Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)

 Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)  **/*****

 

When Scooby and the gang get trapped in a video game created for them, they must fight against the 'Phantom Virus'. To escape the game they must go level by level and defeat the game once and for all

New movie, new Daphne. The departures of Scott Innes and BJ Ward after this film meant, that from this point forward, Frank Welker would be the only the only constant for the next 24 years. Pulling double duty as Fred and Scooby. Meaning he has been with the franchise for 55 years, and 454 credited appearances as Fred Jones

Upon viewing this and looking up some of the production history it's obvious that every corporate merger makes WB dumber and dumber. This was produced during the merger of AOL and Time Warner. Wall Street has been actively trying to destroy WB's various IP's for over 25 years.

So they forced the creative team to use a script by a person who no business writing for animation, his treatment was basically unusable, it had way too many locations for the crew so they had to hire a lot of extra help for backgrounds. 

Additionally, the script is basically a quintuple length episode of the original series, it is poorly paced and infuriating in how juvenile it is. The writer had no understanding of the characters and reduces them to their most basic stereotypes. Regressing the character progressions from the previous movies. Not to mention the  just straight up abandoning of the supernatural  elements of the previous movies.   

X-Files did a similar concept a year prior, and it was infinitely better. "First Person Shooter" season 7, Episode 13. Airdate: February 27, 2000

Hell, Star Trek did an multiple episodes along the similar lines that just straight up obliterates this Scooby movie.  

TNG

"The Big Goodbye" Season 1, Episode 12. 

"Elementary, Dear Data" Season 2, Episode 3

"A Fistful of Datas": Season 6, Episode 8

DS9

"Our Man Bashir" Season 4, Episode 9

And that's just on the TV side of things, one could even say that Westworld was an early prototype for the idea of a supposedly safe game going haywire. Tron also has laid some groundwork for the basic concept as well. 

 

Jumanji is a franchise built on this concept. What I'm trying to say is, there are so many examples the writer could've used as inspiration and he did nothing with it. We could've got a Scooby in the Matrix style movie. Instead we got this insultingly brain dead piece of drivel.    

Marking the final movie with the involvement of the team from the previous 3 movies, this  movie is noticeably brighter and more reflective of the aesthetic and overall tone of "Scooby-Doo, Where are You" . Partly because of studio interference (Remember, this was being made during the height of the AOL merger), and partly because it's done digitally. Either way, it's noticeably more flat looking that the previous 3 entries. 

On its own and removed from the previous movies, it wouldn't be so bad, but WB stuck the production team with a half baked script from a writer who had no business anywhere near the franchise.

Small children will love it, but the more the viewers age creeps above 7 years or so it becomes more of an acquired taste. Or a nostalgic favorite maybe. 

My ranking of the DTV's so far 

Zombie Island 

Alien Invaders

Witch's Ghost

Cyberchase

Returning Mystery Inc. cast
Scott Innes as Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers (Final featured appearance of Scott Innes)
Frank Welker as Fred Jones
B.J. Ward as Velma Dinkley

Debuting Mystery Inc. cast

Grey DeLisle as Daphne Blake [Filmography]

Grey DeLisle (pronounced De-lyle) is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. Roles include Mandy on The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Vicky on Fairly OddParents (with co-stars Tara Strong, Susanne Blakeslee, and Daran Norris), Betsy on Curious George (co-starring Frank Welker and Jeff Bennett), Dr. Rebecca Holiday on Generator Rex (also starring Daryl Sabara, Troy Baker and John DiMaggio), Frankie Foster on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (co-starring Tom Kenny, Candi Milo, Phil LaMarr, and Tom Kane), Emily Elizabeth on Clifford the Big Red Dog (also starring Cree Summer and Kath Soucie), Lana, Lola and Lily Loud on The Loud House (with co-stars Liliana Mumy, Nika Futterman, Christina Pucelli, Jessica DiCicco, and Lara Jill Miller) and Princess Azula on Avatar: The Last Airbender.
She took over the role of Daphne Blake from the late Mary Kay Bergman, a personal friend and animation voice-over teacher.[1]: Scoobypedia

Supporting cast

Joe Alaskey as Officer Wembley

Joseph Francis Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with Jeff Bergman, Greg Burson, Jim Cummings, Bob Bergen, Maurice LaMarche and Billy West in voicing Warner Bros. cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweety, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé Le Pew, Marvin the Martian, Speedy Gonzales, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and Taz, among many others. He also voiced Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures from 1990 to 1995. Alaskey was the second actor to voice Grandpa Lou Pickles on the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats (taking over after David Doyle's death in 1997). He voiced Lou again in the Rugrats spin-off series All Grown Up!: Wikipedia.

Bob Bergen as Eric Staufer

Bob Berger[1] (born March 8, 1964),[2] known professionally as Bob Bergen, is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted the children's game show Jep!, adapted from the game show Jeopardy!.: Wikipedia

Tom Kane as Professor Kaufman

Tom Kane is a retired American voice actor. He did the voice of Magneto in Wolverine and the X-Men (starring Steve Blum), Darwin on The Wild Thornberrys (also starring Tim Curry, Jody Carlisle and Lacey Chabert), Professor Utonium on The Powerpuff Girls (co-starring Tara Strong, E.G. Daily, and Catherine Cavadini as the title characters), and Yoda in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (starring Matt Lanter and James Arnold Taylor). He was forced to retire from voice acting in 2021 due to a stroke that affected his speaking, reading, and writing abilities.: Scoobypedia

Mikey Kelley as Bill McLemore

Mikey Kelley is an American voice actor. He was the main character, David Carter (Oosha), in Invasion America (also starring Frank Welker, Jim Cummings, Thom Adcox, and Kath Soucie). He also did the voice of Michaelangelo in the 2007 TMNT film (also starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, James Arnold Taylor, Nolan North, and Mako), and the Silver Surfer in The Super Hero Squad Show (also starring Tom Kenny, Steve Blum, and Grey DeLisle).: Scoobypedia

Gary Sturgis as The Phantom Virus

Gary Sturgis is an American screen and voice actor and writer. He did the voice of Ebon on Warner Bros. Animation's Static Shock (starring Phil LaMarr and Jason Marsden), and played Caz on Port Charles (starring Nolan North).