Okay, first things first, this is easily the worst produced Scooby movie on the technical side of things. It's one of two Superstar 10 movies that were created using an early form of "Digital Ink and Paint", it was then transferred to a 1" Videotape master. Meaning there are no film elements to remaster or restore. The movie only exists in the pre-hd broadcast standard of the day.
The Blu-Ray is a mixed bag at best, it's a passable upscale, but nowhere as vibrant as the previous 2 movies in the series.
If you grew up in the Pre-HD broadcast era, this might be a nice nostalgic blast from the past. The presentation took me back to my childhood in the 90's, it looks a lot like a vintage broadcast from the day.
The other major problem is that the audio is really quiet and muffled at times.
Now that we have covered the disc, the movie itself is easily one of the worst Scooby movies on the production side of things. The animation is cheap, obviously looped and nowhere as refined as it should be. It looks terrible and shows why Hanna-Barbera only tested this method briefly. It's cheap and looks cheap. The editing is terrible as well. The colors are dull, and it's quite rightfully considered one of the weakest entries in the franchise. It reminds me of early flash animation.
Without further ado, let's dig into this movie with Scooby Doo.
Basically, Dracula kidnaps Shaggy and forces him into a Wacky Races/Monster Mash shenanigans for his own amusement. A major plus in this movie's favor is that at least all the story elements feel like one cohesive story rather than the frankensteined stories of the previous 2 movies.
That aside, the story doesn't really make any sense and lacks clear motivations. It serves basically as an excuse for series of set pieces involving Dracula trying to stop Shaggy from winning the race.
Dracula needs a werewolf because the other one retired, so he sends his hunchback henchmen to put a curse on Shaggy. Apparently he can't hold his annual wacky monster mash race without a werewolf.
If you've seen Wacky Races, you've seen this. Nothing new or groundbreaking, with the exception of Shaggy having a girlfriend.
Scrappy has greatly reduced screen time and is basically absent for the bulk of the action, making little more than a cameo in his final major appearance. The majority of the action is on the race track and the movie is basically an extended race scene.
The one major bright spot is Hamilton Camp as Count Dracula, he is clearly having a blast with the material. He single-handedly (Voicedly?) makes this worth checking out. It's an enjoyable performance all the way through. Which is good considering he has noticeably more screen time than the Scooby gang. Honestly, Dracula vs Scooby-Doo is a much better title for this movie.
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| Vanna Pira (Pat Musick), Dracula (Hamilton Camp) |
Hamilton Camp is ably supported by Pat Musick as an airheaded Vampira type with the hots for Shaggy, playing quite well as the stooge to his Dracula.
And then we have Rob Paulsen and Frank Welker as Brunch and Crunch, Dracula's hunchbacked minions. Reminding me of an off brand Gomez Addams and Uncle Fester.
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| Brunch (Rob Paulsen) |
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| Crunch (Frank Welker) |
These four characters easily steal the show from the Scooby Gang, who of course are voiced once again by Don Messick (Scooby & Scrappy) and Casey Kasem (Shaggy), Who are joined by Shaggy's girlfriend Googie (Voice of BJ Ward)
The rest of the cast is rounded out by various other iconic voice actors.
Jim Cummings pulls quadruple duty as Frankenstein, Genghis Kong , Web Man, and Cook
Joan Gerber as witch Dreadonia and her sister.
Ed Gilbert as Dr Jackyll and Mr. Snyde
Allen Oppenheimer as The Mummy
Brian Mitchell as Bonejangles
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the animated cameo by William Hanna near the beginning of the movie as a spectator watching Shaggy race.
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