Ok, so not the worst movie. Probably the worst Scooby Doo movie out there, but at least it's still watchable. The guest stars and side characters have more likability than the main cast, sans Velma who absolutely dominates, to the point where the movie is almost about her. Bill Nye was an absolute treat, as wasn't Elvira, both of which are extremely likable and quirky in their own ways here. Shaggy and Scooby get dummed down a bit, but at least they're still funny. It's Daphne and Fred who really get nerfed, with the former being absolutely unacceptable (Fred was already a bit to late to be saved.)
The villain is good, with a rather good twist and is still scary enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. Although there are some references in there that one would swear are just to prop up the movie.
Overall, watchable, with this really being Velma's time to shine, but don't count it as a must watch.
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ngsborder27 October 2020
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paul_haakonsen6 October 2020Well, I must admit that I was really looking forward to this 2020 Scooby-Doo animated movie. Why? Well, because it had Cassandra Peterson - aka Elvira - in the storyline as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, herself.
And while "Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!" turned out to be just exactly as every other Scooby-Doo adventure, then it actually had some nice enough surprises and twists to it. But the familiarity of these movies running on the same blueprint is part of the Scooby-Doo charm, isn't it?
"Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!" was watchable, but it wasn't really among the best of the Scooby-Doo animated movie franchise. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that it was a bad movie, not at all. It was just a bit too generic in some aspects.
It was nice that the storyline included not only Elvira, but also Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow from the Batman universe. That was definitely a nice twist to the storyline. And I must admit that I enjoyed that.
The art and animation style is very familiar, keeping that traditional Scooby-Doo style to it, for better or worse.
"Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!" is definitely well-worth sitting down to watch, especially if you have kids, but maybe do it around the Halloween time, because the story definitely fits into that theme.
My rating of "Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!" is a six out of ten stars. -
CelilbatuSoylemez30 November 2020It was meh but I really like and laughed so hard when I saw Fred's preperation :D It was the same scene of Dutch preparing from Predator 1987. So good reference :)
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andrewroy-043161 December 2020While I didn't abhor them as some fans did, Curse of the 13th Ghost and Return to Zombie Island were certainly lesser Scooby entries, and I have been eager for a return to form. I'm not sure I'm prepared to go that far with Happy Halloween, but it is passable. The visuals are good, and the tone is excellent. It's fun to see Scarecrow here, and the ominous Halloween vibe comes through strongly. The mystery is decent, though I wouldn't say it's as much of a focus as I'd like, and the solution is a cool one but comes out of left field. The side characters aside from Scarecrow simply aren't very interesting - I have absolutely no idea why Elvira continues to hang around, as she was absolutely useless, and if they're aiming for relatability, if I didn't know who she was there's no way kids today do. Mike and his daughter were throwaway attempts at comic relief, and Bill Nye was a cool idea but felt more like a shoehorned Guess Who appearance than a cohesive addition. As always, the main tension is on the characters, and the script for them is the biggest problem with the movie: the humor feels extremely forced, as if it's desperate to stay relevant and capture the attention of "hip" modern kids. Daphne, who has been my favorite character in several recent movie and show iterations (shout out to Be Cool Daphne, the legend), is mind numbingly stupid and pointless here. She does nothing at all related to the mystery, makes a bunch of ill-fitting jokes and slang trash talk, and then has a bizarre obsession with becoming Elvira I did my best to ignore. Fred is fine, and Shaggy and Scooby are undoubtedly the bright spots of the movie, as the only ones with comedic lines that actually work, as they highlight the absurdity of the situations. Velma isn't as grating as she has been in previous movies, and I appreciate that they try to develop some depth to her here, but the mind palace was overemphasized and the realization that Shaggy and Scooby can be good for something doesn't seem to hit home as well as the writers thought it would. The many easter eggs and throwbacks were lots of fun, I do really like the idea and tone, and the mystery was a great idea if just fine in execution. The character troubles (primarily Daphne and Elvira just being terrible) and lack of development of the mystery hold back what could've been a very good movie.
