Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!

I wasn't so keen on watching this Scooby adventure as it has the shortest running time of all of them so far and I figured that it couldn't possibly have a substantial mystery worth taking an interest in.

And while that's true for the most part, they do make a huge effort to keep the viewer guessing by throwing in lots of distractions, more so than any other Scooby adventure. And despite it's brief running time it does manage pack in a fair amount of characters and guest voices, so in a sense they give more AND less.

The Mystery Inc. gang head off on a tropical cruise for Fred's birthday but things turn sinister when they pick-up a drifter floating in the water. No one believes his tale of ghost pirates (they're on a "mystery cruise" and are becoming quite jaded to the novelty), but only when said pirates show up do they gradually accept that it's real.

There's a few more in-jokes than normal in this one too. And while I usually hate in-jokes it's forgivable, and perhaps welcome, in a Scooby-Doo mystery. I am aware that the infamous Bermuda Triangle was the focus of a lower-wattage mystery in the third season of Scooby-Doo back in the early 70s, but this one is considerably better.

It looses points for being short, but it's still a worthy mystery.

Like, zoinks Scoob! We've got ourselves mixed up in a swashbucklin' mess featuring ghostly pirates, the Bermuda Triangle and strangely alluring drag costumes. Shaggy dressed up as Daphne? Jinkies! As an avid fan of the classic Scooby Doo cartoons, I found that the Mystery Inc. formula wore thin with the rejuvenated "What's New Scooby Doo?" series. So, naturally, I had an arrrrd time with this landlubber. Scooby and the gang go on a cruising holiday with Fred's parents, to the Bermuda Triangle (of all the places in the world!), where they stumble across the ghoulish Captain Skunkbeard who has been terrorising the surrounding seas.

Aye! Batten down your hatches and set sail for classic Scooby-Dooby-Doo antics. The main reason as to why this film sinks to its watery grave, is due to how much treasure is stuffed in the chest. Simply put, lots happen! A rather humorous "mystery cruise" chronicles the first act, to which "those meddling kids" are just too damn good at unraveling the setups. Then Captain Smellyface makes an appearance. The gang are washed ashore. Scooby and Shaggy go log surfing? Velma solved the mystery. Obvious culprits turn out to be, you guessed it, the masked villains. And they set off sailing into the distant sunset. A classic Scooby formula that underutilises its supporting characters, intriguing locations and introduces an absurd third act storyline that literally made zero sense. So much gold, yet no sparkle.

The animation is standard for the series, although loses the charm from the original cartoon with its clinical aesthetic. Speaking of, there were some nice nods floating around. Captain Cutler and the Wolfman make brief appearances. A nice little homage to legendary monsters. Not enough to make me want to watch this again though. Harmless pirate fun, but the rusty sword that Captain Stinkhair swings is just too blunt. Probably best walk the plank. Except Fred's parents, they can stay on the ship...

One of my favourite Scooby Doo films!! The musical score combined with the exciting chase scenes really keep the fun during the film. The voice cast (as always) bring life to the story. The actual story line is amazing, filled with classic scooby doo twists and turns. Combined with a touch of the mysterious, this one is definitely worth the watch! It's still enjoyable after nearly 20 years for both parents and kids - and all inbetween! Scooby Doo is a classic in itself and this film is no exception, plus who doesn't love a good pirate story? It keeps all watchers entertained and I will continue to revisit this film for years to come.

Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)

*** (out of 4)

Scooby and the gang are invited on a cruise by Fred's parents but soon the ship is taken over by dead pirates. They kidnap Fred's parents so the gang must go after them and try to learn why they've come back from the dead. When reviewing these Scooby movies I have to keep in mind not only my opinion but that of my three-year-old son. His opinion of this movie is that it quickly became his favorite of the series and each time I asked which one he wants to watch it's this here. In fact, I think we're working on about fifteen times in a row he has selected this one so obviously kids should love it. I've seen the film on a number of occasions with him and I do think it's one of the best out there. The actual story here is a very good one and I really liked how they took the pirate theme and mixed it with zombies as well as the entire Bermuda Triangle thing. The animation is top-notch from start to finish and also shows a lot of imagination. The actual look of the pirates is without question the highlight of the film as the detail in the costumes and their look is great. This one here also features a lot of famous names doing vocal work including Tim Conway, Arsenio Hall, Freddy Rodriquez, Ron Perlman and Kathy Najimy. SCOOBY-DOO! PIRATES AHOY! will certainly entertain fans of the series and kids should really enjoy it as well.

I really enjoyed Scooby Doo: Pirates Ahoy! and I honestly think it is one of the better movies in the Scooby Doo franchise. Like any film with pirates, it was fun, colourful and hugely enjoyable, and my only complaints are that it is too short, and I wasn't hugely keen on Frank Welker's Scooby voice, I much prefer Don Messick. Still, the animation is very colourful, and the music is great. I loved the plot, about the gang cruising in the Bermuda Triangle, and falling foul of ghost pirates. The voice acting was fantastic, Casey Kasem is just a hoot as Shaggy, and Dan Castallenetta was excellent as Magician Mysterio. Ron Perlman was not only charming as Biff Wellington, but deliciously sinister as the villainous pirate captain, and his laugh was quite scary- and I thought Tim Curry's Pennywise's laugh was scary. All in all, despite a couple of minor flaws, an unexpected delight for Scooby Doo fans, a similar thing I said about last year's Goblin King, and I do recommend it. 8/10 Bethany Cox