The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Thursday, October 26, 2017 — 5B
The Best
Scooby Doo!
Movies to
Watch this
Halloween
10. “Scooby Doo
Pirates Ahoy!”
9. “Scooby Doo and
the Witch’s Ghost”
This is the one that
introduces
the
Hex
Girls,
a
memorable
trio of pop-rock sing-
ers that have become
recurring characters in
the Scooby Doo fran-
chise. That’s basically
the
only
memorable
thing about it, but that
seems worthy enough
to give it the number 9
ranking on this list.
Who doesn’t love
Scooby Doo? The myster-
ies, the chases, the Scooby
Snacks, everyone has got a
fond memory of watching
the Mystery Incorporated
gang crack a tough case.
Here’s a rundown of ten
of Scooby’s greatest (and
strangest) hits!
IAN HARRIS
Daily Arts Writer
Anyone who thinks
pirates are rad will
get a kick out of this
pirate themed adven-
ture. Released in 2006,
this is one of the more
recent entries on the
list and one of the last
Scooby Doo movies
follow the classic struc-
ture of a minor char-
acter being unmasked
as the villain at the end
of the story. After this
the franchise jumped
the shark a bit, with
crossovers with WWE,
WrestleMania, and the
rock band KISS coming
soon after.
8. “Scooby Doo and
Loch Ness Monster”
Is the loch ness
monster real? Probably
not, but this mystery
has some pretty great
moments anyways.
Anyone with half a
brain will likely be
able to figure out
who’s behind the mon-
ster in the first ten
minutes, but remember
these movies are made
for kids, so cut it some
slack.
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
7. “Scooby Doo and
the Goblin King”
Certainly one of the
most bizarre Scooby
Doo flicks on the
market, this one finds
Scooby and Shaggy
caught up on Hal-
loween night in the
evil plot of the Goblin
6. “Scooby Doo
Goes Hollywood!”
Scooby and Shaggy
ditch the TV series to
become Hollywood
executives! This movie
is a raucous send-up of
late ‘70-s cinema and
TV, so I would recom-
mend it to anyone who
enjoys picking out
references to obscure
media from yester-
year.
5. “Scooby Doo/
Scooby Doo
2: Monsters
Unleashed”
The live action
Scooby Doo movies
from the early 2000’s
are objectively terrible,
but people of a certain
age will still find them
strangely appealing in
a nostalgic way if noth-
ing else. They’re silly
and funny and feature
a young Isla Fisher
and Alicia Silverstone
in minor roles. The
quality degrades sig-
nificantly in the sec-
ond one so it’s really
no surprise they never
made a third. And,
for the record, Linda
Cardellini as Velma is
absolutely genius cast-
ing.
4. “Scooby Doo
and the Alien
Invasion”
This film from the
late ‘90-s features
fake aliens and real
aliens alike. Recom-
mended for those
with a sci-fi yearn-
ing, not recommend-
ed for those who
like happy endings,
as this story has a
pretty sad ending for
Shaggy’s love life.
3. “Scooby Doo
and the Monster of
Mexico”
This one’s just a
classic. The gang
travels to Mexico
to visit a friend of
Fred’s only to dis-
cover a monster is
terrorizing his town.
There are some great
side characters to be
found here as well as
the most surprising
villain reveal of any
movie on this list.
2. “Scooby Doo on
Zombie Island”
This movie is gen-
uinely terrifying. My
brother and I never
finished watching it
when we were kids
because of how scary
this thing is. There’s
no playing around
here, these are real
zombies after our
beloved gang, no
masks, no tricks and
no treats. Do not
watch with children.
Do not watch after
midnight.
1. “Scooby Doo and
the Cyber Chase”
Ask anyone what
his or her favorite
Scooby Doo movie
is and this inevita-
bly gets the prize.
There’s just some-
thing fantastic about
the mystery gang
getting sucked into
a video game rendi-
tion of their lives
and being forced to
beat the game or lose
it all. It’s a classic
cartoon set-up that
still provides lots
of laughs, thrills,
and a great villain /
monster to boot. This
is the movie that
everyone remembers
from when they were
kids and this is the
Scooby Doo movie
everyone wants to
watch again today.
However, be pre-
pared to feel old
when you recognize
how hilariously
dated the technology
in this movie is.
King, who plans to use
the “Goblin Scepter”
to control Halloween
and therefore take
over the earth. It’s a
ludicrous plot, and I
imagine it would be a
hilarious way to kick
back after a long night
out this Halloween.
