Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico

Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico (2003)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Scooby and the gang get an invitation to come see a friend in Mexico for the Day of the Dead festivities but as soon as they arrive there they learn a Bigfoot like monster is haunting the people. Soon the Mystery Machine is out trying to determine who is trying to scare people off.

This entry in the movies of Scooby-Doo isn't nearly as bad as its reputation makes it out to be. While the film certainly isn't among the best movies from the franchise, it's at least entertaining, colorful and offers up a pretty good monster and a nice little twist at the end. I will say that the only disappointing thing is that there wasn't more comedy because many of the comic bits fall flat.

With that said, I really enjoyed the look of the Bigfoot monster as well as the myth surrounding it. I thought visually the monster looked extremely good and it was certainly entertaining enough to keep you caught up in the story. The animation, as you'd expect, was very good as well as the vocal performances. I really enjoyed the colorful nature to the animation but I will say it's a shame that the Day of the Dead ceremony wasn't used more. Still, if you're a fan of the series then you should enjoy this one.

The opening song was worth it. It really was. Actually, the music as a whole was worth it.

And some of the jokes were fully even if one or two of them may have bordered on blatant stereotypes, but in a harmless way.

It starts off strong. It starts off like an old episode of Scooby Doo...it just sort of ends with a "meh." In fact, what kills it is that one can walk away and forget how it ended by the time you get done using the bathroom.

But the first half is memorable and the songs are catchy, so it's a wash.

Scooby-Doo Monster in Mexico was boring and the animation was less than spectacular for me at least. I will give it credit for having a complex plot that required 2 pages in the summary section of Wikipedia. That doesn't change the fact that the voice acting was incredible with the best being Daphne who had a pleasant cougar voice rest in peace Heather North. Shaggy's voice actor Casey Kaseem also died which is unfortunate. The animation is an acquired taste. You'll either tolerate it, like it, or hate it. For some reason, it looks worse than the direct to video late 90s movies despite this film coming out 5 years after Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. I will give the movie credit for having so many twists and turns especially for a kid's film quite surprising the main villain unmasking even though I think I saw this film as a kid when I was around 7-9. I was half entertained. It's all right but this is one of the weaker Scooby-Doo animated films better than the Reluctant Werewolf, Ghoul School, and Mask of the Blue Falcon. However, it is far weaker than the Classic VHS films like Zombie Island, Cyber Chase, Alien Invaders, and Witch's Ghost. WWE crossovers were also more entertaining and the other late 2000s films greatly improved upon this film's animation, formula and voice acting. This is the second film created after Cyber Chase in 2001 so I'll give it some credit there. Still in the bottom third. If you're Mexican and/or you have Mexican kids you might like the scenery and reference. However, it could make the film even worse for your viewing experience.

TLDR; This is one of the weaker Scooby-Doo Animated Films avoid this one and the 80's TV Movies check out the VHS films, late 2000's films, and pretty much all of the 2010's films. Avoid Mystery Map, and the Lego films unless you have very young kids even still I wouldn't recommend them.

Back again in the brand new slicker animation form, the Mystery Inc gang head down to Mexico to visit Fred's e-mail pal but get caught up in the Chupacapra mystery as said beast begins terrorising the locals. It's not very good as the plot is practically discarded in favor of endless running around scenes and over-indulgence in set pieces.

The recent Scooby Doo feature-length animations have had decent stories, nice atmospheres and a couple red-herrings. It's very post modern and has certainly help revamp the franchise. But Monster of Mexico feels very dated and 60's. The gang are back wearing their old clothes instead of the modern gear they wore in the first four animated movies.

The ending is no surprise and completely unsatisfying. I don't like it. I wish for the next one to be a little more sophisticated. I mean children are intelligent and they deserve intelligent entertainment. Monster of Mexico may have been okay back in the 60's but in the modern day it's quite poor.

The DVD has a great 1.33:1 picture and a rather good Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. The extras are rubbish apart from the commentary by Shaggy and Scooby which is actually a really neat touch. I was excited at the Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman trailer featured here but it's 20 seconds long and shows you nothing. What's the point?

This movie had a lot going for it. The voice cast, sound effects and smoother animation felt more like the original Scooby Doo and I appreciated the classic feel. I really liked that Scott Innes was not voicing Shaggy. Velma is good for relating some good Mexican history. The behind-the-scenes, blooper reel and cast commentary on the DVD are great! There were definitely parts where the plot was interesting and a lot of vintage Shaggy/Scooby comedy that made us all laugh.

That being said, the plot didn't hold together very well for me. Somewhere in the middle, things get a little TOO confusing and far-fetched, even for Scooby. The story seems to slow down and then jump ahead making the movie lurch along awkwardly. Daphne's voice seems slow and... old! The dialog really dragged in parts. The extra characters didn't have much personality or add interest to the movie, they were just... there.

Overall the movie was OK and my kids enjoy it now and then. Not the greatest... but pretty good.