My Movie Review on Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase · 4:56am Apr 2nd, 2022

April Fools Day, Kemosabes!

This is your friendly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm gonna give you guys my 16th take on an installment of the Scooby-Doo franchise: "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase".

Here's the rundown of it:

During a visit at a college to see their old friend, Eric Staufer, the Mystery Inc. gang discover that a Phantom Virus from the cyberworld of Eric's Scooby-Doo video game was somehow able to come into the real world. To help prevent the virus from causing further damage to humanity's technology, they volunteer to find the virus and try to lure him back to the laboratory.

In the midst of enacting the plan, though, Scooby and the gang are beamed into Cyberspace and get trapped in Eric's computer game. In order to get out, they'll have to play through every level of the game has, which won't be easy because of the various monsters they encounter and the Phantom Virus doing everything he can to make sure they don't win the game.

Will Scooby-Doo and friends make it through the video game? Or will the Phantom Virus ensure that it'll be game over for them?

Having often planned on the exact order for analyzing movies of the Scooby-Doo franchise, "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" was the film I wanted to review next based on it being the fourth and final Scooby-Doo movie to be animated by Mook Animation. As well as the last to feature Scott Innes as Shaggy and Scooby-Doo and B.J. Ward as Velma, of course.

Also, I really can't lie to you guys. Out of all the four Scooby-Doo movies to be animated by Mook, "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" was the one I grew up with the most! Back when my family and I had a VCR and VHS tapes were still in style, my family and I owned a VHS copy of it. I frequently played the movie any time I felt like watching it, and each time I did so, I became immediately enraptured by the film.

After VCRs and VHS tapes went out of stock, my family and I didn't give any thought on re-adding the film in some other format. Many years later, though, I bought a blu-ray copy of "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" so that I could both physically own it and create a review of it.

Coming from a guy who reacquainted himself with the movie recently, the one thing I will admit is that there were some noticeable animation and technical errors throughout the movie that were impossible for me to ignore. An example is that, during the log ride scene in the final level of the game, there were two Cyber Scoobies instead of one Real-world Scooby and one Cyber Scooby.

Take a look:

Granted, these sort of errors weren't uncommon in classic Scooby-Doo installments, but this is different. "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" was made and released in the early 2000s, and so you'd think that with how advanced the technology was the film team and animators would ensure there wouldn't even be so much as a blank spot. But as you can see, that wasn't the case at all.

In spite of the animation and technical flaws the film has, "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" is still what I'm happy to classify as one of the best Scooby-Doo movies around.

For instance, the animation was still an amazing sight to behold.

Regardless of the errors, "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" was the best animated out of the four to be created by Mook Animation, even as a movie done under a limited budget. The overall visualization had the feel of a comic book brought to life, and everything about it looked to be on a cinematic level. Every moment Scooby and the gang were in a video game level was a masterpiece to behold, including whenever they got transported to one. The Phantom Virus was also one of the most visually-impressive characters I ever saw, particularly as one who was made up of electricity.

The direction by Jim Stenstrum, and the story by Mark Turosz, were well-done as well.

Having learned about the troubled production history the film faced due to disagreements between Warner Bros. executives and the film team over Turosz's script, it honestly amazes me that Stenstrum and Davis Doi weren't among the many that left. Being the film's editor and supervising producer, I could tell that Doi was wanting to make the best out of the script by ensuring it'd be easier for the animation process to translate and that everything would be done within the afforded budget, even by improving it in his own way. What made the overall story by Turosz so interesting, though, was that it actually felt like a Scooby-Doo movie. It captured the spirit that originated from the classic installments while still taking risks, even going so far as to pay homage to the classics by incorporating some of the monsters they featured in the final level. Scooby and the gang getting trapped in a video game world was one of the most original concepts I ever saw from the franchise, and Jim Stenstrum did a brilliant job bringing this movie to life.

Plus, the humor that was incorporated throughout the film was hilarious, especially the gags revolving around the real-world and cyberspace Mystery Inc. gangs as they were together. The amount of high stakes, action, and adventure the movie had was also a rollicking great time, and the mystery on who created the Phantom Virus and zapped the gang into cyberspace provided a great amount of intrigue to gain a viewer's attention.

The music by Louis Febre was magnificent, if I may add.

Out of all the three Scooby-Doo films Febre composed for, his work in "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" was undeniably the most enrapturing. His melodies created an immense sense of power, emotion, and personality that helped his score be powerful even by direct-to-video standards. The songs that were incorporated during some of the chase sequences were also some of the most fun I ever listened to, that's for sure.

Finally, the vocal performances, characters, and character development were spectacular.

Despite Scooby and the gang not having the most emotional of growths, every moment they're in the game features them slowly adjusting until they got the hang of playing it. Their personalities were as lovable and distinct as ever, and they proved to be continuously engaging and fully capable of carrying their own movie. As usual, Frank Welker was awesome in the role of Fred. But, with this movie being the very first in which Grey DeLisle voices Daphne, I really must say that she certainly knew how to make a smashing debut as the character, especially to where you could tell she was born to take on the part. As the final film to feature B.J. Ward as Velma, and Scott Innes as both Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, I would like to add that each of the two performers were as wonderful as ever in their respective parts.

Likewise, the film's supporting characters and cast members were terrific. I loved that they were all as equally distinguishable as the Mystery Inc. crew, and their performers gave them such wonderful texture through their voices alone.

If I had to pick what my favorite out of the supporting players are, it'd be Gary Anthony Sturgis and his portrayal of the Phantom Virus. It was amazing how Sturgis was able help his character not just be a menacing monster, but a supervillain with a classical sort of air. The Virus himself also had dynamic development throughout the film.

In conclusion, "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" is outstanding with a capital 'O'! It's fun to watch in every way, and it carries an astounding sense of love and respect for the franchise as a whole. Most people today obviously consider "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" to be the best of the four films animated by Mook Animation, but in my opinion...that credit strongly goes to "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase".

So, I rate "Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase" 4½ out of 5 stars.