Not only is SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND one of the best SCOOBY-DOO films ever made, it also holds up as a perfectly spooky Halloween classic. It’s one of those childhood favorites that really stuck with me. There are genuine twists and turns, and when rewatching it for this review, I still found myself surprised by certain moments.
I grew up loving SCOOBY-DOO; something about the moody art style, the imaginative monsters, and the reliable mystery formula always drew me in. That influence has stuck with me creatively. When my friend, Ice Cream Sam, asked me to illustrate the album cover for his album MALT SHOP, one of our biggest inspirations was a SCOOBY-DOO-inspired design that evoked the hand-painted backgrounds of the original series.
My siblings and I would watch every SCOOBY-DOO piece of media we could; I can still recite the WHAT’S NEW SCOOBY DOO theme song by heart. I was born almost thirty years after the original series aired, and it’s now been nearly thirty years since ZOMBIE ISLAND was released. Yet somehow, the franchise remains timeless, still finding its way into the cultural spotlight (most recently through Fortnite skins).
So why ZOMBIE ISLAND? For one, its bayou setting in Louisiana fits the SCOOBY-DOO universe perfectly, and has imbued me with a fascination with that part of the country. But more importantly, it serves as a template on how to revive a classic series. In-universe, the gang has been solving the same kinds of mysteries for years, always unmasking a human culprit, and this film cleverly flips that expectation while retaining the characters’ personalities (unlike VELMA…). It honors the charm of the originals while reinventing what SCOOBY-DOO could be, preserving the mix of silliness, genuine eeriness, and the lovability of Mystery Inc.
SCOOBY-DOO ON ZOMBIE ISLAND has cemented its place (at least for me) as a Halloween staple. It’s available to rent or buy wherever you get your movies.