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This article is about the film. For other uses, see Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (disambiguation).

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is the first in a series of direct-to-video films based upon Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was released on VHS on September 22, 1998.

It was the first movie to feature real monsters instead of traditional 'bad guys' in masks. This was heavily promoted before its release including a tagline used during commercials stating, "This time, the monsters are real." This theme would be followed up in several subsequent direct-to-video animated films released in the late-1990s and early-2000s. Although real monsters had previously appeared in most of the 1980s Scooby-Doo series and features, this continuity was ignored with the characters said to be encountering real monsters for the first time. After Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, the direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movies would not feature real monsters again until seven years later in Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King.

In fall 2019, Warner Home Video released a follow-up entitled Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island.

Premise[]

The Mystery Inc. team split up to do their own thing but come together again to solve a real ghost mystery. The gang of sleuths gets more than they bargained for when, on Moonscar Island in the Louisiana bayou, they find themselves among worshiping un-dead werecats and a swarm of zombies.

Synopsis[]

Daphne is on a talk show to promote her mystery-travel series, Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, during which she tells the hostess, Chris, about a past Mystery Inc. case when she was younger. At a faraway castle, Shaggy and Scooby are shown to be chased by a large moat monster. The gang had all been previously searching the castle for clues. After Scooby comes crashing down on the monster, the monster is unmasked as Mr. Beeman, a real estate agent, who had been printing counterfeit money. Daphne explains how it was one of her most frightening mysteries. She also discusses her new show in which she plans to find real monsters and how she had the gang have all gone their separate ways except for Fred, who works as her cameraman.

Scooby and Shaggy have taken up work as contraband security guards at a local airport. Unfortunately, they are exposed to a lot of tantalizing foreign food and are unable to resist eating all the contraband. As a result, they are fired from their job.

Fred secretly contacts Velma, who is now a book shop owner, about going on a big trip for Daphne's birthday. Fred also secretly contacts Shaggy and Scooby. He picks them all up on the way to Daphne's home. Daphne is surprised to find the whole gang all with Fred. He explains how they can all search for ghosts together just like old times. While hesitant at first Daphne agrees especially since they could find something.

The gang decides to go to New Orleans for the first segment of the television program. They meet up with many fake ghosts such as a floating ghost, which was just a video projection, a Man-Bat Monster, who was just an old man stealing a necklace, a ghostly casino riverboat captain, who was really an old lady, and lastly a Crawdad monster in a factory, who was really the owner of the factory Bubba Joe. Daphne is very disappointed to not find a real ghost. As Scooby and Shaggy look for food from local shops, Daphne, Fred, and Velma meet a young chef named Lena. Lena had overheard Daphne's disappointment and says that a real ghost named Morgan Moonscar haunts the island she works at. Velma looks up the island on her computer and agrees that there had been many strange disappearances on Lena's island. They agree to follow Lena back to her island.

The gang all express their excitement about visiting the island on the car trip down to the ferry. Real ghosts, homemade Cajun food, and the beautiful scenery. The gang meets Jacques, the ferry driver for Moonscar Island, and they board the ferry. Fred begins to videotape the bayou and Jacques discuss how pirates used to use the bayou to hide from the law, including Morgan Moonscar. Soon, Scooby and Shaggy accidentally fall off the ferry trying to catch a catfish named Big Mona. Alligators chase them, but they are rescued by an angry fisherman named Snakebite Scruggs and hunting pig Mojo. Shaggy and Scooby board the ferry again. They reach Moonscar Island and drive off the ferry. Jacques leaves back toward New Orleans. As the gang approaches Simone's house, who is the owner of the plantation Lena works at, they notice all the cats around the porch area. Scooby chases the cats and causes a big commotion, angering Beau the gardener and Simone the house owner. Daphne introduces herself to Simone and they discuss the plantation and its ghosts. Simone agrees that it is haunted by “restless spirits.” She agrees to Daphne recording around the plantation. They all enter the mansion except the cats and the gardener.

Scooby and Shaggy give the rest of the gang a scare after screaming loudly. They had simply been surprised by how hot the plantation's peppers were. After Simone, Lena and the rest of the gang leave, Scooby and Shaggy scream again but this time it is because of ghostwriting on the wall that appeared suddenly. Daphne excitedly tapes the wall and another word appears while taping, carved into the wall suddenly. Viewing the tape later in slow-motion, the gang discovers that the writing was done by the ghost of Morgan Moonscar. Scooby and Shaggy get hungry and make a huge picnic basket of food. Velma returns to the wall to see what is under the wall paint. She uses a spatula to peel off all the paint behind the ghostly words written by the ghost. She discovers a piece of Morgan Moonscar's ship which was used in the construction of the mansion. Simone and Lena aren't surprised.

