User blog:SimonTheThespian/My Real Time Thoughts on "Return to Zombie Island"

During my first viewing of the film, I wrote my thoughts on the Scoobypedia Live Chat. Here they are:

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 * SimonTheThespian:
 * My live thoughts on "Return to Zombie Island"
 * Okay, the opening credits and music are awesome
 * I love all the references to the original in the opening credits
 * The "Where? No, Werewolf" joke was funny
 * Fred said "Just as I thought" BEFORE unmasking the werewolf... ???
 * Wait, so when did they get the Mystery Machine back???
 * Wasn't it gone during "COT13G"
 * Okay, the song/montage is reminding me of "The Ghost is Here."
 * So wait, the beginning takes place during the events of SDWAY
 * Oh... it was all Fred's dream
 * And now they're acknowledging the continuity of the last film. At least it's consistent
 * Wait, so why are they still banned from solving mysteries?
 * I liked the "What's a VCR" joke
 * So, unless they somehow get permission to start solving mysteries at the end of the film, how will the keep making these? Also, will the get the van back?
 * WAIT
 * ELVIRA IS IN THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
 * Also, I like how they finally make an explanation for why Shagg and Scoob liking scary movies
 * There's got to be a reason they won. It too much of a coincidence...
 * Oh- the boat's the same as the first film!
 * Wait, the first film counts as an "unsolved mystery????" At the end of the first film, they all seemed pretty okay with the conclusion.
 * Fred's criticism of the white van was pretty funny, I've got to admit
 * Wait- the gang's got a lot more in common than solving mysteries. Although it makes for a funny joke, it doesn't make sense
 * Why are there cat creatures??? Don't they only come out at a certain time???
 * "That's my phone." Solid joke
 * So the film is 80 minutes. I'm 20 minutes in and they're still refusing to look into any mysteries
 * 1/4 into the film and no mysteries?!
 * Also, if they remember the island, they would realize at this point it's the same place
 * The flashback is AWESOME reanimated
 * So, they've shown the cat amulet center screen TWICE. I have a feeling it'll come into play later on.
 * Alan has the amulet. So he'll be a cat person... Cool
 * The "staff" look a LOT like the characters from the first film. Same with their names. I wonder if they're the same people or just a confusing reference.
 * The woman in blue keeps saying "Yes and," which is an improv term. Also, "stage right." Why is an island staff member using theatre terms?
 * Scooby's spa drink looks yummy
 * ZOMBIES!!!
 * The design of the zombies is close to the original. They clearly spent time on the animation for this one
 * And character design
 * "I'm fluent in Shaggy Panic"
 * Why does the hotel manager want them to look into the zombies so much? If he's a cat person, as implied by the amulet, he wouldn't want the gang to be near the zombies as they zombies in the first film said that the cat people were evil
 * So far this movie feels like a compilation of good visuals, jokes, and occasional "scares." There's no big mystery or even storyline. It feels like this plot would have worked better as an episode of 30 minute special of some sort.
 * Woah- how is the mystery machine on the island?
 * Finally, some GOOD zombie heard action?
 * Also, the manager said something twice and corrected it, like an ACTOR would? Why are all the staff acting like a theatre troupe?!
 * Normally, I'd appreciate theatre references, but these are out of place
 * Yes, the promise is over
 * They can actually SOLVE the mystery
 * Or not mystery?
 * Not much is happening mystery wise...
 * There are just a bunch of Zombies chasing them
 * The visual of the zombie shadows through the window is nice
 * Wait
 * They trapped them 38 minutes into the movie?!
 * Oh- they still have to trap the cat person. Ok.
 * "They're Witches!" That made me laugh out loud
 * THEY ARE REFERENCING THE "YES AND" THING
 * They ARE actors
 * I knew it
 * Yes
 * And
 * I solved it
 * xD
 * The zoom into Velma saying "Zombie Island" was cool
 * So it's all reality TV. That's funny
 * But odd and kinda underwhelming for a sequel to one of the GREATEST Scooby films
 * "We have a blog?" Nice recurring joke
 * Nice reference to "Reluctant Werewolf." But... the gang wasn't really in that film. So how did Velma know about it. She would know about Scrappy if she knew about the Reluctant Werewolf and she obviously didn't in COT13G, so why would she know about this?! So confusing
 * Simone's pendant is referenced- FINALLY!
