Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!
is the 31st direct-to-video Scooby-Doo!
animated movie, and also completes a trilogy with the last two movies – Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th
Ghost and Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island. Set during Halloween
(duh), the movie kicks off with the Scooby Gang clashing with and defeating Jonathan
Crane a.k.a. the Scarecrow – yep, the Batman supervillain (note: Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold established a share universe). However, as it turns out, their night’s work
is only beginning. Before long, flying
zombie jack-o-lanterns, arising from the nearby pumpkin patch, attack the town. With the help of Elvira, Mistress of the
Dark, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, the Scooby Gang must figure out a way to stop
their terror spree.
Unlike the previous two direct-to-video installments, Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! doesn’t revisit
an old Scooby-Doo! storyline – which
is a shame, since being direct follow-ups to three different classic Scooby-Doo! adventures would have been a
cool motif for this trilogy. Nevertheless,
it makes gratuitous references to elements or events from past Scooby-Doo! storylines, which when added
to the odd inclusion of Scarecrow to its plot, further reinforces the primary impression
that the previous two direct-to-video installments were keen of stressing – the
Scooby-Doo! TV shows and movies are
interconnected.
Objectively, Happy Halloween,
Scooby-Doo! is utterly dumb.
Though I understand that it’s one of those properties that shouldn’t be
taken seriously, I was still frustrated with the inconsistencies of its logic. For example (SPOILER), the jack-o-lanterns
were initially thought to have been brought to life by a combination of toxic
waste and Scarecrow’s fear gas. But, as
what the Scooby Gang uncovered, the jack-o-lanterns were actually high-tech
drones. This reveal is actually
contradictory to events occurring prior it (e.g. the jack-o-lanterns behaved like living creatures; whenever the jack-o-lanterns
were destroyed, there were no mechanical parts in the wreckage, but just pure
pumpkin; etc.), but worse than that, it didn’t “ground” the mystery at all. It’s not only because the actual explanation turned
out being as absurd as the original hypothesis, but more critically, it’s because
they are both absurd in the same nature.
The original hypothesis – product of toxic waste and fear gas – is science
fiction in nature; the actual explanation – high-tech drones – is also science fiction in nature. Hence, there is no real contrast, simulating some
sense of believability. It would have
been more effective if the mystery was initially seemingly supernatural, but
turned out having a science fiction solution.
That being said, I still prefer this over the big-budget Scoob!, since it at least feels like an
actual Scooby-Doo! story. I got some chuckles from it, and I found it moderately
engaging. I particularly enjoyed the
long car chase sequence in the second act, which contains some pretty decent thrills
and humor.
In the end, Happy Halloween,
Scooby-Doo! may be campy fun, but it’s still disposable diversion at best. And only
those like me who’ve become regular followers of Scooby-Doo! direct-to-video movies will obtain some degree of satisfaction from expending time on it.
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