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I enjoyed this movie. It reminded me of the new scooby doo movies and the grim adventures of Billy and Mandy, which makes sense because Maxwell Atoms wrote this. I like that they decided to give the spotlight to Velma this time because she has always been an under rated character to me. the arc they give her is cheesy but effective. As far as the other characters they are okay although Daphne has some fun moments. although it was cool to see scare crow in the scooby doo art style he didn't do anything and Bill Nye was little annoying. the animation is very well done as usual for scooby doo. my biggest problem is the ending which if you have seen the recent scooby doo movies you know what I'm talking about. over all had fun.
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SnoopyStyle4 March 2021Crystal Cove is putting on a Halloween parade hosted by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. The rest of the Mystery Inc. gang is after the Haunted Scarecrow while Scooby-Doo and Shaggy hide in the van. It turns out to be Dr. Jonathon Crane aka the Scarecrow who had recently escaped from Arkham Asylum. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy do save the day as Scooby shoots down Scarecrow's drones with Halloween candy.
I haven't seen Scooby-Doo for many years. I didn't realize that they are now in the same cinematic universe as Batman. I wonder if they are going to be in the next Batman movie with R-Pat. The first fifteen minutes is the most compelling and memorable for that fact. The rest is a bit muddled and it can't get more jaw dropping than catching Scarecrow. Come on! Scarecrow is a solid Batman villain. I can't believe the kids caught an actual Batman villain. -
studioAT18 October 2020Yes, this film really is just one long chase scene. Yes, Fred is becoming more of an idiot with every passing straight to DVD film. Though he wasn't much better in 'Scoob'.
Anyone who didn't like the aforementioned reboot of Scooby on the big screen and hoped that this would be a return to 'normal' Scooby Doo fun will probably still be disappointed.
This is modern, "the monsters may just be real" Scooby Doo, with the characters changing to fit this ethos. This in itself will be a turn off for many.
If you can embrace the new (and I don't think we have much choice) then you'll find enough moments to enjoy here to warrant the running length. -
mariaraluca-195901 November 2020After an awfully disappointing "Scoob!" Mystery Inc. is back!
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I'm sure Frank Welker, Grey DeLise, and Matthew Lillard could do Fred, Scooby, Daphne, and Shaggy in their sleep. Of course, pros that they are they never sound it, and their work here is faultless. Kate Micucci has proven a fine Velma since she took over in 2015, and this is her best outing yet; knowledgeable without being know-all, firm yet friendly - and sassy. She really gets to shine (and Velma's skirts are DEFINITELY getting shorter!).
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Bill Nye the Science Guy are entertaining guests. And the inclusion of Batman villain Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow (voiced by Dwight Schultz) gives a nice link to the DC universe. The movie does suffer from too many road chases, making the whole thing feel a little drawn-out, and for me pumpkins aren't scary - or even that exciting - as monsters. But it has top notch animation, witty dialogue, and incidental music with more than a hint of John Carpenter. 7.5/10 -
dawn-ray1818 October 2020We paid $17 for this and we want at least $16 of that back. This was the worst Scooby ever made. The plot made no sense. Most of it was a roadway chase scene. The characters were just bizarre, especially Daphne who veered from imitating rap stars to worshiping Elvira. Save your money.
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jeremycrimsonfox16 September 2020Yeah, the last two films, made during Scooby-Doo's 50th Anniversary, were not really good. Curse Of The 13th Ghost was seen by many as a let down and an example on how not to give closure to a series, and Return To Zombie Island was seen as an unnecessary sequel done mainly to cash in on the anniversary. But now, we have Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!, a new movie that thankfully brings the Great Dane back to greatness.