Scooby and Shaggy get into mischief with Simone's cats and Mojo the hunting pig. They fall into a hole, which they later discover is a grave. As they try to exit the grave, they pull off a piece of the wall and a skeleton hand falls from a hole in the side of the wall. Above them, a sinister-looking green fog-like energy manifests and envelopes the entire skeleton. It begins to gain skin, clothing and hair, and morphs into the zombie of Morgan Moonscar himself, and it begins to chase Scooby and Shaggy who escape the grave and run for their lives. They run into Beau the gardener but can't find the zombie afterward. The gang goes back to investigate the grave but it is found to be empty. It starts to get dark and Simone offers for the gang to stay at her home for the night. They agree.

Lena quickly but kindly shows the gang around to their individual rooms. Shaggy, who is excited about dinner, gets dressed and trims his beard. Scooby plays with an owl just outside the window. As Shaggy stares into the mirror, a Civil War ghost comes out of the mirror and tries to warn Shaggy telling him to “get away”, just as the ghost of Morgan Moonscar had tried to warn the gang by his message in the kitchen. Velma investigates the mirror and agrees that it is from the Civil War era. Everyone leaves for dinner. At dinner, Scooby causes trouble with the cats again. He and Shaggy have to eat a crawfish boil outside in the Mystery Machine. They enjoy the Cajun meal until the cats follow them to the mystery machine and all stare at them through the windows. Shaggy drives the Mystery Machine away in order to shake off the cats. Meanwhile, Fred, Daphne, and Velma discuss over Simone's dinner table why someone in a pirate mask would want to scare everyone off the island. Treasure? Oil under the island?

Back in the Mystery Machine, Scooby and Shaggy dare each other to eat one of the hot peppers. Soon, they both go running to a nearby lake for a large drink of water. As they drink, the mysterious green fog reappears and feeds its spirit at the bottom of the lake. Zombies start to rise up from the floor of the lake. Soon, zombies are rising from every location around. Shaggy and Scooby again bump into Beau who was out in the forest late at night and was holding a lantern. When they noticed Beau's eye pupils were missing they assumed he was a zombie too and they again fled in fright as Beau sees them fleeing away. Lena grabs lanterns for the gang to use as they head out to look for Shaggy and Scooby. They meet up with Beau and suspect that he might have to do with the Zombies when he was out looking for Shaggy and Scooby whom he saw running away screaming "zombies" but he didn't see any chasing after. Daphne suggests that they all split up and look for Scooby and Shaggy.

After some searching, Velma takes Beau due to thinking that he might be a suspect while, Daphne and Fred find the abandoned Mystery Machine. As they investigate around, A zombie's hand comes out the bushes touching Daphne's shoulder. Daphne karate-throws the zombie onto the ground and it stops moving She notices another hand coming out the bushes and she reaches to karate throw another zombie instead she karate throws Shaggy out of the bush and Scooby appears out of the bush right after. Daphne tapes as Fred tries to remove the zombie mask. (Since Shaggy was too afraid to keep the camera still filming Fred) He accidentally pulls the zombie's real head off. They realize the zombie could be real. The malevolent green fog again hits the lake and stirs up more zombies rising from the ground. As Fred records, the zombies get closer, starting to surround Fred and Daphne. They run away but lose the camera in quicksand. Scooby and Shaggy have already been running and they scream in fright as they look for any safe place away from all the zombies. The zombies look like they are from different eras and backgrounds. Some have modern cameras around their necks and tourist clothes on while others are dressed as pirates, Confederate soldiers and even gangsters in elegant suits.

Shaggy and Scooby fall into a cave and find voodoo dolls of Velma, Daphne, and Fred. As they begin to play with the dolls, the actions the dolls do, are connected to the real-life actions of the gang. Faraway, the rest of the gang begins to float and kick each other as their bodies are controlled by the voodoo dolls. Bats scare Scooby and Shaggy out of the cave and they are again chased by zombies.

