TheLittleSongbird For as long as I can remember I have been a big fan of Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo Where are You? is still one of my favourites, as is the Scooby Doo Show. The incarnations after have been mixed, the recent Mystery Incorporated was much better than expected, 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo, A Pup Named Scooby Doo and New Scooby Doo Mysteries were decent, while the Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show was disappointing(at least the ones with half the gang missing and Scrappy, at his most annoying, dominating most of the episodes) and I can't stand Shaggy and Scooby Doo:Get a Clue! Overall,I have really liked most of the movies, my favourites being Witch's Ghost, Goblin King and Zombie Island, I liked Alien Invaders, Chill Out Scooby Doo and Loch Ness Monster, I didn't mind the live-action ones personally, while Ghoul's School, Legend of the Vampire and Reluctant Werewolf were much better on re-watch. Monster of Mexico I personally find on the weak side.Abracadabra Doo!(getting back on target) is thankfully one of the better Scooby Doo movies. The plot could have done with more work and is rather slow in places, but the idea was great, the final solution interesting and a lot of scenes entertaining thanks to the dialogue and jokes, which are some of the better ones(both in writing and delivery) of any Scooby Doo movie.The music is catchy and memorable, both the funky tunes and the atmospheric incidental music, and the voice acting is spot on with Matthew Lillard, a worthy replacement for Casey Kasem(and in all honesty he did have big shoes to fill), being very likable as well as goofy being the biggest surprise. But what I loved most was the animation, while it has some of the What's New Scooby Doo? look, which I find quite nice it also has a bit of the classic Scooby Doo! Where Are You? style, which I appreciated and loved.Overall, a very entertaining movie and one of Scooby's better outings. 8/10 Bethany Cox

ersinkdotcom Everybody's favorite canine detective is back again. The Scooby Gang still seem fresh and vibrant in their latest straight-to-DVD adventure, Scooby-Doo: Abracadabra-Doo, over 40 years after their first television appearance. The Mystery Machine is a newer model and now has a very annoying GPS, but that's about all that's changed.The script writers do seem to keep up with the times, seeing that this new adventure takes place at a magic school that is reminiscent of Harry Potter's Hogwarts. It also features a very cool gryphon that flies around snapping at everyone and causing all kinds of ruckus. The story has all the right elements you've come to expect from a Scooby-Doo movie: a big and dark house or mansion, the eccentric cast of suspects, and a creepy or foggy landscape. There's even a foreboding groundskeeper, voiced by John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ben 10), who is constantly warning everyone of impending danger.Speaking of the cast, Matthew Lillard has picked up duties from longtime voice talent and radio DJ Kasey Kasem. Lillard does a great job, as if anyone ever had any doubt he could after playing the part in the two original live-action Scooby-Doo films. Frank Welker returns once again to voice both Scooby and Fred, thankfully. Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life) again voices Velma. There's also some really cool guest voices, like John Stephenson (the narrator of Dragnet, Wacky Races, The Flintstones), Olivia Hack (The Brady Bunch movies, Hey Arnold! The Movie, Open Season 2), and Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development, The Larry Sanders Show, Hellboy 1 & 2).The animation is the same comfortable look that we've come to expect. It's pretty much the look of What's New, Scooby Doo? A mix of the classic feel of the original television show and new animation technology. Thankfully, it doesn't look like the horrific animation of Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! I definitely enjoyed this new entry in the Scooby series. Your kids will love it and it will keep their attention. This is good and entertaining family fun.

