BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

generationofswine The return of the Hex Girls. Scooby Doo Down Under. Sharpen your pencils Pilgrims we are going in the Wayback Machine, second star to the left and straight on to the '80s.This would have been three shades of awesome if it were released in the 80s instead of when I was, you know, 23.It has the Crocodile Dundee 1980s obsession with everything Aussie appeal. And it has the Hex Girls, the New Age Wicca Eco-friendly Goth band that was...yeah, OK, they were totally '90s, but still, rip the arms off their jean jackets and draw a couple stars on their faces and they could pass for an '80s girl band rather than the '90s Grrrrl band thing they had going for them.It wasn't as awesome as The Witch's Ghost or the Rice inspired Zombie Island, but it was still fun, if uninspired.The Scooby Gang picked up their Archies roots and ran with it.The only problem is that it seemed to go in too many directions at once.Scooby Doo meets Burning Man...in Australia...meets Lollapalooza...with vampires....yeah, a few too many directions at once.

Owen Ogletree I re-watched this film for the first time in years yesterday, and it was really nothing special. After four animated Scooby-Doo films that took risks and offered us stuff that is new ("Zombie Island" through "Cyber Chase"), we get a forgettable entry that really doesn't do much outside of the old Scooby-Doo formula.The gang are their usual selves, which is pretty nice, I guess. It was also cool that we get to see the Hex girls again, even if they didn't do much. As usual, we get some funny scenes here and there and I will admit that the design for the vampire was pretty cool.It doesn't offer much outside of that. The story is typical Scooby-Doo fare, and there wasn't anything to make it feel like a real "movie." This was really nothing more than an extended TV episode. Several Scooby-Doo movies suffer from this, but this is one of the worst cases.It took too long for the plot to get started. There were too many filler scenes that added nothing and felt like they were there only to pad out the movie's length. The supporting characters aside from the Hex Girls were also nothing to write home about.The climax in the mountains is kind of routine, and the reveal was nothing shocking. However, I kind of liked the gang performing the Scooby-Doo Theme Song at the end.This is definitely one of the most by-the-numbers entries in the long-running franchise. It's not a bad film and it's okay to watch if you've got nothing better to do. However, it isn't really that much worth your time and there are better Scooby-Doo movies out there.RATING: C

jason06-1 Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire is funPlot: After solving a mystery aboard a cruise ship while on a vacation to Austraila the gang, Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Heather North), Velma (Nicole Jaffe), Shaggy (Casey Kasem), and Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker) are looking forward to a relaxing vacation. They get word of a concert way out in the Outback and head on over. When they arrive they meet the concert's finalists, The Hex Girls and The Bad Omens. They also learn about the Yowie Yahoo, a vampire who is kidnapping the finalists and turning them into vampires. The gang thinks there is more to the mystery than meets the eye and agree to investigate. Their search propels them forward and learns that their is a connection between the Yowie Yahoo and a band that disappeared last year. After the Hex Girls are kidnapped the gang heads up to Vampire Rocks where the Yowie Yahoo lives to end the madness once and for all.The Good News: For once there are some great action sequences towards the end that lead logically from one event to another. The animation is suburb for a direct-to-video and the director knew what he was doing as the film looks like it actually could be transferred into theaters. The voice cast is better than before and the returning actors and actresses have matured well into their roles and the new voices are a welcome addition. The scriptwriter designed a clever and ingenious script and the film moves along at a fast pace, never slowing down. It is also never boring and is sure to leave you hooked till the end. The addition of vampires as the monsters is nice and the setting of the outback is used to it's full purpose. This is also very straight forward and that is another bonus and it never detours from what it is supposed to be. My favorite scene has to be where Fred, Daphne, and Velma going looking for clues in the managers trailer and not only does it have a laugh that gets me every time the whole scene is a reminder of the early episodes with searching for clues or being somewhere your not supposed to be. The running time is short so it doesn't take to much time.The Bad News: Several of the jokes where not funny and the revelation of the vampires is a throughly confusing one and takes many times before you finally get it.Conclusion: The bad jokes and the confusing ending should not let you stop from seeing this Scooby gem as it is truly one of the best. Rated: Not Rated

Shawn Watson I wasn't sure if taking the gang out of their usual locale of haunted mansions and creepy amusement parks and sending them to Australia was a good idea. While it is still a cool movie it would have worked just as well in Death Valley than in the Outback.The villain this time is a Vampire called Yahoo-Yahweh, a bit of stupid name. It never sounds right when the characters say it. That minor quibble aside it's another solid entry in the recent Scooby Made For TV feature-length mysteries. Frank Welker (who's birthday it is today, coincidentally) is back as Fred and Scooby and Kasey Kasem is back as Shaggy (tho Scott Innes was perfect in the previous instalments and it puzzles why he didn't do Scooby's voice in the movie). It feels like a slickly animated version of the original show. Especially considering how Warner have decked the characters in their original clothes after fans objected to the modern clothes in the previous efforts. I have no opinion on this matter. It was cool to see the Hex Girls return and the music this time has a slightly hipper, more techno feel and lacks the orchestral fantasy of Louis Febre's scores for Alien Invaders and Cyber Chase. It's a shame there's no soundtrack CD for this one. I'd definitely buy it.The extras consist of a childish game and a commentary by Shaggy, Scooby and Fred. Which should be fun. The DVD is presented in bright and colorful 1.33:1 full frame (as drawn) with an above average Dolby 5.1 soundtrack.