Velma, Beau, Fred and Daphne go back to the mansion to look around. The power is out. Also, the staircase leading upstairs has been lifted up, with a tunnel going down beneath. Fred finds Lena there who says that she and Simone were attacked by the zombies. The zombies had supposedly grabbed Simone and dragged her away down the tunnel. They all head down the tunnel, Velma leading the way by following footprints on the ground. They all enter a voodoo ritual room which was where the cave led to where Scooby and Shaggy were at earlier playing with the voodoo dolls. Velma comments how Simone walked down the tunnel and hadn't been dragged by a zombie. By then it was too late, though. Simone uses voodoo dolls to capture Fred, Daphne, Beau and Velma. As she ties up the dolls, the gang can't move in real life. Simone explains how to preserve her immortality, she has to drain the life force of victims she lures to the island. She and Lena turn into terrifying werecats. Meanwhile, Scooby and Shaggy (who didn't have waxdolls of themselves made) run to the dock and meet up with Jacques whom they thought they could ask for help, unfortunately he quickly turns into a werecat as well and begins to chase them.

Velma accuses Simone of stealing Morgan Moonscar's treasure. Simone yells in anger at the name of Moonscar and starts to detail the origin of the horrible curse: she explains how she and Lena were originally part of a group of peaceful settlers who made this island their home until Morgan Moonscar and his pirate crew drove all the islanders into the bayou to their death by the alligators and took over the island. Lena and Simone, the only survivors, prayed to their cat god in order to destroy the pirates and receive immortality. The cat god granted their wish and turned them into werecats. They killed all the pirates and later plantation workers who had taken over the island for a pepper garden. However, their wish came at a big price: upon becoming werecats, Simone and Lena were actually cursed into preserving their "immortality" at the expense of absorbing other people's souls every harvest moon, or else they will die. The gang realizes Lena lured them to the island and the zombies were the werecats' victims who were trying to warn them so they didn't suffer the same fate. Jacques was also given immortality as a werecat since they needed a ferry driver.

As Simone is discussing her past, Scooby and Shaggy were attacked by Jacques as well but just as Jacques was about to take Scooby and Shaggy's lives, the zombies appear and pile on top of Jacques, giving Shaggy and Scooby some time to escape, in which they fell back into the cave from earlier, but this time further breaking into the voodoo room just in time before the gang was about to be drained of their life force. An enraged Simone again has had enough of seeing Scooby because he was a dog; she and Lena transform into stronger werecats and furiously chase Scooby and Shaggy around the room. Velma reaches her voodoo doll with her feet and begins to untie it. When Lena and Simone catch Scooby and Shaggy, the Zombies enter the room as well and start chasing the werecats to stop them from draining their victims. Daphne realizes the zombies are the "good guys" and warns Shaggy of Simone and Lena. The zombies help Shaggy and Scooby as the two attempt to flee away from the cave, where Jacques appears, and as they try to flee away from him because of being scared out of their wits, Lena and Simone grabbed them and tried to drain Shaggy and Scooby's life force. Daphne and Velma, now free, make voodoo dolls of Simone and Lena and use them to keep away from Shaggy and Scooby. They attack them temporarily, and Beau waves a torch at them to keep them away. Shaggy and Scooby's life force was restored to normal as Beau and Fred check on the two.

Suddenly, the three werecats and the zombies start to shake and shrivel up into bones, and then dust; midnight had passed, and the werecats had taken too long to drain life force. The eerie green light snakes throughout the room. The spirits of the zombies are avenged and can finally rest in peace. As the gang witness the spirits ascend up to the sky, the Civil War ghost again manifests briefly thanking the gang for helping avenge them, much to Scooby's discomfort upon witnessing him manifesting.

The gang realizes that none of what just happened was documented on film and even the police aren't going to believe them. Beau however says that may not be true, he explains that he's really a detective, and had been investigating the disappearances on the island. After admiring the beautiful sunrise, the gang drives onto the ferry and leave back for home. However, all of Simone's cats show up on the ferry as well (and oddly their eyes emit an eerie glow), much to Scooby's discomfort.

Characters[]

Main characters:

Supporting characters:

Villains:

Other characters:

Locations[]

Objects[]

Vehicles[]

Suspects[]

Suspect Motive/Reason
Beau Neville He was acting suspicious.
Snakebite Scruggs He hates tourists.

Culprits[]

Culprit Motive/Reason
Opening culprits
Mr. Beeman as the Moat Monster To conceal counterfeiting.
Main film culprits
Morgan Moonscar and various other unnamed pirates, settlers, soldiers and tourists To warn the living of the dangers of the island, who are Simone, Lena, and Jacques.
Simone Lenoir
Lena Dupree
Jacques
Lure victims to Moonscar island, then drain their life essences to perpetuate their own lifespans.