cartoonpow The opening credit titles were a breath of fresh air and they had a flair that matched John K.'s "Ren & Stimpy" cartoon in the look of it. The music had a nice throwback to the original 69 series as well.As for the main animation throughout, it's simply some of the cleanest and tightest that has ever been done yet for a Scooby-Doo production! The turns and inbetweens look well done and the background paints have an air of mystery that match the brilliance of the original series in '69! The CGI Mystery Machine was produced and worked a lot better than in previous versions and there wasn't an overuse of CGI overall as there was in "Samarai Sword" which was horrible. Digital eMation Inc did a superb job on the production. Too bad we have to send the work out to Korea as usual though. Can we make anything in this country???? As for story, and having worked on Scooby stuff for 10 years of my professional career, the story once again shows how creatively bankrupt the Scooby-Doo series has been. Once it was a guy in a costume and once that was worn out they had to use real supernatural elements which shows that it "jumped the shark" decades ago. The last batch of movies has been really bad. Scooby stories should just be hacked out as apparently there is nowhere to take the characters and as a brand maybe it's for the best since these are made for kids. It's a strict formula and usually these things hit the bulletpoints as to what happens when and where in the story. WB won't allow a lot of new ideas to mess up the brand so it will just continue. It is their golden calf so I'll let it lie, since six-year-olds won't notice the sameness till they watch them when they are older. As an aside, the romance of Daphne and Fred had taken a noticeable turn. She had at least one hand on Fred in most of the scenes and flirted with him more than in any other picture. She sure is fighting for her man in this one...As for the voices, it was adequate. Welker was more on point and Scooby's voice didn't have a touch of Fred's voice in it as it did in "Samuarai Sword". He's getting older too, so I wonder who will replace him at some point. You can only use ProTools on a voice and speed up the tape to make them sound younger for so long.Matthew Lillard was watered down Shaggy and had no pep. Bad casting choice for sure, but tying him to the animated from the live-action Scooby is a good marketing decision. This is a problem though of hiring an actor as opposed to a voice actor. Actors can't voice act worth a damn! Didn't Matt Damon and Brad Pitt animated ventures tell the studios anything??? There is a difference and why Mel Blanc was a genius. They should have gotten Scott Innes to play Shaggy it since he still does all the licensing work as Shaggy and Scooby, plus he sounds closer to Casey than anyone else. Billy West is the reason I can't watch "Zombie Island" and he was the worst Shaggy ever so thankfully he wasn't cast! Maybe Lillard will improve since he'll be in the new series, "Mystery Inc" as well.All in all, a great clean piece of slicker animation which makes it stand out from the normal drivel.

mwsrlford Lately, I NEVER buy these direct to DVD, factory-produced, pandering Scooby titles that get distributed to dumbed-down drooling kids at Wal-Mart. I was totally finished when I watched...*shudders*..."Aloha, Scooby Doo" a few years back. I could name a few other titles in a LONG run of BAD Scooby Doo features, but I digress. I don't know what possessed me, but I bought "Scooby Doo: Abracadabra Doo" at Wal-Mart tonight. I and my friend watched it expecting a sub-par experience. First, let me say...IT HAD A FREAKING CREDIT SEQUENCE WITH AN ENTIRELY NEW THEME SONG THAT WAS REMINISCENT OF THE GOOFY 70's POP FLUFF THAT PLAYED IN THE ORIGINAL SHOW!!! Then, if that weren't enough to catch my attention, they brought the character style all the way back to the 70's, by leaving NO whites in their eyes and choosing to richly shadow and detail their appearance. There was a wealth of camera angles, zoom shots, and random motion keeping your attention constantly. The backgrounds were extremely detailed. And there were many references to previous Scooby images or incarnations. As for the plot, dialogue, and character development...A giant leap in the right direction! The plot could have stood a little bit of work, but suspense and gorgeous animation make up for this. Character development between the Mystery 5 was brought to new depths and Scooby himself was even included in this. I also appreciated the knowing jabs that Shaggy made about "those meddling kids". I loved the inclusion of the smart-aleck GPS. It was just the modern boost that the Mystery Machine needed. The choice to have Andrea Romano of "Batman: The Animated Series" fame do the voice casting was excellent. Matthew Lillard did a fine job voicing Shaggy and Frank Welker was great as Scooby Doo. Overall, this is just the shot in the arm that the Scooby industry needed. This cartoon has plenty of atmosphere, depth, and slick animation to hold up for many years...long after "Aloha", "Lochness Monster", "Goblin King", "Chill Out", and "Samurai Sword" have mercifully passed from our memory. Maybe next time...we can get an outing that is boldly dark and creepy...with real ghosts again. Great effort Warner Premiere. Keep up the good work.