Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost/Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (Blu-ray Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Oct 21, 2024
• Format: Blu-ray Disc
• 

Director

Jim Stenstrum

Release Date(s)

1999/2000 (August 13, 2024)

Studio(s)

Hanna-Barbera Cartoons/Warner Bros. Animation (Warner Archive Collection)

• Film/Program Grade: See Below
• Video Grade: See Below
• Audio Grade: See Below
• Extras Grade: C
• Overall Grade: B

Review

After the success of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island in 1998, Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Animation, along with Mook Animation, re-teamed for further direct-to-video Scooby-Doo animated projects, the first being Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost, which was released on VHS in October of 1999, and two years later on DVD. The continued appeal of Scooby-Doo as a character and an animated property ensured the film’s success, as well as its follow-ups.

While solving their latest mystery, the gang of Mystery Inc. meet famous horror author Ben Ravencroft, an admirer of their exploits who subsequently invites them to his hometown of Oakhaven, Massachusetts. There they discover that the town has become a tourist destination, based around the legend of Sarah Ravencroft, Ben’s ancestor who was accused of being a witch and subsequently executed in the 1600s. Ben hopes to one day prove that Sarah was in fact a Wiccan medicinal healer, unfairly persecuted for her unconventional ways. She was rumored to have kept a diary of her work, which he has spent his life searching for and, with the help of the gang, hopes to find still. Meanwhile, the town is busy hosting a concert featuring the Goth-rock band the Hex Girls, but while the festivities are underway and Shaggy and Scooby voraciously chow down on the local cuisine, Sarah’s ghost in evil witch form appears and terrorizes the town.

Interestingly, Witch’s Ghost is more of a return to form for the Scooby-Doo gang in that it’s more of a straightforward tale about solving a traditional Scooby-Doo mystery, at least at the outset. There are some revelations along the way, but that’s the gist of it. The film also tones the animation style that pervaded Zombie Island in that characters aren’t overly-animated. There’s also plenty of variety in the visuals in terms of color and environments, so it’s a little more pleasing to look at. That said, the film’s twist is mostly unsatisfying, only because seeing the Mystery Inc. gang investigate a more conventional mystery in modern times was appealing. The twist, however, launches full-on into supernatural territory, which Zombie Island had opened the doors for prior. Still, a mainstream animated project aimed at children that deals with Wiccan religious ideals, treating them with respect while also bluntly delving into the darker side of humanity, namely the Salem witch trials, gives Witch’s Ghost more teeth than expected.

There are still wacky hijinks to be had, but had Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost stuck to having a more grounded and less supernatural premise, it might have been more fun. Maybe that’s asking too much from Scooby-Doo, but as is, it’s still very enjoyable.

A year after the release of Witch’s Ghost came Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders. The gang now find themselves stranded in the desert after a sandstorm. The rest of the group treks on foot into the nearest town while Shaggy and Scooby stay behind, only to be chased away by aliens. The local townspeople scoff, especially when one of the more eccentric locals claims to have been abducted by them. After Shaggy and Scooby are later kidnapped by the aliens and wake up in the middle of nowhere, they’re found by Crystal and her dog Amber. Crystal initially claims to be a nature photographer, but soon admits that she’s actually a government agent, neither of which matter to Shaggy or Scooby as they’ve fallen in love with Crystal and Amber, respectively. Soon the mystery of the aliens intensifies when the gang discovers more about the area.

While essentially also being guilty of its predecessor’s biggest flaw, Alien Invaders is a little more forgivable; mostly because the film is doing two things at once: it’s giving us something we’ve never really seen much before, which is Shaggy and Scooby in love, and the twist itself is tied in with the characters in a way that’s a little more meaningful. The twist is also not really intertwined with the main plot, which is definitely not supernatural for a change of pace. It’s also nice to see the Mystery Inc. gang split up for most of the film, going separate ways but all heading in the same direction, which the film does toy with in the editing. Because it takes place in the desert, the visuals aren’t quite as interesting as Witch’s Ghost, but the emphasis on character amid the goofiness and the laugh-inducing plot makes it a more involving watch, in a way.

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders feel cut from the same cloth. They’re like peanut butter and jelly, complimenting each other rather well. As a side note, it’s worth mentioning that this was the final performance of Mary Kay Bergen as Daphne, as she tragically passed away a year prior to the film’s release.

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders were animated on 35 mm film using traditional cel animation and occasional CGI, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The Warner Archive Collection’s Double Feature Blu-ray release of both films is presented on a single BD-50. For both features, bitrates primarily sit between 35 and 40Mbps, with a nice boost in color, higher levels of detail, and perfect contrast with deep blacks. Minor speckling and cel dirt are all definitely visible, and much crisper than their SD counterparts. That said, there’s definitely been noise removal applied, with occasional macroblocking in backgrounds. However, nothing really manages to tamper with the main line art. It’s quite watchable as everything comes through with great clarity, albeit a tad too clean.

For both films, audio is included in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Both offer good separation for the various elements, with good staging for the surrounding speakers when needed for score, music, and atmospherics. Dialogue is mostly up front, and there’s even some nice low end to be had. Both tracks are clean and problem free, aside from a very minor dropout in the left speaker during Alien Invaders at the 46:15 mark.

SCOOBY-DOO! AND THE WITCH’S GHOST (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): B/B+/A
SCOOBY-DOO AND THE ALIEN INVADERS (FILM/VIDEO/AUDIO): B/B+/A

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders are presented as a Double Feature by the Warner Archive Collection, sharing the same 1080p Blu-ray, which also contains the following extras:

SCOOBY-DOO! AND THE WITCH’S GHOST:

• Making Of (SD – 4:48)
• Music Video (SD – 1:10)
• Promo Trailer (SD – 1:02)

SCOOBY-DOO AND THE ALIEN INVADERS:

• Making Of (SD – 5:56)
• Promo Trailer (SD – 1:00)

These are short, fluffy DVD-era extras, but it’s nice that Warner Archive bothered to port them over. The Making Of featurettes are short looks at the films while they were still in production, featuring interviews with the cast and filmmakers. The Music Video for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and Hex Girl is more like a brief music video-style promo for the Kid Rhino Records soundtrack. Last are trailers for both films. Even still, a few things have been left behind. The DVD for Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost included the interactive features Mystery Inc. Bios and The Scooby-Doo Dare trivia game, plus the Sneak Peeks of Scooby Videos series of trailers. The DVD for Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders included the interactive features Scooby’s Steps to Solving a Mystery and Mystery Inc. Bios, The Making of the Scooby-Doo Computer Game via DVD-ROM, and more trailers for other Scooby-Doo programs.

All of these direct-to-video Scooby-Doo features are charming. Some of them are better than others, but these are pair of pretty good ones, ripe for rediscovery at Halloween. Warner Archive’s Blu-ray offers fine presentations, as well. For fans new and old, this comes highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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