Freeform
Freeform’s ‘13 Nights of
Halloween’ sucks (really)
In their network switchup, Freeform forgot the series’ true purpose
When ABC Family transformed
itself into Freeform in a total
rebranding
of
the
network
during the winter of 2015, the
newly minted title aimed to draw
what the company called the
“Becomers” — the generation
who grew up with ABC Family or,
more specifically, the millennial
generation. In a way, breaking
with ABC Family was an ingenious
idea that could allow Freeform the
freedom to add series and movies
which may not have aligned with
their previous branding, which
was aimed primarily at younger
viewers and families. People enjoy
continuity in their lives and to
have an entire network follow
you as you navigate life is pretty
damn cool. Too bad Freeform isn’t
taking advantage of this.
For those of us who didn’t
grow up watching the network,
ABC Family was well-known
for
its
marathon
specials,
specifically around Halloween
and Christmas, aptly titled the
“13 Nights of Halloween” and the
“25 Days of Christmas.” During
those 13 nights, there was never
a shortage of spooky airings
that walked the line between
terrifying
and
family-friendly;
the perfect addition to a brisk
October
evening.
Airings
of
staples such as “Hocus Pocus” and
the Tim Burton films have never
failed to draw in a large viewer
base, adult and child alike, and
the continuous showing of these
films provide a nice reminiscence
for those of us who grew up on
the franchises. In many ways,
Freeform
has
succeeded
in
keeping with the early 2000s
programming, accomplishing its
mission of keeping the classics
in the lineup. However, it fails
in truly incorporating movies
which would appeal to this same
generation.
Maybe things were scarier
when I was 11, but ever since
the switch to Freeform, the
channel that’s running is not at
all reminiscent of the original “13
Nights.” I guess one could argue
that “Monster’s University” is
scary for some — monsters for
the kids, crippling college debt
for the adults — but then again,
it’s a little far-fetched to replace
Burton classics such as “The
Corpse Bride” with an airing of
the “Twilight” saga. While it’s
easy to understand the reasoning
there (vampires = Halloween), it’s
hardly a replacement for classic
thrillers.
Again, we could argue that
some of the Halloween movies
Freeform has been running might
have been considered frightening
to our younger selves, but in
looking at the lineup, it’s clearly
not the case here, as “Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory” has been
added to this year’s “13 Nights,”
and the only thing remotely scary
about that movie is Johnny Depp.
The lack of scare is odd, since
the conception of the network
was built around the idea of
appealing to an older audience.
Given this premise, it would only
make sense to air movies which
were special to our generation
at different times in our lives.
Flicks such as “Halloweentown”
and “Hocus Pocus” would give
us that old sense of nostalgia
while newer horror flicks such
as “Paranormal Activity” or
“The Conjuring” would appeal
to the older audience Freeform is
attempting to target.
In the early 2000s, we were
graced with the peak years of
the “13 Nights” promotion. Not
only were the “Halloweentown”
movies running constantly, but
so were scarier films, such as
“Poltergeist” and “Stephen King’s
‘It’.” Given the network’s recent
additions to “13 Nights,” it’s
almost shocking to see Freeform
moving in reverse and giving rise
to more family-friendly films that
barely pass as Halloween movies.
With the recent passing of
Debbie Reynolds, now feels like
the opportune time to have run
the “Halloweentown” movies,
especially
because
the
cast
recently reunited to honor the
late-great Reynolds. This isn’t an
isolated event, though, as recent
remakes of Halloween originals
(see: “It” (2017)) also feel like
missed opportunities.
When “Hocus Pocus” aired
sporadically last year, much to
the disappointment of viewers,
Freeform
rethought
their
strategy. This Halloween, the
’90s comedy masterpiece will run
for 24 hours straight, marathon
style and not unlike TBS’s 24
hour airing of “A Christmas
Story” on Christmas Eve. In
keeping
with
the
Freeform
tendencies to air theme-specific
weekend
marathons,
a
Tim
Burton
marathon
will
also
run this year — sans “Corpse
Bride,”
unfortunately.
Still,
these marathons act neither as
a replacement nor an exception
for Freeform’s shortcomings in
providing a lineup which is true
to its network mission.
Even though some of the
original “13 Nights” films have
admittedly fallen away into the
ABC Family graveyard, what is
ultimately lost is the purpose of
switching over to Freeform in the
first place. That, and we can’t help
but miss “Halloweentown” and
Disney’s “Under Wraps.” Because
who wouldn’t love a mummy (Bill
Fagerbakke, “Blackish”) dancing
alone to “All by Myself”? Same,
mummy. Same.
MEGAN MITCHELL
Daily Arts Writer
TV NOTEBOOK
These marathons
act neither as a
replacement nor
an exception
for Freeform’s
shortcomings