The story is Mystery Inc. is at Crystal Cove and manage to stop a crook who is causing trouble at the town's Halloween parade. A crook revealed to be Dr. Johnathan Crane, a.k.a. The Scarecrow. Wow, we already begun the movie, and already, we have a Batman villain being defeated by those meddling kids. However, after Scooby and Shaggy thwart the master of fear's backup plan (and in their own way, which keeps them in character), the real trouble begins, as the drones crash onto a pumpkin patch, and a tanker trailer filled with toxic waste leaks, combining with the fear gas the drones were carrying, resulting in the pumpkins mutating into monsters. Now, with the aid of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, the gang are on a fight to survive.
Yeah, I never liked Curse Of The 13th Ghost, and I never saw Return To Zombie Island (mainly because I saw the negative reviews), this DTV movie makes up for those two mistakes. Written and directed by Maxwell Atoms, the guy who made Evil Con Carne and The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy, the film has a perfect balance between dark and goofy. While the jack-o-lanterns may be scary (and there are scenes of pumpkin guts being splattered), the film makes extra sure to keep the humor that Scooby-Doo is well-known for. Also, they keep the characters true to the original (although one detraction is near the beginning when Daphne, for some reason, uses street slang when Dr. Crane is captured, which is weird, because I can never imagine Daphne Blake or any other cartoon character from the 60's and 70's using such talk). Fred is back to his usual self, being the trap master and the guy whose love life is his car, and Velma is still the know-it-all, but is more tolerable, as some of the story involves her trying to figure out how the monsters are real, especially when Bill Nye shoots down her theory that they are all under the effects of the fear gas, causing her to want to go to her "mind palace" to get the clues as they are on the run from these mutated pumpkins.
The story is real good, and feels like it was something written for Scooby-Doo And Guess Who? (especially with the use of The Scarecrow, as will as Elvira and Bill Nye). And there are various nods to other cartoons (one float is modeled after Frankenstein Jr., and even a Grim Reaper float, a nice reference to Grim Adventures). Plus, the end has a twist we have never expected (I won't spoil it, but if you've hated a certain character from the last two films, you'll be happy to see him get his comeuppance). Maxwell Atoms did a good job with this film, as he brings Scooby back to greatness, and gives a story that will please fans of both dark horror and light-hearted comedy. -
bmxrider-8461331 October 2020Terrible. Why Elvira and Bill Nye? Also, how long is this car chase going to go on? So lazy.
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I didn't really gain much from watching this. Again, it's great to see the franchise return to the original format after how much of a mess of that other movie that came out in May of 2020 was, but as is, it wasn't that good.
The first half of the film is promising, we see the characters are being played by their original actors again, the introduction of Elvira and Bill Nye was great, and the writing still had its traditional charm that it's been using for years. Soon the actual plot starts to happen when all the mutant pumpkins start reeking havoc on the city with Shaggy and Scooby being the first ones to actually witness what's coming (because, you know, they're always the first ones to see that something bad is about to happen). So Shaggy and Scooby go to warn the others what's about to happen and obviously they don't listen, instead Velma snaps at them, says a bunch of harsh things, and tells them to get lost.
Velma has always been the most unlikable member of the group to me, in fact, she just so happens to be one of the biggest problems with this movie. Her high intellect and long history of successfully solving mysteries gave her a massive ego that makes her think she can't make mistakes and is never wrong, even by the time she and the others do see the mutant pumpkins Shaggy and Scooby tried to warn them about, she doesn't apologize for ranting at them until 40 MINUTES IN. Shaggy and Scooby don't even say anything like "Do you still not believe us?" or "Scoob and I tried to tell you, but did you listen? NO!" as an implication of them telling the others they should've listened when they had the chance. The story primarily centering on Velma isn't what I would expect from the first actual Halloween-themed Scooby-Doo movie, if the writers want to make a story about Velma learning to accept the fact that everyone can make mistakes no matter how smart they are, they should've saved that for another movie. But what really bothers me is the fact that she hogs up nearly ALL OF THE FILM'S DIALOGUE, the majority of the movie is just Velma constantly yammering nonstop to the point where she's almost the only character in the film who actually says anything. It's really exhausting having to listen to her rambling ON AND ON AND ON AND ON for so long. Kate Micucci may be a very talented voice actress and was a perfect successor to Velma's previous actress (Mindy Cohn) but unfortunately this movie has shown that if you give a voice as nasally and high-pitched as hers too much dialogue, it'll become EXHAUSTING to listen to.
