FINALLY! They nearly got it right!

wile_E2005

With all those made-for-video Scooby-Doo movies by Warner Bros. Animation usually lacking the spirit of the older cartoons, Legend of the Vampire is back to the basics! So far, the first three of them were very dark and focused on real monsters, while the Cyber Chase one was better, going back to the fake-monster villains and containing some references to the older series. However, this one is even better! It seems to have been made to appeal to Scooby baby-boomers like me. The gang has their classic outfits, many of the old H-B sound effects are back, and the character design is just like classic H-B! The old voice talent is back, even Nicole Jaffe as Velma at long last! It was a thrill to hear the original Velma we all know again. However, I still think Frank Welker's Scooby voice is nice, but I prefer Don Messick Scooby's voice (even over Scott Innes as Scooby!) Welker's Scooby sounds more like Brain the Dog (of "Inspector Gadget" fame). The music is well-done remixes of the classic Scooby underscore (it sounds like it was made on an electric synthesizer,)and the animation is nice and fluid (MUCH better than usual Termite Terrace animation.) Also they ditched the new H-B Scooby logo to remake the classic zooming Hanna-Barbera end logo (with the big, abstract orange "H-B" coming up to the screen), which I find odd since this film, like the other 1998-2001 Scooby video movies, were made at Warner Bros. Animation instead of Hanna-Barbera. But it is still neat. Also, although it is done in a full "retro-mation" style, they still have modern references, such as using the Internet on laptops, as well as the Yowie-Yahoo being a gigantic monstrous vampire (which makes it a bit more like the previous films). The surprise-twist during the unmasking scene is also cool. However, there is a minor flaw with this film. The audio mixing was done very poorly. It's in 5.1 surround, but not all of the sound effects come out clearly. (You'll need a surround-speaker set to notice this.) So far, I discovered nighttime ambiance sounds hidden beneath the music during night scenes, and during the big thunderstorm at the beginning, among the new, digitally-recorded lightning strikes, the old H-B "Castle Thunder" sounds can be heard. That is the only problem, so far. This slightly reminds me of how they produced "Krypto the Superdog" and Spumco produced "Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon" (reusing most of the old voices and H-B SFX, "classic" drawing artwork, etc.) Plus, with the DVD edition here, you get audio commentary made by Fred, Shaggy and Scooby, as well as specially-produced outtakes, and more! All in all, if you like the classic Scooby-Doo cartoons of the sixties and seventies, this is the film for you!

score 10/10

wile_E2005 26 December 2004

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0985584/