Cast[]

Scott Innes Scooby-Doo
Billy West Shaggy Rogers
Pierre
Mary Kay Bergman Daphne Blake
B.J. Ward Velma Dinkley
Frank Welker Fred Jones
Simonee Lenoir's cats
Owl
Adrienne Barbeau Simone Lenoir
Tara Charendoff Lena Dupree
Cam Clarke Beau Neville
Jim Cummings Jacques
Morgan Moonscar
Plantationer
Colonel Jackson T. Pettigrew
Mark Hamill Airport manager
Snakebite Scruggs
Jennifer Leigh Warren Chris
Ed Gilbert Mr. Beeman

Songs[]

Song Credits Preformed by
"Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" Written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh Third Eye Blind
"The Ghost Is Here" Music by Tom Snow
Lyrics by Glenn Leopold
Produced by Skycycle and Richard Mouser
Performed by Skycycle
"It's Terror Time Again"

Full credits[]

The following credits are how they are displayed on-screen (or as close as possible).

Opening credits[]

Closing credits[]

  • Starring the Voices Of: Scott Innes as Scooby-Doo, Billy West as Shaggy, Mary Kay Bergman as Daphne, Frank Welker as Fred, B.J. Ward as Velma, Adrienne Barbeau as Simone, Tara Charendoff as Lena, Jim Cummings as Jacques, Mark Hamill as Snakebite Scruggs, Jennifer Leigh Warren as Chris, Ed Gilbert as Mr. Beeman
  • Voice Direction: Kris Zimmerman
  • Casting Director: Collette Sunderman
  • Associate Producer: Victoria McCollum
  • Production Manager: Diana Ritchey
  • Animation Directors: Robert Alvarez, Kunio Shimamura, James T. Walker
  • Storyboards: Armando Carrillo, Adrian Gonzales, Mario Piluso, Lane Raichert
  • Background Key Design: Drew Gentle, Derek Carter, Bobby Scott, Bill Williams
  • Background Key Clean-Up: Carlos Lemos
  • Character Design: Paula LaFound, Mordecai Brown, Vaughn Tada
  • Model Coordinator: Lance Falk
  • Character Clean-Up: Mark Lewis, Scott Awley, Barbara Krueger, Salene Weatherwax
  • Creative Design Consultant: Iwao Takamoto
  • Prop Design: Stephen Swaja, Lee Go, Scott Hill
  • Background Paint: Al Gmuer, Mannix Bennett, Bonnie Callahan, Brendan Eaton, Craig Gardner, Andrew Phillipson, Charles E. Pickens, Matthew Somma, Henrik Tamm
  • Animation Checking: Sandra Benenati, Brenda Brummett, Eleanor Dahlen, Gregory Hinde, Karl Jacobs, Jan Browning
  • Songs:
  • Soundtrack Music Consultants: David Jordan, Stephen DePace
  • Music Director: Bodie Chandler
  • Scoring Mixer: John Richards
  • Orchestrations: Ruth Oroshnik, Michael Patterson, David Slonaker
  • Music Editor: Bruce Frazier
  • Music Preparation: Janice Hayen
  • Orchestra Contractor: Carl Fortina
  • Music Scoring Facility: Paramount Scoring Stage M
  • Color Stylists: Jamy Huang, Harry Nickelson
  • Mark-Up/Painters: Lori Hanson, Nelda Ridley
  • Ink and Paint Supervisor: Alison Leopold
  • Xerography: Star Wirth, Martin Crossley, Richard Wilson
  • Animation Services: Mook Co., Ltd.
  • Production Crew: Tetsuro Kumase, Tomitsugu Mukaitsubo, Soki Ogasawara, Hideki Sakakibara, Toshihiro Yoshida, Tatsuo Aoki
  • Production Coordinator: Shu-Bee Lee
  • Directors: Hiroshi Aoyama, Kazumi Fukushima
  • Assistant Director: Toru Ishida
  • Animation Directors: Yoshishige Kosako, Kiyoshi Nakamura
  • Key Animators: Masahito Kimura, Koichi Tsuchida, Shuichi Seki, Kenichi Shimizu, Mitsuo Shindo, Hiroshi Wagatsuma, Yoshihiro Tsuji, Hiroshi Tsuchihashi, Osamu Kamijo, Masaaki Kudo, Makiko Shinohara, Yoshiaki Kubokawa, Shinnosuke Kon, Ayumi Namiki, Tsutomu Murakami, Osamu Nuita, Hirokazu Ishino, Ichizo Kobayashi, Takao Yamazaki, Hiroki Abe, Shoko Fukumoto, Masahiro Sekiguchi, Yasuhiro Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Shimizu, Joji Yanase, Shigeki Sato, Yukiyoshi Hane, Hideki Sadai, Hiroshi Kuzuoka, Kyuma Oshita, Naoki Yamauchi, Yae Ohtsuka, Koji Kawaguchi, Takeshi Osaka
  • In-Between Checkers: Misa Watanabe, Hiromi Sakai, Hiroto Fukunaga, Masanobu Fujioka
  • In-Betweeners: Hideki Takahara, Masayuki Ozaki, Yasuhide Yoshida, Takaharu Kawasuki, Yukari Umebayashi, Kumi Nakajo, Mariko Iioka, Shindo Production, U-Jin Production, To-Production, C.D.I. Production, Han-II Animation, Nian Dia Animation, Shanghai Frontier, Wujin Cats
  • Color Stylists: Yukie Asai, Aiko Hirao
  • Painters: Hiroko Akimoto, Miho Sato, Takahiro Kanakugi, Yukie Haneishi, Sumiyo Suzuki, Sachiko Abe, Trace Studio M, Studio L, Nian Dai Animation, Shanghai Frontier, Wujin Cats, U-Jun Production, To-Production, C.D.I. Production, Han-II Animation
  • Special Effects: Takashi Maekawa, Isao Yamamoto
  • Background Director: Kazuhiro Arai
  • Background Studios: Image Room Giro; Hiroshi Yoshikawa, See Through; Kazuya Fukuda, Tombo; Noboru Tatsuike, Team's Art
  • Manager of Post Production: Tim Iverson
  • Post Production Coordinator: Julianne Humbert
  • Supervising Recording Engineer: Edwin Collins
  • Recording Engineer: Jeff O. Collins
  • Track Readers: Kay Douglas, Carol Iverson
  • Additional Editing: Pat Foley
  • Assistant Editor: Kerry Iverson
  • Dialogue Editing: Jim Hearn, Kerry Iverson
  • ADR Editor: Jim Hearn
  • Sound Effects Design: Tim Gedemer
  • Sound Effects Editorial: Rick Hinson
  • Foley Editorial: Glenwood Editorial, Inc.
  • Foley Artist: Vincent Giusette
  • Foley Mixer: Richard Duarte
  • Negative Cutting: William DeBoer, Jr., Lu Palazzola
  • Sound Re-Recording: Warner Bros. Studios Post-Production Facility
  • Re-Recording Mixers: Allen L. Stone, Michael E. Jiron
  • Recordist: William Olson
  • Video Post Production Facility: Complete Post, Inc.
  • Colorist: Trent Johnson
  • On-Line Editor: Cheryl Campsmith
  • Laboratory Services: C.F.I.
  • Production Assistants: Michael Diaz, Sharra Gage, Lisa Melcombe, Linda Moore, Barbara Bartz, Nancy Grimaldi
  • Production Accountant: Joanne Halcon
  • Production Liaison: Amy E. Wagner
  • Production Administrators: Athena Christianakis, Maria Womack
  • Production Supervision: Haven Alexander, Ken Duer, Clive Nakayashiki, Joe Sandusky, Howard Schwartz, Liza-Ann Warren
  • Production Management: Andy Lewis
  • Executive in Charge of Production: Brian A. Miller
  • This Film is Dedicated to Don Messick the Original Voice of Scooby-Doo
  • Dolby Surround
  • ©1998 Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc.
  • All Rights Reserved
  • Hanna-Barbera
  • A Time Warner Company