Speaking of Shaggy and Scooby, it feels like they've been "dumbed down" in this. The problem there is that they were never meant to be "stupid," they just get scared really easily, so why would the movie make them stupid enough to think that hitting a random pumpkin they find with sticks is going to get them proof that mutant pumpkins are going to attack???
As soon as the mutant pumpkins break loose and chaos ensues, we get a car chase sequence that lasts 24 MINUTES STRAIGHT with Shaggy and Scooby riding with a random stranger named Mike and his daughter, Daphne in Elvira's car, and Fred and Velma in Bill Nye's Mystery Machine X. I'm not making up what I said earlier, a 24-minute car chase in a Scooby-Doo movie, the problem there is that it drags out the amount of time I have to spend waiting before Velma can admit she shouldn't have ignored Shaggy and Scooby when they were telling the truth about what was coming, that's far too much time for me to have to spend waiting to hear those words.
After the car chase finally stops and the gang starts setting up traps and fighting the pumpkins off, it starts to get better, only for it to get ruined again when this half repeats a joke it made in the first half where Velma was unmasking a criminal they were catching earlier (that being the Scarecrow). After Velma unmasks the crook she monologues about how she knew who it was, as she's monologuing, for some reason, in between her pauses Daphne will be filling in those pauses with saying random slangs that give me the impression these writers are trying to be hip and relevant, which is NEVER a good idea, saying slangs of a current year will make your movie age poorly with time. But if that wasn't enough, the ending is just a painful sting.
After Mike and his daughter are able to find help and the crook is arrested, the gang comes across a local Halloween party some random people are having at someone's house and are invited to join without the people not even having ever met them before (does that make any sense to you?), and right before the movie ends it decides to quickly traumatize me by implanting an image of Elvira bald into my brain when Daphne asks to borrow her wig. I really liked the stuff between Elvira and Daphne, I thought them switching outfits was hilarious, and when it's revealed the entire time Daphne was actually trying to steal Elvira's outfit so she can have a costume to wear. It's really funny at first (plus seeing Daphne wearing Elvira's whole outfit is a treat for the eyes), but as soon as she hands Daphne the wig (which technically was a trained monkey), that's when the joke dies, and we're forced to have to continue looking at Elvira bald until the credits roll.
It's a bit shocking that Fred doesn't seem to be affected by any of this trash the movie has thrown out, but that's only because if you removed him from it, it wouldn't change anything. Which is something I would never have expected to say about a Scooby-Doo movie.
So there you go, this movie is kind of a mess, Velma is more unbearable here than she is in other movies, the car chase drags on for too long, those slangs Daphne was saying are going to make the movie feel dated years later, Shaggy and Scooby despite never being idiots in any previous media are made to be idiots here and don't stand up for themselves when no one will listen to them, it has that TRAUMATIZING image of Elvira (one of the most beautiful women in the world and one of my newest idols) bald despite the fact that she's actually not in real life without her wig on, and worst of all, it's BORING.
I will however give this movie credit for still being a decent return to the original format the franchise is best known for after the CGI movie unnecessarily decided to change everything, having 2 perfect choices for new guest stars, and letting the original voice actors return to their roles. It may be a mess, but at least things are back to the way they should be. -
dahiya-harsh5528 October 2020Seriously Enjoyed It, Didn't Disappoint,What A Great Release On Eve Of Halloween
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Tuefer_Benz7 October 2020Absolutely pales in comparison to other autumn/Halloween-themed movies Witch's Ghost and Goblin King. "Mind palace" from Sherlock, seriously? Avocado toast? "Mary Sue"? Worst of all, a boring, insipid story that's like a half hour episode stretched out beyond the breaking point? And as Halloween episodes, Spooky Scarecrow and Be Cool's 'Halloween' were far better. Scoob!, all is forgiven.
