Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost / Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders Blu Ray Review (Warner Archive Collection)

Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost is a 1999 direct to video animated film directed by Jim Stenstrum (Scooby-Doo franchise). It’s written by Davis Doi (Scooby-Doo franchise and Yogi the Easter Bear), Rick Copp (Teen Titans, Jack of all Trades, The Brady Bunch Movie, and the Scooby-Doo franchise), David A. Goodman (Family Guy, Lego Batman franchise, and Star Trek: Enterprise), and Glenn Leopold (The Smurfs, The Prowler, Scooby-Doo franchise, and Too Scared to Scream). It’s produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (Scooby-Doo franchise, Tom and Jerry franchise, The Flintstones franchise, The Jetsons franchise, Super Friends, The Smurfs franchise, Godzilla, and Yogi the Bear franchise). Horror author Ben Ravencroft (played by: Tim Curry from IT, Clue, Legend, Home Alone 2, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Hunt for Red October, Tales from the Crypt, and The Shadow) invites Mystery Inc. which includes Velma Dinkley (played by: B.J. Ward from the Scooby-Doo franchise, The Pagemaster, G.I. Joe, and The New Woody Woodpecker), Fred Jones (played by: Frank Welker from the Scooby-Doo franchise, Transformers franchise, Mortal Kombat, Futurama, Animaniacs, Curious George, and The Simpsons), Daphne Blake (played by: Mary Kay Bergman from the Scooby-Doo franchise, South Park, The Iron Giant, and Toy Story 2), Scooby-Doo (played by: Scott Innes from the Scooby-Doo franchise and The Iron Claw), and Shaggy Rodgers (played by: Scott Innes from Shakespeare’s Mummy and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law) to investigate a case that sparked from the museum. He has them meet him in his hometown in Massachusetts. Mayor Corey (played by: Neil Ross from Rambo) has turned it into a tourist attraction based on the infamous ghost of known witch Sarah Ravencroft (played by: Tress MacNeille from The Simpsons, Animaniacs, Futurama, and Mickey Mouse franchise). Ben still defends her honor after all these years and he’s trying to get the family name cleared. They get interested in the Hex Girls led by Sally “Thorn” McKnight (played by: Jennifer Hale from Spider-Man: The Animated Series) while they dig deeper into this mysterious past. The locals are not exactly cooperating when comes to these outsiders looking to into their troubled history. Can they find out the truth about the witch and this cursed town before it’s too late?????Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost is one of the better 90’s direct to video Scooby-Doo features. It has your typical Mystery Inc formula so there’s nothing original or innovative in this horror comedy animated movie but it delivers on everything that you would expect from this universe. It has the same main cast that includes B.J. Ward, Mary Kay Bergman, Scott Innes, and Frank Welker. At this point, they could do these iconic characters in their sleep but they are always great in these popular roles. Tim Curry as Ben Ravencroft is excellent. He’s the one that drives this whole case and situation. It’s a very complicated role that has so much to it. Tress MacNeille as Sarah Ravencroft is a solid villain here. The rest of the supporting cast includes Jennifer Hale, Neil Ross, Kimberly Brooks (DC Super Hero Girls), Jane Wiedlin (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), Bob Joles (Spider-Man), Peter Renaday (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and Danny Mann (Despicable Me franchise). I love the animation style for this one. As always, the script has it’s twists and turns. I figured it out pretty easy so it wasn’t too mysterious but it was still fun and very entertaining. Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost still has quality replay value to it. I hope more people give this one a shot because it deserves it. RECOMMENDED!!!!Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders is a 2000 direct to video animated film directed by Jim Stenstrum (Scooby-Doo franchise). It’s written by Davis Doi (Scooby-Doo franchise and Yogi the Easter Bear) and Lance Falk (Scooby-Doo franchise and The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest). It’s produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (Scooby-Doo franchise, Tom and Jerry franchise, The Flintstones franchise, The Jetsons franchise, Super Friends, The Smurfs franchise, Godzilla, and Yogi the Bear franchise). Shaggy Rogers (played by: Scott Innes from the Scooby-Doo franchise and The Iron Claw) accidentally stumbles into secret government property before a UFO sighting that makes him crash at a small town. Velma Dinkley (played by: B.J. Ward from the Scooby-Doo franchise, The Pagemaster, G.I. Joe, and The New Woody Woodpecker), Fred Jones (played by: Frank Welker from the Scooby-Doo franchise, Transformers franchise, Mortal Kombat, Futurama, Animaniacs, Curious