Continuity[]

Production[]

This film was made as a result of the Scooby-Doo property testing well in a survey with mothers.[1]

When it came time to devise the story, a "brain trust" came together, including Director Jim Stenstrum, Screenwriters Glenn Leopold and Davis Doi, and Lance Falk. The movie having a combination of fake and real monsters, was suggested by Falk to appease the differing views of the team because Stenstrum and Doi wanted real monsters, as it would get tiring after a while with fake monsters, and Leopold thought having real monsters was against the Scooby-Doo formula, as there needed to be a solvable mystery for the audience.[2]

This was supposed to be a one-off movie, so time was more relaxed and had no studio interference.[2]

The movie is based on Leopold's script for the unfinished SWAT Kats episode, The Curse of Kataluna.[2] It was also partially reused for the The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest episode Eclipse, which incidentally, was set in New Orleans and had a young woman as the main villain called Elise Lenoir. If the aforementioned SWAT Kats episode had been made, then the story would've never been reused for this movie.[2]

The film features a relatively all-new cast, with only Frank Welker staying on for Fred, who had voiced him since the beginning in 1969. Heather North, the second and then-current Daphne, did a day of recording, when she was quickly replaced by Mary Kay Bergman to rerecord and continue from where she left off. Don Messick, the original voice of Scooby-Doo, had retired in 1996 and died in 1997, so he was replaced by Scott Innes. Casey Kasem was originally set to reprise his role as Shaggy, but had recently gone vegan and demanded the character follow suit and cut all meat and dairy from his diet. The creative team found this absurd, given that eating anything and everything was a hallmark of the character for decades. In addition, they had already begun production on Zombie Island, which features Shaggy indulging in crawfish and more. The team decided to recast Shaggy with voice actor Billy West. They gave Kasem a last-minute reprieve before recording the film, noting that they could pay-or-play West, though Kasem still refused. The film is dedicated to Messick. B.J. Ward had previously voiced Velma a year before in the Johnny Bravo episode Bravo Dooby-Doo.

