Rating: **
Review Date: 9/24/23
Cast: Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard, Grey Griffin, Kate Micucci,
Cassandra Peterson, Bill Nye, Dwight Schultz
"Oh, Bill Nye, what have you done?"
Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), the classy lassie with the sassy chassis, is the grand marshal of the Crystal Cove Halloween parade, when Dr. Jonathan Crane (aka The Scarecrow) shows up and makes a mess of things. And if that's not strange enough, the Mystery Machine gets trashed during the opening credits and is replaced with a new high tech vehicle courtesy of Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Things only get weirder from there, as a bunch of mutant pumpkins attack the townsfolk and turn them into pumpkins, and all of downtown Crystal Cove gets destroyed in an earthquake. As Velma (Kate Micucci) astutely points out, "This is so dumb! It's the dumbest monster ever!"
Unfortunately, the whole show is disappointingly dumb. It desperately tries to recapture the vibe of "Mystery Incorporated" (2010), but misses the mark. However, it does have a couple of well-placed "Aliens" (1986) references, and Fred's "Predator" (1987) homage is amusing. The main story arc is a battle of wits between Dr. Crane and Velma, and we learn that Scooby Snacks provide a psychotropic gateway for mind melding. While Fred laments the loss of the Mystery Machine, an unusually goofy Daphne is busy trying to become Elvira's protégé. This is the movie's biggest disappointment, as Daphne is WAY out of character, and not in a good way. She's like a hyperactive dingbat clown with an annoyingly immature attitude, and Grey Griffin's performance is grossly exaggerated. Bill Nye is also annoying and an unnecessary addition to the cast, and it's very strange having a Batman villain like Scarecrow show up without Batman being around.
On the plus side, the animation looks great and the voice acting is good for the most part. It's just unfortunate that the movie as a whole doesn't gel, and it also suffers from sluggish pacing. It's not the fun Halloween adventure or return to form that I was hoping for, and the dumbing down of Daphne feels like a direct response to the backlash received by "The Curse Of The 13th Ghost" (2019).