So Velma is now not only the leader like Fred (who is now a moron) was but also an action badass like early 00s Daphne was?
Finally, the question of whether Scooby is better if monsters are real or are fake (with an equally outlandish explanation) has been answered by the 'monsters are real' Mook movies, the live action theatrical movies, and Ghoul School, among the best that the franchise has produced.
Focus less on guest stars and more on writing good stories. Mystery Incorporated and Be Cool accomplished that within the last decade, so the movies can do that as well. -
ishaquesayyed29 November 2020Best best best movie everything, the comedy in movie it almost looks like old movies of Scooby Doo.
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TheLittleSongbird20 January 2021Most of the animated Scooby Doo films range between good and great, especially 'Zombie Island' and 'Witch's Ghost'. Didn't care for every single one of them, 'Monster of Mexico' didn't do much for me and 'Return to Zombie Island' was a real disappointment (one that started off well but became a mess halfway through). Being a fan of Scooby Doo, watching 'Happy Halloween Scooby Doo' was never going to be in doubt, while hoping that it would be better than the previous outing.
The good news is 'Happy Halloween Scooby Doo' is an improvement over 'Return to Zombie Island'. The not so good news is that it is still not too great and a long way off from being one of the best Scooby Doo films (towards the lesser end in this regard and of all the franchise's Halloween-themed outings). The atmosphere is great and there are a fair share of good things, but the story could have been a lot stronger and one aspect particularly irritated me greatly. Am not surprised that the opinions have been fairly polarising here.
'Happy Halloween Scooby Doo' does look great on the animation front. Absolutely loved the look of the Jack-o-Lanterns, some very imaginative visuals on them. The music had groove and atmosphere and didn't sound outdated or out of place. The voice acting is much better here than it was in 'Return to Zombie Island', nobody overdoes it and nobody sounds bored. Although Matthew Lillard has still got it as Shaggy, Dwight Schultz effectively makes one suitably uneasy and Bill Nye was quite fun, my favourite turn came from Cassandra Peterson.
Elvira was also my favourite character here and loved how she had a bigger role and an active one. Kind of like a female Vincent Van Ghoul, except without as much Edgar Allen Poe-inspired dialogue. Nye may strike some as irrelevant, personally found him very entertaining and he was useful especially later on. The van is very cool and made me want to have one. Shaggy and Scooby are endearingly goofy as usual and Velma, though too domineering, more tolerable than she was in 'Return to Zombie Island'. A very nice job is done with the Halloween setting, which was suitably spooky, and the film actually does start off very well.
For all those good things, there were drawbacks. The story, with a thin as a wafer mystery, lacks momentum, due to having the feel of a 30 minute episode stretched to a film of just over twice that amount of time, and felt repetitive once the Jack-o-Lanterns were introduced and became a series of chases that weren't massively exciting, well actually on reflection it was one long chase that dominated the second half. The Jack-o-Lanterns are creepy and are imaginatively animated, but part of me wished that they had more to do. The denouement to me was a bit too convoluted and too out of nowhere, the perpetrator was a real surprise definitely but their plan was pretty complicated.
A good deal of the dialogue tends to be excessively silly and doesn't always flow well. Fred is very dull here and too much of a sappy spare part when it came to the mystery solving (which he did not do a lot of), it is hard to believe that this was the same character that was the leader of the gang in the earlier incarnations. Worst of all is Daphne, usually do not have a problem with her but here she is insufferably irritating and behaves in such a juvenile way with some very random and out of place slang phrases that were not hip at all.
Concluding, not too great but it was alright on the whole. 5/10 -
kaungmyatzawneverdowell15 October 2020I am spechless.I am spechless abt how my scooby got destroyed.