Notes/Trivia[]

  • Simone and Lena didn't make voodoo dolls of Shaggy and Scooby.
  • In a post-credits scene, Scooby feeds the cats some milk.
  • Between Don Messick suffering a stroke and passing away in 1997, Frank Welker was approached to succeed the role of Scooby-Doo. He passed on it saying he “was reluctant at the time”. As a result, Hadley Kay and Scott Innes were chosen. Welker eventually took up the role after Innes left in 2001.
  • This is the first Scooby-Doo production that alludes to a romantic relationship between Fred and Daphne (which had been poked fun at in the Johnny Bravo episode Bravo Dooby-Doo); they get jealous of each other when Fred takes a shine to Lena and Daphne is interested in Beau. Velma also forms a friendship with Beau but denies an attraction to him.
  • This is the only movie not executive produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera prior to their deaths, and the first movie that doesn't have the 'Special Thanks to Joe Ruby and Ken Spears' credit at the end, who were the creators of the characters. Instead, the former two are given sole credit for creating the characters when, in fact, it was just their company which produced it. In fact, Hanna himself said (via archive footage) on the Mystery Inc. Yearbook featurette (passed around a few of the DVDs in the early to mid-2000s) that it was a team effort. Later films would say "Based on Characters Created By Hanna-Barbera Productions". Incidentally, the next film to not credit anybody would be Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island.
  • The film ignores Scrappy-Doo, just focusing on the original core group.
  • The videos sold well and received generally positive reviews in the press, leading to a series of future direct-to-video feature films.
  • Out of all of the direct-to-video movies this one is arguably the darkest and most frightening out of all of them. The others were toned down at the request of the studio.[2]
    • Also the only one where characters are killed: three on-screen, dozens off.
  • It was nominated for an Annie in Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Home Video Production,[3] and for an MPSE Golden Reel for sound editing for a direct-to-video,[4] both in 1999.
  • While the movie's promotion was that Mystery Inc. had never met a real monster before, this is technically not true, as they had encountered together several real supernatural monsters and beings in the episodes Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner, Mystery in Persia, Ghosts of the Ancient Astronauts and A Halloween Hassle at Dracula's Castle.
  • Mr. Beeman's counterfeiting scheme is vaguely reminiscent of what Mr. Conrad did in the first A Pup Named Scooby-Doo episode, A Bicycle Built for Boo!.
  • The house Daphne waits in front of (which presumably belongs to her), resembles the house Daphne and Velma shared together later in the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode A Scooby-Doo Valentine.
  • Daphne being the believer and Fred being sceptical is a reversal of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, just without the cartoony exaggeration.
  • Notably, Fred is seen eating and drinking like a normal human being, probably more than he ever did in the almost thirty-year history of the series.
  • There are a few in-jokes as the gang settle into Moonscar Mansion, the first is when Shaggy ponders if he should dress up for dinner, opening a suitcase full of identical clothing he's already wearing, then he trims his whiskers, but they look no different; meanwhile Fred tries on an ascot before deciding against it.
  • When Fred is trying to "unmask" the zombie pirate he yells "It's the ferryman!" While Jacques is obviously not the zombie, he actually is one of the villains, and partly responsible for some of the events of the movie.
  • Morgan Moonscar can either be viewed as an antihero or as redeemed altogether. He was partly to blame for Simone and Lena's curse. In his undead form, he attempted to warn and/or help the living escape Simone and Lena.
  • The film aired as part of The Scooby-Doo Movie Marathon on Cartoon Network on October 31, 1999.
  • Scott Innes' performance of Scooby sounds different.
  • This film included tropes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as the World of Darkness franchise. Sarah Michelle Gellar would go on to play Daphne in the first two live-action films.
  • Composer Steve Bramson leaned on his early jazz roots while writing the melodies for the main themes in this film. He composed the music while watching the completed animation, explaining that he obtained "a lot of inspiration from the project itself" drawing on "the cliches of old horror movies" for just the right feeling.
  • The promo for the Cartoon Network premiere of this film featured the dramatic scene of Scooby and Shaggy being chased by an alligator. It had an announcer with a deep voice who said the, "this time, the monsters are REAL" tagline.
  • Chris Payne's score "Declamation A" was used in a Cartoon Network's Cartoon Theatre promo for the film.
  • Coast to Coast is also the name of an Elliott Smith song. The singer referenced an unknown "Mary" a handful of times, infrequently speculated to have been Mary Kay Bergman, and met an unfortunate fate similar to hers just years apart.