George, and The Simpsons), Daphne Blake (played by: Mary Kay Bergman from the Scooby-Doo franchise, South Park, The Iron Giant, and Toy Story 2) leave Shaggy and Scooby-Doo (played by: Scott Innes from Shakespeare’s Mummy and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law) with the Mystery Machine. The wacky duo encounters some aliens after the rest of them are looking for help. Locals like waitress Dottie (played by: Jennifer Hale from X-Men ’97) and Chef Sergio (played by: Neil Ross from Gremlins 2) tell them about strange situations that’s happened recently but no sign of aliens. Shaggy and Scooby meet photographer Crystal (played by: Candi Milo from My life as a Teenage Rabbit, Looney Tunes, and Johnny Bravo) with her dog Amber. They end up connecting and spending more time together. The rest of Mystery Inc. gets introduced to mechanic Max (played by: Kevin Michael Richardson from Mortal Kombat franchise, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Transformers franchise, and DC Comics Animated Universe) plus his scientist team that includes Laura (played by: Audrey Wasilewski from Big Love) and Steve (played by: Mark Hamill from the Star Wars franchise, Body Bags, The Machine, The Guyver, Batman franchise, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, The Flash franchise, Child’s Play, and Village of the Damned). The supernatural team feels like they are getting closer when it comes to this unknown artificial intelligence theory. Something just doesn’t seem right in this small community. Will the monster hunting legends discover the evil that’s hiding here????Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders is actually a little more original than most of the previous animated Scooby-Doo films. It changes it up and it actually has some interesting subplots. You get the rare experience of seeing the goofy duo of Shaggy and Scooby finding some love here. They actually make a great connection and have some chemistry here. The script is more science fiction than horror in this. It’s from the same director Jim Stenstrum that did Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost plus a variety of other Scooby-Doo features. It has some of my favorite visuals from the Mystery Inc productions. It has the familiar voice talents for the main cast that includes B.J. Ward, Mary Kay Bergman, Scott Innes, and Frank Welker. This is one of greatest combinations when it comes to the Scooby Doo universe. Their chemistry is top notch. Mark Hamill as Scientist Steve shines in Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders. The iconic actor was fire during this time when it came to his vocal talents on so many good projects. The rest of the supporting cast includes Kevin Michael Richardson, Candi Milo, Neil Ross, Audrey Wasilewski, Jennifer Hale, Jeff Bennett (Friday the 13th: The New Blood), Danny Mann (Friday the 13th: The Series). This had a better twist to it compared to a decent amount of the other Scooby-Doo projects. It’s a nice comedy, adventure, romance, and science fiction hybrid. It’s lots of fun and it’s super entertaining. I definitely miss the older Scooby-Doo features, they were just so much better. Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders still holds up after all these years, RECOMMENDED!!!!Let’s discuss these high definition presentations and special features from the Warner Archive Collection! These 1080p (1.33:1) transfers are brand new restorations. I know some of the direct to video Scooby-Doo features get some heat for their picture quality over the years but considering all their original presentations, these are all very impressive upgrades. These late 90’s and early 00’s animated movies are the best that they are ever going to look on home video. There’s some DNR but I think both films hold up pretty good. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks for both movies on this disc. The audio is better than expected. All of the dialogue is very clean, the mysteries are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an almost 5 minute “Making-Of Featurette” for Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost. It has interviews with Mary Kay Bergman, Scott Innes, Frank Welker, Tim Curry, Billy Ray Cyrus, and a few others. They chat about the animated feature, their roles, and working together. It has a little over a minute “Music Video” featuring some of the music from the film. It has a “Promo Trailer”. It has an almost 6 minute “Making-Of Featurette” for Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders. It has interviews with the main cast plus the rising pop star Jennifer Love Hewitt. This is very similar to the previous making of. They talk about a few subjects related to the direct to video project. They chat about the animated feature real quick here. It has a “Promo Trailer”. This is a must own for any Scooby-Doo fan, it needs to be added to the collection. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!