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simstimothy10 October 2020Best Scooby Doo yet! Perfect combo of classic and new. Great storyline plus great Guest characters... Elvira, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and the Scarecrow from Batman. Not to mention maybe the best intro of any cartoon I've ever seen. The song is perfect and the way they did it is so unique! Love this movie and so do the kids!
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I must say when I heard there was a new Halloween centric Scooby Doo movie on the horizon I was genuinely excited. I hadn't taken in much Scooby Doo media since the "What's New" days that I grew up with but always looked back on the franchise fondly. This plus my appreciation for Halloween made Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo a must see. Now however, I wish I hadn't.
Now yes, I'm clearly not the "target audience" here. That is understood. I could also argue the "target audience" would not understand half of the um...odd choices made in this film.
Story: There is very little here actually. The "mystery" is quite jumbled and while I don't expect Sherlock levels of attention to detail (cough, weird mind palace plot line, cough), the explanation given at the end contradicts everything the viewer is shown throughout the movie. The pumpkins being drones for instance. We are shown time and time again that when smashed there's no drone inside the mutated pumpkins...except at the end when they explain it away as drones... Half of the movie is a Mad Max Fury Road reenactment. It's weird. You almost get the sense it was compiled of several different skits and/or a story that was deserving of a half hour TV episode stuffed with filler to meet a desired run time.
Guest stars: What 7-year-old would know who Elvira is? Like seriously...in Return to Zombie Island the cameo was an interesting Easter egg. In this film however she almost got more screen time than Scooby. Let that sink in. (And yes, this movie made me go back to some other recent films in the franchise to see if this poor quality was a trend.) The addition of Bill Nye was a completely unnecessary move that only further distracted from any form of story. I can't get too upset at the Batman villain seeing as the two properties have had several crossovers in the past. Sadly what could have been an awesome movie to add to the Halloween collection ended up just being a vehicle to stuff with "celebrity" cameos.
Humor: As mentioned prior I have since gone back and watched a few other recent movies and TV episodes from this franchise. When I was younger I saw all the pre-2010 installations as well. The characters have gone through a number of vastly different incarnations and that's expected and encouraged. A means to keep a formulaic concept somewhat fresh. Here though, they all seem to be annoying, stupid, and borderline insane...especially when referring to Daphne...wow. The humor was cringe inducing, to someone in their early 20s mind you. I know times change and whatnot but if you're going to model half of your comedy after sub-par Tic Toks there may be some issues. So much more can be done with these characters that doesn't rely on blurting out current pop culture phrases.
To that person reading through these reviews simply looking for a movie their child will enjoy, I'm sorry...so very sorry. This was long winded and completely irrelevant. But it was bugging me. Is it a good kids movie, yeah, probably so. Is it a good Scooby Doo movie, no. Return to Zombie Island blows it out of the water on that front. -
I really really liked this one! Not only as a great return to form after the trash released last year, but also as a great film in it's own right! Yes it can be pretty scatter-brained and pretty cheesy, but it still adds to the enjoyment!
If this is the last time for Grey Delise-Griffith and Matthew Lillard as Shaggy and Daphne, they definitely went out on a high note! -
brookenichole-980549 October 2020I was super excited-and surprised-when I found out a new Scooby movie was out. Plus, this one was Halloween related so I had hope. Unfortunately, like many Scooby movies now, this movie was terrible. The story was dull and confusing. Every character acted like they were out of their mind except Velma. There were new characters brought in that had little to do with the story. The majority of the film is just a car chase with no feeling of Halloween at all. Honestly, this was one of those movies where you wonder what the writers were thinking.
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adamcomito9 April 2021I thought the charm of Scooby doo was that it was always close to realism and the end was always an unmasking and explanation of the ghosts traps etc. That was the whole plot line now these new movies verge on "its real ghosts..." (As another reviewer mentioned) it doesn't feel like Scooby it it's actual paranormal) I dunno the artwork is good but it's just one long chase movie. Velma looking hot though.
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naveenhareendra8 October 2020Just watch it I wanna help them to improve Scooby-Doo for more rate the movie You should watch it . We need another scoob either !