Miscellaneous[]

Cultural references[]

  • Bubba Joe's is a parody of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, which was inspired by the film Forrest Gump.
  • Snakebite may be a parody of "Crocodile" Dundee.
  • Simone was voiced by actress Adrienne Barbeau who is known for her roles as Catwoman in Batman: The Animated Series, and DJ Stevie Wayne in the 1980 horror film The Fog, which deals with ghostly and/or undead sailors terrorizing a seaside town. Undead sailors (i.e. pirates) and cats are featured prominently in this film. Her 1982 film Swamp Thing has a similar bayou setting. (See also Swamp Thing.)
  • Simone appears to be similar to the vampire Count Dracula, winning the protagonists over with her mannerisms, and lowering their guard before ultimately revealing her true nature and attacking them (with the only difference being her temper).
  • The name of Moonscar's ship is Maelstrom, which is also the name of a ship featured in another Hanna Barbera TV series: Pirates Of Dark Waters.
  • The fog which creates a "chill in the air" is a reference to John Carpenter's The Fog. In both films, a protagonist discovers a piece of an old ship with its name inscribed on it.
  • Mighty Max featured an episode where zombielike creatures rise up out of a body of water and begin to slowly chase young protagonists in a way similar to the "terror time" chase.
  • This film may have influenced The Blair Witch Project as both were early pioneers to feature young protagonists trying to capture ghosts on film with a portable camcorder. Later films such as V/H/S drew on this trope further.
  • Simone shares her first name with French actress Simone Simon who starred in the 1942 film Cat People as a woman who could transform into a panther after kissing another person.
  • The feline idol featured in the film resembles the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet, also known as the protective "eye of the moon".
  • Velma exclaims that their "nine lives are up"a reference to the myth that cats have nine lives.
  • Haitian folklore is referenced in the film, particularly regarding the relationship between cats and dogs. New Orleans, having been a port of entry for the spice trade, has cuisine which shares many flavor profiles with that of Haitian cuisine. Haiti is also widely believed to be the starting point for the voodoo (Vodou) religion, which is also referenced in the film.
  • Daphne's television show may be referencing Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM, in which callers would discuss paranormal events live on the air.
  • The transformation scenes call back to '80s horror films, particularly 1981's The Howling. Similar plot elements can be found as well.

Adaptations[]

  • On September 1, 1998, Scholastic published Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island and Scooby-Doo and Zombies, Too!

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches[]

  • When Pierre brings the guys their sandwich, the basket of peppers looks more like soup. The basket is also irregularly in front of the item next to it, instead of sitting next to it.
  • The Jacques Landing sign is missing grammar, so it neither says "Jacques' Landing" or "Jacques's Landing".
    • However, if "Jacques" is treated as the name of the place as well as the man, then there is no error.
  • When Simone and Lena, as werecats, catch Scooby and Shaggy the first time, Scooby is missing his collar, which returns in the next shot, and later ripped off by Jacques. Scooby remains without a collar until the sunset, when they all leave Moonscar Island.
  • The glow on the cats' eyes isn't actually properly placed on their eyes but above them.
  • Lena's torn left sleeve is drawn incorrectly in the scene when she, Simone, and Jacques begin dying. Instead of her bare shoulder poking through a hole, her sleeve completely covers it while most of the bottom section is ripped off.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]

