Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders
DVD cover
Directed byJim Stenstrum
Screenplay byDavis Doi
Lance Falk
Story byDavis Doi
Glenn Leopold
Based on
Produced byDavis Doi
Starring
Edited byRob DeSales
Music byLouis Febre
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Home Video
Release date
  • October 3, 2000 (2000-10-03)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders is a 2000 American direct-to-video animated science fiction romantic comedy mystery film. It is the third direct-to-video film based on Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. The film was produced by Hanna-Barbera. It is the third of the first four Scooby-Doo direct-to-video films to be animated overseas by Japanese animation studio Mook Animation.[1] Unlike the previous films and despite the grimmer atmosphere, it has a lighter tone since the real monsters are on Mystery Inc.'s side and the disguised human beings are the main villains.

It is the last film to feature Mary Kay Bergman as the voice of Daphne, following her death in November 1999; this film is dedicated in her memory. It is also the last film to use cel animation, as starting with Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase the films would use digital ink and paint.

Plot

At the SALF (Search For Alien Lifeforms) station, Max, Laura and Steve suddenly get a loud reading that is off the charts. When it disappears, Steve gets something on the radar.

The Mystery Machine is driving through a desert. During a sandstorm, Shaggy accidentally makes a turn into government property, and a UFO sighting causes him to crash in a small town. Shaggy and Scooby-Doo stay with the van while the rest of the gang walks to the town, where they ask for help at a diner. While waiting, Shaggy and Scooby encounter two aliens who chase them towards the town.

Shaggy and Scooby run into the diner in panic, claiming to have seen aliens. Waitress Dottie says that they have never seen aliens, but do see strange lights and hear strange sounds at night. The chef, Sergio, says that cattle have also vanished overnight without a trace and people left the town as a result. A man named Lester claims to have been abducted before and claims that he has pictures. The gang goes to his house to see them, but they turn out to be nothing more than paintings by Lester, who then offers to let the gang stay for the night.

While sleeping on the roof, Scooby and Shaggy are abducted. They attempt to escape but are surrounded by the aliens. They find themselves in the middle of the desert the following morning after being awakened by a hippy photographer, Crystal, and her dog Amber, who ride them back to the diner. The gang go to the local mechanic, Buck, to ask if he can fix their vehicle. They then meet Max before Crystal and Amber reappear.

Max takes Velma, Fred and Daphne to meet the SALF crew. Velma becomes suspicious when she sees dried mud on their boots since they are in the desert. Later, she takes the gang to a canyon where she presumes a river might run. The canyon proves to be dry, but they find mining equipment and gold in the nearby caves. Meanwhile, military police order Shaggy, Crystal, Scooby-Doo and Amber to leave the area as it is government property. Crystal then tells Shaggy she is actually an undercover government agent and wants to go back to investigate. Shaggy leads them to the cave where he first saw the aliens. They hide inside when the MPs come back but are able to trick them into leaving. A snake then scares Shaggy and Scooby into going further into the cave, with Crystal and Amber close behind. They also discover the gold but are found and chased by the aliens and the MPs, running into the rest of the gang in the process.

Fred, Velma and Daphne are trapped in a net while the others fall off a ledge after being cornered by the MPs. After the aliens send the MPs after them, it is revealed that they are actually the SALF crew, who discovered the cave (an abandoned 19th-century gold mine) while placing a SALF dish. Since it was on government property, they decided not to report it, and plan to keep it that way.

When the MPs corner the others at another ledge, Shaggy and Scooby try to chase them off, but Crystal and Amber rescue them, revealing themselves to be aliens in the process. Laura and Steve try to capture them, but Shaggy and Scooby come to their rescue and Fred traps Laura and Steve under a net.

Crystal and Amber explain that their UFO was the one that ran the gang off the road at the start of the film, and that they disguised themselves as hippies due to their main source of information on Earth being television signals from the 1960s. They subsequently share a heartfelt goodbye with Shaggy and Scooby before leaving for home.

Max, Steve and Laura, alongside the fake MPs, are arrested and sentenced to life in prison. Buck arrives with the repaired Mystery Machine, and the gang drives off as Crystal and Amber’s ship flies past one last time.

In a post-credits scene, an alien cuts a hole in the blackness with his laser finger, but removes its head, revealing that it is a disguised Scooby.

Voice cast

Production

Scooby-Doo direct-to-video films began with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island in 1998, followed by Witch's Ghost in 1999. The first films had done so well that the studio considered Scooby-Doo a tentpole property that would sell "no matter what". Witch's Ghost had a troubled production, with studio executives insisting the team following a script written by outside screenwriters that the crew considered unsatisfactory. Unlike its predecessor, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders was a largely smooth-sailing production, with little executives oversight.[2] The film was written by Davis Doi and Lance Falk, with Glenn Leopold contributing some small elements.[3] The theme song featured actress Jennifer Love Hewitt performing.

Home Media

The movie was released on VHS and DVD on October 3, 2000 for $19.96 and $24.98, respectively.[4] Special features on the DVD include:

  • The Making of Special features
  • The Making of a Scooby-Doo! Video Game
  • Scooby's Steps to Solving a Mystery
  • Cast Fun Facts
  • Trailers

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10.[5] David Parkinson of Radio Times, gave the film a three out of five stars, saying, "This cartoon adventure is the best of a spate of feature-length spin-offs from the much-loved TV series."[6] Common Sense Media gave the film a three out of five stars, saying "'These meddling kids' encounter brief alien scares".[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Jozic, Mike (interviewer); Falk, Lance (interviewee) (February 7, 2017). APNSD! Episode 03: Interview With Lance Falk (Podcast). Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  3. ↑ Jozic, Mike (interviewer); Falk, Lance (interviewee) (March 8, 2017). APNSD! Episode 04: Interview With Lance Falk (Podcast). Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  4. ↑ Crain Rudeen, Jan (Nov 2, 2000). "Scooby-Doo 'Invaders' is quirky, fun". The Daily News. Bowling Green, Kentucky. Scripps Service. Retrieved Nov 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)".
  7. ↑ Wheadon, Carrie. "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
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