Scooby-Doo is the longest-running TV show of all time (Not counting episode count but years since it first aired), and with that came A LOT of movies. It wasn’t that common at the beginning, it took ten years for the first one to come out, and even then, almost ten years would pass until the next one. But everything changed with the acclaimed Scooby-Doo! On Zombie Island, the movie forever revitalized the franchise and opened new paths for it to take. It also made Warner realize Scooby makes a lot of money. It ignited a movie or even two movies per year, and that’s what we’re here to talk about! I’ve binged every movie (and show) from the franchise, and now I’m here to tell you my ranking, which I’ll be delivering every week until the 29th, so you’re able to decide which one you want to watch, on our sacred day, Halloween!
Disclaimer: I actually like all of those movies even just a tiny bit by the fact that they’re part of the Scooby-Doo franchise. I would rewatch any of them, and just because they’re at the bottom, doesn’t mean they’re joyless. If you love any of the ones I don’t particularly dislike, or you dislike any of the ones that I love, that’s okay!
47. Scooby-Doo! In Arabian Nights
If there is one single piece of Scooby-Doo media that I possibly will never experience again, it’s this one. That’s saying a lot. I’d be open to even revisit all the Scrappy-Doo cartoons. This is an adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights, and it’s more about that than Scooby-Doo. During the first 15 minutes, you see Scooby and Shaggy (No other members from the gang in sight) reaching a palace and getting jobs as food tasters for the prince. In a very predictable turn of events, they eat all the food and are sentenced to death for it. But fortunately, they come to an agreement: if they can tell stories to entertain the prince, he would let them go. This is when the One Thousand and One Nights enters, and it never leaves. We barely see Shaggy and Scooby again, and since it wasn’t what I was looking for, the stories weren’t fun at all to me. The only people I can recommend this to are Scooby completionists like me. Maybe if you’re a fan of One Thousand and One Nights?
46. Daphne & Velma
This movie is one that really could’ve been great. I love Daphne. She’s not only my favorite member of the Scooby gang but one of my three favorite characters of all time. I also must be one of the few people genuinely excited for the upcoming show ‘’Velma’’. But this is just not it, sadly. It’s a pseudo-spy movie with the vibes of a Disney Channel production. It seems like one of those situations where most decisions were taken by studio executives that don’t really know what they’re doing. I’m actually sad for the actresses, especially for Sarah Jeffery, who portrays Daphne. As a fan of the character, I couldn’t imagine anyone other than Sarah Michelle Gellar in the role, but I really liked her casting (Her outfits were cool too!)
45. Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island
Remember what most consider the best Scooby-Doo movie? Not only a great Scooby-Doo movie but just a great movie? Yeah, Zombie Island was pretty cool. This is not. Every choice feels like a hundred steps in the wrong direction. The awesome and threatening designs look boring and generic now. The main plot point that subverted the whole franchise, ‘’Now the monsters are real’’, is not only gone but retconned. The atmosphere that felt stripped out of a horror movie is gone. I’d still watch it because it’s Scooby-Doo, but this is just a disservice to what is probably the most important piece of Scooby-Doo media ever made.
44. Scoob!
This is, first and foremost, a Hannah Barbera movie with the Scooby-Doo title stapled on the front. Scooby-Doo has told a couple of superhero stories in their many encounters with characters like Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, or HB’s own characters like Blue Falcon. There’s proof that it can work perfectly, but in my opinion, it doesn’t work here. Daphne, Velma, and Fred get sidelined thanks to a forced drama storyline involving Simon Cowell, while Shaggy and Scooby have another forced drama storyline involving Blue Falcon’s son! But let’s not forget the single worst point about this movie. Everything else is subjective, you can love this movie, and that will be okay and valid. But what can not be ignored is the abhorrent treatment of the voice cast, who have given life to the characters for decades, and even from the beginning. They didn’t even know about the existence of the movie and were replaced with a cast of celebrities that I don’t doubt tried to do something great but are simply not voice actors. This movie shouldn’t exist.
43. Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers
The first movie of the 80s trilogy, which a lot of people grew up on. But if I’m being honest, I don’t think this was a good start. The movie has so many plotlines that simply end up being just random things that happen over and over until the movie’s over. Funny thing is, this is one of the longest Scooby-Doo movies at an hour and 34 minutes.
42. Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School
This is such an improvement over the previous movie. It actually feels like a movie this time around! The dynamic Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy have with the girls at the academy is pretty great, and the girls are iconic in their own right. It’s just a fun movie with a great horror aesthetic for little kids. But still, at some points, it feels so dragged out. The problems with the pacing are a problem in the whole trilogy.
41. Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf
Might be a controversial opinion, but this is the best out of the trilogy for me. Scooby-Doo gets into racing, and despite giving a one-time random girlfriend to Shaggy because heteronormativity, the plot is tidier, more entertaining, werewolf Shaggy is pretty cool, and Dracula is one of the funniest Scooby-Doo side-characters there is just going by how he talks. If you feel like you want to revisit one of these movies or just check out an old Scoovie (get it?), this is the one.
40. Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood
This is Scooby’s first-ever movie, and it’s a weird one. According to this one’s canon (If you don’t know, continuity in Scooby-Doo is very flexible. Even individual episodes could take place in its own universe), Scooby-Doo and the gang are actors in the show we all love. It also commits the crime of mischaracterizing Shaggy, something quite common and easy thing to do if you’re not extremely familiarized with the character, but this is just on another level. Shaggy is a greedy actor who convinces Scooby to step out of the show to get a more glamorous and luxurious job, splitting up the gang and canceling the show. Most of the movie consists of the failed pitches they present to the CEO of the company, being references to other genres or specific pieces of media. I’d say it’s worth checking out if you’re a Scooby fan. It’s entertaining but not much more than that.