Scooby-Doo em Cadê a Minha Múmia?

Zombie Island is simply the best of the new movies brought out by Cartoon Network. The worst of the lot was that trash with Aussie Vampires. But to each's own. I enjoyed this new addition for what it was. There is nothing new or noteworthy -- but there doesn't really have to be surprises every movie. Most of the comfort in these straight to videos comes from those involved. Hearing the old gang's voices has such a calming effect that if the writing is just average, it's okay because the voice talent is what carries the production to a new level.

Last outing in Aloha Scooby-Doo, we had Teri Garr, Adam West and even Don Ho.This time it is the fabulous Virginia Madsen playing Cleo. Half the fun of these new movies is spotting (hearing) well-known talent. From Mark Hamill, Tim Curry to Jennifer Love-Hewitt. Scooby-Doo is forever. Now if, you'll excuse me I have to get a Scooby snack.

Okay, we understand that a Scooby-Doo mystery is not going to be in the same league as a Citizen Kane mystery. But Scooby has good movies and bad movies just like any other Mega-Star. I'm pleased to say that Where's My Mummy is in the former category.

Velma is assisting an archaeological dig in Egypt (on the Sphinx no less) when she finds a mysterious necklace which could be the key to Cleopatra's lost treasure. I've never heard of such treasure, but for the sake of the movie, we'll pretend it exists. The rest of the Mystery Inc. gang turn up to visit her but the site is promptly taken over by Amelia von Butch (Christine Baranski), a gun-ho Lara Croft-type and her band of cohorts.

Despite warnings of ancient curses she forces the Mystery Inc. gang and an obnoxious reality-TV host (Jeremy Piven) to enter the tomb with her to solve it's secrets and find the treasure. Immediately setting-off traps, Shaggy and Scooby are separated from the rest of the gang (not on purpose for a change) and get involved in their own mystery of a deranged Hotep (Ron Pearlman) and his followers who worship a strange God known as Scoobis and his servant Shagman.

Both stories are kept lively and entertaining until they merge into one. There's not a moment of boredom and, as usual, a couple of cool original songs too. But sadly, no new version of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You at all. To compare it with similar films like Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider or even The Goonies would be pointless. Yes, we've seen this kind of thing before but animation is a medium that present more opportunities than live-action and there's loads of inventive set-pieces and imaginative locations that have become the standard of modern Scooby-Doo outings.

And what do you know? It even manages to provide a rather surprising twist at the end. We know it's far-fetched and unbelievable as always, but it ties together pretty well, thus making the film a little bit better a little bit more.

As long as their is imagination behind this franchise, Scooby-Doo could go on forever. He may deliver a few duds from time to time (Monster of Mexico was extremely crap after all) but he still a very important character in modern animation and will always come out on top if we believe in him.

Or am I taking this too seriously?

My son adores Scooby-Doo and I grew up with the cartoons, so of course I do sit down to watch all the Scooby-Doo animated movies with my son that we come across. The latest find turned out to be "Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?"

And I must say that this was actually one of the better animated Scooby-Doo movies that I have seen in a while. And it is a combination of the setting of the adventure and my love for ancient Egypt that came together in a greater unity and worked out so well for me.

This time the gang travels to Egypt to assist Velma in her archaeological work in the Egyptian deserts. Here they run afoul mummies, curses and traps in abundance.

Sure, "Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?" does follow the traditional formula of how to make a Scooby-Doo adventure. So you know what you are getting yourself into here prior to sitting down to watching it. And I say that with the best of intentions, because there is something fun and lovable about these adventures. And despite every adventure is essentially the same, they are still fun to watch.

The animation is good in "Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?" and the art style is very much in tune with the classic Scooby-Doo. So again, there is something comforting in the familiarity.

I did like the mummies and the design of Cleopatra. And the overall atmosphere there was in this animated movie was just great.

It is always a treat to have Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Mindy Cohn and Grey DeLisle. Furthermore, there were some other nice voice talents to showcase their skills in this animated movie, which included Ron Perlman and Oded Fehr.

The storyline in "Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?", while very much the same as all other story lines in the Scooby-Doo collection, then there was still a very good plot twist reveal at the end of the movie. I liked that particular turn of events, because I hadn't seen that one coming.

If you enjoy Scooby-Doo animated movies, then "Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?" is definitely well worth the time and effort to sit down and watch. I thoroughly enjoyed this particular adventure.

"Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?" is probably the best Scooby-Doo movie ever made. "Where's My Mummy?" combines the classic shenanigans of Shaggy and Scooby with myths, curses, and legends, making it ever more interesting to watch. It also gives insight into multiple African/Middle Eastern cultures, which increase the quality of the film.

The legends and curses of Ancient Egyptian mythology have always fascinated me, as well as the life of the pharaoh Cleopatra VII, and I grew up watching Scooby-Doo, so this was the perfect combination.

Could be worse.

the jokes about the over-the-top reality TV shows are sooooo worth the price of admission. Especially if you are like me and inclined to hate them for the forced drama and, well, the horrible taste of them all.

It's nice to see Scooby mocking them.

The Problem is Egypt. It wasn't exactly Egypt enough. It felt like just about anywhere else and Egypt is sort of a really big deal for a van full of American teens to visit.

Instead it felt more like an establishing shot and the old west. Very lazy for Scooby Doo.

The plus side is that the mystery is solid and the jokes landed, even if it did all feel a bit lack luster.