  • Velma's bookshop has three different names: "Dinkley's Mystery Book Shoppe" on the window; "Dinkley's Mystery Books" on the sign sticking out; and then calls it "Mystery Inc. Bookshop" on the phone.
  • The Mystery Machine has been redesigned to be more like a minivan, yet in-universe, it's still supposed to be the same. However, in Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, Fred makes an oblique comment about it being good to be back in the old Mystery Machine while riding around in the Cyber Gang's van.
  • Shaggy says to Scooby not to hog all the hot sauce, but he doesn't use any himself anyway.
  • It's unknown how Simone provided for herself and Lena, as well as pay Beau for his work. She could actually sell the island's peppers, but that would probably bring more attention to the island than she would want. Of course, she might have stolen money from the victims they drained, as if what they were doing wasn't bad enough.
  • When Fred recorded the zombies that are real and ran with Daphne, he held the VHS camcorder backwards, but in the next shot after that, he drops it forward in the quicksand.
  • Morgan Moonscar's buried treasure does exist, as shown in the flashback describing his demise. However, it is dropped from the story altogether as a red herring, but the treasure presumably is still there.
    • The flashbacks show his crew carrying the chest ashore and later beginning to bury it, so it appears that the motive of killing the colonists was (at least in part) to keep them from witnessing where he buried his treasure.
    • Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island reveals that the pirates buried the treasure in the cave where the werecats do their rituals. However, when Simone and Lena attack the pirates in the flashback from this film, the latter had buried the loot in a hole outside of the cave. It is possible that Simone and Lena moved the treasure into the cave after killing Moonscar and his crew.
  • The chances of an undercover detective (especially one investigating a possible string of homicides and/or human trafficking) not carrying a gun or a dispatch radio are extremely remote, even in a cartoon. It is possible that Simone had him give up these items as a condition of employment, similar to how she treated Daphne bringing a camcorder onto the island.
  • Why would the police wait until now to investigate the disappearances on the island when the latter has already been occurring for two hundred years? While the first disappearances would've been unnoticeable due to the population scarcity, it is very unlikely that they only just started noticing. It is possible that Simone may have been lying about how often they really needed to drain life from victims. Thus, they could space out rituals just far enough apart so that nobody would get too suspicious and blame the rest on the ghosts.
  • How Simone and Lena got hold of Velma's eyeglass cleaning cloth and other articles of clothing and/or hair from Fred and Daphne was never explained. Beau already lived there so the two women could have taken something from him at any time.
  • The reveal at the end of Simone's cats' eyes glowing could suggest something more to them, such as a long lifespan (even immortality), since they were more than just house pets, they were creatures that Simone and Lena worshiped in the 1700s, meaning the cats in the flashback and Simone's could be one and the same, although, of course, this isn't directly confirmed.
  • In the 18th century, Louisiana was a colony of France (1699-1762), Spain (1762-1800), and France again (1800-1803), until it was famously sold to the United States of America. The pirates of New Orleans remained a problem for the Americans as late as around 1820. Therefore, when Captain Moonscar's raid took place, the region was under either French or Spanish rule, it is unclear precisely which.
  • Velma picks up a piece of red fabric, saying it was part of Lena's blouse. However, Lena's blouse is purple. Her vest and skirt are red. Since her werecat transformation didn't tear her vest, the fabric should be part of her skirt.
  • During the Terror Time Again chase, Shaggy grabs a snake that's sleeping with it's eyes closed. However, snakes don't have eye lids.
  • In the film to follow, Daphne is no longer a reporter. Either the missing tape was a deal-breaker or this continuity has been broken.

In other languages[]

Language Name Meaning
Greek Ο Scooby-Doo στο Νησί των Τεράτων (DVD Title)

Scooby Doo! Το Νησί των Φαντασμάτων (Film Title)

Scooby-Doo on Monster Island (DVD Title)

Scooby-Doo! The Island of the Ghosts (Film Title)

Norwegian Scooby-Doo på Zombie-øya Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
Russian Скуби-Ду на острове Мертвецов Scooby-Doo on the Island of the Dead
Turkish Scooby-Doo Zombi Adasında Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island

Home media[]

Quotes[]

Fred: Uh-huh... Well, no offense, Lena. But it's probably just some guy in an old pirate suit trying to scare off the local kids.
Lena: The ghost is real. Of course, if you're too scared to go...
Fred: Scared? Me? No, I-I don't think so.


(Shaggy holds video camera nervously filming Fred)
Fred: Either hold it still or give it to Daphne.
(Shaggy gives video camera to Daphne)
Fred: It's the gardener.
Daphne: No!
Fred: It's the fisherman.
Shaggy: No!
Fred: It's the ferryman.
Scooby: No!
Fred: Maybe it's… (he pulls the zombie's head off, only to discover that the zombie isn't a person in a mask) real?

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Merchandise[]

References[]

  1. Falk, Lance (February 7, 2017). "APNSD! Episode 03: Interview With Lance Falk (Part 1)". A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo! Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Falk, Lance (March 8, 2017). "APNSD! Episode 04: Interview With Lance Falk (Part 2)". A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo! Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  3. annieawards.org/27th-annie-awards
  4. variety.com/1999/film/news/sound-editors-shout-golden-reel-noms-1117491570/

External links[]

  • Buy from Amazon Video (US)
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