Aloha, Scooby-Doo!

This was one of my favorite Scooby Doo movies as a kid, but it's lost its enchantment as I've gotten older. This whole show is steeped in tiki culture. For a start, tikis are Maori-from New Zealand, not Hawaii. A thirty second google would have given the creators plenty of actual Hawaiian deities and entities to choose from-the volcano goddess Pele, protective 'Aumakua spirits, the huaka'i po (walking ghosts that can kill you if you see them by night)... there were options here. I know it's just a kid's show, but there's a difference between simplifying things for children and completely disregarding reality. It would be so easy to be both entertaining and respectful, so the fact that they didn't do that makes the disregard for the culture and history of the setting they chose all the more blatant. Plot wise it's a classic Scooby Doo mystery, and the adventure elements are fun. It really used to be one of my faves! It just makes me sad to see this culture that is so dear to me so needlessly diminished into coconut bra and tiki torch stereotypes.

"Aloha, Scooby-Doo!" was a movie that my 7 year old son was quite thrilled to get to sit down and watch, so I sat down with his to watch it as well, because I have grown up with watching Scooby-Doo cartoons. And every now and then do manage to put out some Scooby-Doo cartoon that is quite enjoyable.

I must admit that the storyline here in "Aloha, Scooby-Doo!" wasn't the most interesting of stories told in a Scooby-Doo mystery. And it didn't really help that I find that whole surfer lifestyle and attitude to be ridiculous, so it was a struggle to sit through this particular animated movie. But I stuck with it and watched it with my son.

The animation style in "Aloha, Scooby-Doo!" was good, as it is actually always is in these Hanna-Barbera productions. And if you are familiar with Scooby-Doo and the gang, then you know what you are getting here, for better or worse.

And the voice acting was also good, again as it always is. And it is always a blast to have Frank Welker and Casey Kasem do voice work. I was surprised to find out that Tia Tia Carrere and Adam West also voiced characters in this particular Scooby-Doo story.

"Aloha, Scooby-Doo!" wasn't a particularly outstanding or memorable foray into the beloved universe of Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Wilma and Daphne. However, it just didn't appeal to me, given the surfer setting of the story. But at least you know what you are getting here, and the movie does deliver on such expectations.

This was a mediocre Scooby-Doo adventure for me, and as such then I am settling on a 5 out of 10 star rating.

This movie really had no let downs for me. The setting is stunning and down with great animation. I would recommend this movie based just on that. The plot is fairly good as well. It takes a while to figure out who did the crime. There are some good laughs along the way as well. I can't say anything bad about the characters, they all seemed to live up to expectation. I thought scooby could have been a little more involved though. As I mentioned briefly before, the animation was done very well. At points everything looked 3D rather than cartoon. The opening and closing songs were pretty good as well. All in all, scooby doo fans cannot miss this one, it;s definitely one of the best out of the movies that have been produced within the last decade.

This was humorous, entertaining, and refreshingly new in its Scooby tradition. The names are interesting, the mystery keeps you going, and the only complaint I had was that it was relatively easy to figure out.

There were a lot of elements to the story and it is well drawn. It is a good pick if you like the newer stories, and the voices are well done as well as the graphics and sound.

The kids and I laughed over the names, "Tikki Hikki Wikki" and had a great time with this one! Like many other scooby stories, it was sort of educational for the kids on old mythology as well.

We recommend this one!

If I had to use a phrase to sum up this movie, I would have to use better than expected. Aloha Scooby Doo was not at all bad, flawed yes, but entertaining. The animation I thought was beautiful, with wonderful exotic backgrounds and some sinister looking ones too. I thought it was very funny, especially Shaggy, voiced by the one and only Casey Kasem, who just brings a sense of vitality to the character, and it is always a delight to see. The other voice talents are also great, Adam West even makes an appearance. The music is lovely here, quite atmospheric. The characters are very likable, and I must say the WikiKiki is quite something, in a scary sort of way. I also liked the fact that Daphne's hair actually came useful for once, to point the gang north. However, the story is fairly predictable, and sometimes unevenly paced. And I did find the character of Molly a bit annoying. Overall, not a bad movie, as a matter of fact I really did like it, and I give it an 8/10. Bethany Cox