Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)

 Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000) ****/*****

Now we move on to the 3rd animated DTV, released "in the year 2000" (Falsetto voice).

Apparently, this one I enjoy more every time I see it. I know I enjoyed it, but I either keep forgetting how good it actually is, or it just grows on me with each viewing. 

Either way, I'd rank this as a solid second next to Zombie's Island. Far more enjoyable for me than The Witch's Ghost, which is probably a result of my religiously conservative upbringing.  So I may have a bias/handicap in that regard.

The plot is is a lot lighter than the previous 2, far closer to an "Abbott & Costello meet the Alien Invaders" type of comedy than the more horrific undertones of the previous entries. So adjust your expectations accordingly, and you should enjoy this as much as I do. 

In terms of plot structure, it utilizes the standard "Humans are the real monsters" and the "supernatural beings are real" formula from the previous movies. Only this time the supernatural beings are actively teaming up with the Gang.  Undercover has a cute hippie chick and a golden lab of course. Making the perfect counterparts for Shaggy and Scooby.

A combo of a dust storm and the hungry duo of Shaggy and Scooby cause a the gang to end up in Roswell, New Mexico where they encounter the locals and something out of this world. Sergio's diner of course is the local gathering place for the likes of weirdos like Lester and the bickering duo of Dottie and Sergio. 

Lester is the town kook whose claims of alien abduction and pictoreal evidence catches the attention of the Gang who obviously decide to investigate since they are stuck there because of a ruined radiator. 

I loved the chemistry between between Shaggy/Scooby & Crystal/Amber. the four characters are voiced by Scott Innes and Candi Milo, respectively. Obviously. It's any easy chemistry that clicks immediately and believably. 

Watching the promo/making of video for the movie was bittersweet. This movie was the final appearance of Mary Kay Bergman in the franchise before she lost her battle against her personal demons. But you wouldn't know it from her interviews, she was lively, animated, and very charming. 

Finding good pictures that accurately capture her essence is surprisingly quite difficult.  A lot of the pictures I found were poorly captured screen caps or low resolution. But her are 3 of my favorites. 

And what better way to end the review section than with a final farewell from the gang.

 

Mystery Inc. Gang is exactly the same as the previous movie. Check out previous reviews for more information on them

Scott Innes as Scooby and Shaggy
Mary Kay Bergman as Daphne (In her final feature length appearance in the franchise, before her untimely death)
Frank Welker as Fred
B.J. Ward as Velma

Guest Cast 

Jennifer Hale as Dottie [See "Witch's Ghost"]
Mark Hamill as Steve, Agent and Fake MP #1 [See "Zombie Island]

Neil Ross as Sergio and Buck [See "Witch's Ghost"]

Making their debut in the Scooby DTV series are

Jeff Bennett as Lester and Fake MP #2

 90's kids know him extremely well, from his first voice credit as Horace "I.Q." Boothroyd the Third in James Bond Jr. through his work as Jonny Bravo, Petrie in "The Land Before Time" series [movies 2-14], the father on Dexter's Lab, and.. actually I can't do him justice in just a paragraph.. check out his filmography 

Candi Milo as Crystal and Amber

I think the opening paragraph from Wikipedia is the best way to go. 

She has voiced various characters on many animated series including Tiny Toon Adventures, SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Dexter's Laboratory (from season 3 onwards), Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, ChalkZone, The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, ¡Mucha Lucha!, Codename: Kids Next Door, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Loonatics Unleashed, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Maya & Miguel, W.I.T.C.H., The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, The Replacements, and The Adventures of Puss in Boots. She has voiced the Looney Tunes characters Granny and Witch Hazel since 2017 and Petunia Pig since 2022. 

Kevin Michael Richardson as Max and Aliens

From his Wikipedia filmography page [Edited and condensed to showcase where I know him from]

...known for his distinctively deep voice. He has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in Mortal Kombat (1995) and reprises in Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (2020), Captain Gantu in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, Kamek in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Bulkhead from Transformers: Prime, and Deus Ex Machina in The Matrix Revolutions (2003).  Trigon, Mammoth and See-More in both Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!,  Oroku Saki/Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) , Barney Rubble in The Flintstones: On the Rocks,  ... The Joker in The Batman (2004–2008).

Audrey Wasilewski as Laura

She is known for her prolific voice work including Arlene in the Garfield franchise, My Life As A Teenage Robot, Psychonauts 2, Breadwinners, Fallout 3, and Infinity Train.

She has also appeared in a supporting role in several live-action projects, including Mad Men, Big Love, Mosquito State, Fancy Dance, and Everything Everywhere All At Once.

I do realize it's kinda a cop out to just copy and paste info from Wikipedia, but I feel it's much more concise and far more coherent than anything I could do. I left the links in so you could see my sources and so you could get a better overview. I have never written a single thing on any Wikipedia article. I am indebted to the countless others who have contributed. Going forward I will extensively use Wikipedia to properly highlight the various actors and performers in the movies, because the articles are usually far better written than anything I could type up.  

That said, the reviews are all my own, they are not plagiarized from any other sources. Which should be obvious based on the poor writing, grammar, and overall nightmarish structure. When I do copy from another review, it's always going to be accredited. Sometimes, I quote other reviews to either reinforce a point, or offer up a an alternative view. but I will never intentionally leave someone uncredited, that's cheezy, sleazy, greasy, queasy, and just downright uncool. It also brings dishonor to your family AND your cow.