 * So, there is room for an actual mystery now
 * But half of the movie is all a setup? Really? Seems like they could have done it in only 10-15 minutes
 * "Zombie Teenagers and the Island of Doom." Funny title
 * Swearing off gluten is such a Daphne thing to do. xD
 * THE MYSTERY MACHINE
 * YES
 * I mean, it's just the film's replica but it's still cool that "she's" in the film
 * Oh, so the stuntman looks like Fred.
 * I was very confused about why there was a shot with two Freds in the trailer. Makes sense now
 * Wait, so now the film is just them making a movie. Again, cool, but would be better as an episode. Especially since they're STILL NOT SOLVING THE CAT PEOPLE MYSTERY YET
 * I keep on repeating myself, but I'll say it again: This isn't a story. It's a compilation of short segments
 * The cat person looks different from the first film, but that's ok I guess
 * Sure the cat hair and pendant is mysteries, but Zombie Island WASN'T AN UNSOLVED CASE!
 * Velma preparing to solve the case is hilarious
 * xD
 * "Not since I became a movie star"
 * XD
 * Velma insisting on finding a mystery to solve and going crazy would've made a funny episode of BCSD
 * I want to clear something up: I'm being picky but I like the movie. I'm being picky because it's a review and that's what a review is. I am actually really enjoying it
 * Making a perfect sequel to Zombie Island that lives up to the first film is impossible no matter how good the script and production is
 * The first film is perfect
 * Alan is like one of those crazy directors who keeps actors till 4 in the morning during tech week. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE UNTIL THE NUMBER IS PERFECT!!!"
 * I know many Alans
 * xD
 * The shot of Fred getting the van in the fire was SICK
 * So cool
 * The cat creature chase scene is pretty cool.
 * I actually have no idea who the cat people are. I doubt it's the actors because it would be odd to have them be the villains TWICE. There is a chance they're real, but I doubt that given the fact that in COT13G it was a guy in a mask
 * I hope that if it's someone in a mask, they leave some hint to there being *some* real cat people as to not ruin the first film
 * I like the two songs they've played so far
 * "She's my honey" reminds me of the songs in SDWAY
 * I wouldn't mind it if they played "Terror Time Again" at some point though
 * Ok, so Velma believes they are real
 * Nice
 * That needed to happen
 * Wait... there are cat people that were around before the harvest moon light... How?
 * Are they fake, or is it a mistake on the writers part?
 * The zombie gang is genuinely terrifying!
 * Oh
 * Ok
 * They're fake
 * Aw Man
 * I hope they still say that the first film was real
 * Ok, so the 4th cat creature is real
 * Nice
 * I like that even though they kept to their current continuity rules they didn't throw away the events of the first film and even had a real monster.
 * Of some sort
 * An *implied* real monster
 * So there IS a treasure!?
 * I actually wasn't expecting that
 * But why is it rightfully Alans? Didn't Scooby dig it up?
 * Shouldn't it be the gangs?
 * "Swamp Gas?!?!?!?!"
 * Why
 * Just leave the first be
 * At least Fred and Daphne still think the first film was real
 * So is the next film going to be all about them getting the van?
 * That would be neat
 * But I thought the next would be about King Arthur
 * Maybe the Sheriff will give it back to them
 * The gang acted! Score!
 * So they can solve mysteries- nice
 * It the film is finished!
 * Oh
 * Wait
 * There's an Elvira video in the credits
 * Oh, she's watching their film
 * That's actually really funny
 * I like this mid-credits video!
 * Velma advertising her blog in the middle of a shot
 * xD
 * And I don't think there will be another video in the credits so I'll wrap up here
 * Overall, I thought "Return to Zombie Island" was a good Scooby-Doo film. Although it would've worked better as a TV special, I was entertained the entire time. It was very funny, which, at its core, what Scooby-Doo is all about. It definitely has a few more flaws than some of the older Scooby-Doo films and it's not as good as the original. But, how could it be? Zombie Island shouldn't have gotten a sequel, but it was inevitable given how many Scooby films they make. I think a sequel to Zombie Island couldn't be any better than what we have, but it could be much, much worse. So I'm happy we got the film we did. I give "Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island" Seven Gold-Wrapped Scooby Snax out of Ten
 * One last thing- Next Friday is Scooby-Doo's 50th Birthday, and I'm going to be releasing a video on my YouTube channel celebrating it. In the video will be a more structured review of "Return to Zombie Island." If you're interested in checking it out, tune in next Friday. Here's the link: https://youtube.com/user/sweetiecartoons
 * This is SimonTheThespian, signing off.
 * This is SimonTheThespian, signing off.