Mark Hamill providing the voice of Steve the SALF worker long before making this review is something I don't remember, but in my opinion...compared to his work as Snakebite Scruggs in Zombie Island, his talents were far from underused! I won't give away what role Hamill's character in Alien Invaders has in the story for spoiler reasons, but I will say that whenever Steve was on-screen Hamill sounded like he was able to get the feel of who the character was as a person thanks to how important he was to the story. The same with Kevin Michael Richardson as Max and Audrey Wasilewski as Laura. Steve, Max, and Laura also had great development throughout the film.
In conclusion, "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" isn't 100% perfect. But, it's still one of the most enjoyable Scooby-Doo movies I've ever watched, and the lighter atmosphere it has should help it be something for all ages. As the final Scooby-Doo movie to star the late Mary Kay Bergman as Daphne Blake before her unexpected death, Alien Invaders served as a fitting sendoff and tribute to her.
So, I rate "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" 4½ out of 5 stars.
I would give it five stars
Very good review. Do you think you can review Dr. Stone? It's an anime
This one of my favorite Scooby Doo films.
I would give it a five out of five stars as the movie portray the costumed characters as more threatening than the other ones in other Scooby-Doo saga, showing that humans are the real monsters, while humanizing real monsters, even the aliens themselves acted exactly like every human and animal on Earth, unlike other aliens in many alien invasion films.
Interesting