Review: "Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness" is Rather Tame

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux (support on Patreon)

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (2015) – Video
Running time:  72 minutes (1 hour, 12 minutes)
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Paul McEvoy
WRITER:  Mark Banker
EDITOR:  Kyle Stafford
COMPOSER:  Andy Sturmer

ANIMATION/FANTASY/FAMILY and ACTION/COMEDY/MYSTERY

Starring:  (voices) Frank Welker, Matthew Lillard, Grey DeLisle, Mindy Cohn, Diedrich Bader, Eric Bauza, Jeff Bennett, Jennifer Hale, Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Fred Tatasciore

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness is a 2015 straight-to-video, animated, comic mystery film.  It is also the 23rd animated movie in the Scooby-Doo straight-to-video series from Warner Bros. Animation, which began in 1998 with Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.  In Moon Monster Madness, Mystery Inc. travels to an elaborate moon base where they attempt to unravel the mystery of an alien monster.

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness introduces the billionaire Sly Baron (Malcolm McDowell).  His latest venture is to make “space tourism” more readily available.  To that end, Baron and his brother, Hudson (Fred Tatasciore), create the first space cruise ship, the “Sly Star One.”  Baron has picked an elite crew to accompany him on the Sly Star One's maiden voyage:  hero astronauts: Zip Elvin (Mark Hamill) and Colt Steelcase (Jeff Bennett); rising astronaut star, Shannon Lucas (Jennifer Hale); self-proclaimed alien hunter, Ridley (Jennifer Hale); football star, Uvinious Botango a.k.a "U-Boat" (Kevin Michael Richardson); and H.A.M. (Diedrich Bader), a robot who just wants to be useful and to be liked.

Baron also creates the “Sly Me to Space” sweepstakes, a lottery that give the last 5 seats on the Sly Star One to ordinary folks.  And the winners are Fred Jones (Frank Welker), Daphne Blake (Grey DeLisle), Velma Dinkley (Mindy Cohn), Shaggy Rogers (Matthew Lillard), and Scooby-Doo (Frank Welker).  The cruise is not filled with fun, however, as rivalry, jealousy, and hero worship cause trouble.  And the space tourists soon discover an alien monster wants to ruin their trip to end their lives.

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness is somewhat inventive.  It is sometimes funny.  It references and has allusions to famous science fiction movies and films about space travel, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), and The Right Stuff (1983).  The problem is that Moon Monster Madness just does not come together.  It is a little too long; has too many guest or supporting characters; and does not fully utilize many of the characters or sub-plots and themes.  Personally, I would have liked more screen time for “U-Boat” and H.A.M.

To be honest, it is also possible that I had high expectations for Moon Monster Madness coming off the previous Scooby film, Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy, which I loved so much, to an extent that still surprises me.  Still, I will recommend Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness, because... well... I always recommend Scooby-Doo movies.

5 of 10
B-

Monday, May 25, 2015


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