{"id":33839,"date":"2020-10-03T00:03:31","date_gmt":"2020-10-03T04:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=33839"},"modified":"2020-10-03T01:23:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-03T05:23:15","slug":"happy-halloween-scooby-doo-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/03\/happy-halloween-scooby-doo-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Halloween, Scooby Doo! (2020)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Who better to celebrate Halloween than the Scooby Gang? \u201cHappy Halloween, Scooby Doo!\u201d is the thirty first animated movie in the long running franchise. It\u2019s a long running franchise that, to its credit, doesn\u2019t seem to be slowing down any time soon. This installment is firmly a Halloween oriented movie, revolving around the idea of fear, and Velma trying to ignore her emotional response to fear in favor of rationality. What she ultimately comes to realize is that fear can be a good thing; it can even help us survive in perilous situations.<\/p>\n

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On Halloween night, at Elvira\u2019s Halloween of Horrors Parade in Crystal Cove, Mystery Incorporated is captures the dreaded Haunted Scarecrow, also known as Johnathan Crane, one of Batman\u2019s most dreaded foes. After having him arrested, the group are stuck in town and are fleeing a large horde of supernatural demonic rabid pumpkins known as \u201cJackal Lanterns,\u201d all of whom are anxious to demolish the group. Paired with Bill Nye, a new Mystery Machine, Elvira, and a hapless dad and daughter, Velma seeks the origin of the pumpkins, while the group fends them off, attempting to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cHappy Halloween,…\u201d Is surprisingly very funny, considering sometimes the Scooby animated movies can feel flat, especially with the tendency to bring on endless guest stars. Thankfully, not only do the guest stars here make a lot of sense, but the writers also have a great time giving them their own things to do, while also committing to some sharp self satirizing. I loved Elvira\u2019s sheer sense of vanity that often competed with Daphne\u2019s own, as well as Bill Nye\u2019s habit for rambling about science. There\u2019s an especially hysterical gag involving him fact checking trick or treaters about their animal costumes at his doorstep. It\u2019s no surprise that this installment is directed by one Maxwell Atoms, as his \u201cGrim Adventures of Billy and Mandy\u201d is still quintessential horror animation.<\/p>\n

Director-writer Atoms carries much of that over in to this film where everyone gets a chance to draw out some genuine laughs. Along with the usual great cast of voice actors, Bumper Robinson is especially hysterical as dad Mike, a kind trick or treater who becomes an unwitting ally with the Mystery Inc. group. As a bonus, as with a lot of the latter day \u201cScooby Doo\u201d movies, there\u2019s also a ton of blink and you\u2019ll miss it winks and nods to classic Hanna Barbera properties, and DC Comics. I also found the tribute to \u201cFirst Blood\u201d with Freddy absolutely hilarious. \u201cHappy Halloween, Scooby Doo!\u201d is a fun treat for the Halloween season that will delight fans with its sheer celebration of the holiday, and great sense of humor.<\/p>\n

Heck, perhaps it might even introduce a new generation of fans to Elvira.<\/p>\n