Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase lacks the punch of "Zombie Island" and Witch's Ghost", but provides enough entertainment for repeated viewings
Plot: The film starts out at a computer lab where a Phantom Virus (Gary Sturgis) is beamed into this world from the computer world and attacks Professor Koffman (Tom Kane) and his students Eric (Bob Bergen) and Bill (Mikey Kelley). The next day Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), Velma (B.J. Ward), Shaggy (Scott Innes), and Scooby-Doo (Scott Innes) are heading over to meet Eric. There they meet Officer Wembley (Joe Alasky) who regards suspicion against the gang. The gang meets Eric and learns of the problem with the Phantom Virus. They learn the Phantom came from the video game that Eric was designing about the gang and that if they could bring the phantom into the lab they could zap him back into the computer world, but their plan backfires and instead the gang is zapped into cyberspace and must compete in Eric's computer game and win all ten levels to get out.
The Good News: The Phantom Virus is one of the more imposing villains of the Scooby-Doo movies. He's a pretty menacing threat and make the danger that much more higher. He cracks a few occasional jokes, but even in those moments he never comes of as corny or cheesy and remains a threat to the gang. The plot is really modern day with the video game design and the technology is really today. The levels in the video game are designed fantastically and the animation is vivid and bright. The levels get harder and harder and some are pretty unpredictable and they are just a joy to watch them as they unfold in front of your eyes. In the last level there is a pretty good jump which got me the first time I watched it. The gang approaches a woman who's face is hidden in shadows and it turns out to be the Pantom Virus. Meeting up their Cyber doubles was neat, cool, and imaginative all rolled into one. It allows a look back in time and we see how much the gang has changed over the years. As with almost all Scooby-Doo movies what stands out from the entire movie is the ending and this one is no exception. The grand finale at the amusement park is fantastic, but I don't want to give anything away. The voice cast is good, with the standout being Gary Sturgis as his interpretation as the Phantom Virus. The relationship between Fred and Daphne is expanded on a little with this film having their first kiss. Granted it is on the cheek, but you can slowly see it building up. The film moves along at a constant speed and has the best example of a successful beginning: Introduce character, set up problem, and go from there.
The Bad News: This translates back to the original episodes where the villain is clueless. At one point in the film Shaggy and Scooby are being chased by the Phantom and they run into an office and the Phantom follows them only to be fooled by Shaggy and Scooby when they dress up as doctors and "operate" on him. It takes the Phantom far to long to realize what is going on and since he is one of the creepier villains this is a shame. The characters preform some of the dumbest acts ever. Listen to this, Shaggy and Cyber Shaggy have just escaped the Tar Monster and they stop and eat! The clues are also hard to spot, they're right in front of you, but a little more time on the culprit would have made the clues easier to spot out.
Conclusion: Scooby fans will find a lot to like here and non Scooby fans will also find some things to like, but other may want to exercise caution. Recommend
Rated: Not Rated
Plot: The film starts out at a computer lab where a Phantom Virus (Gary Sturgis) is beamed into this world from the computer world and attacks Professor Koffman (Tom Kane) and his students Eric (Bob Bergen) and Bill (Mikey Kelley). The next day Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), Velma (B.J. Ward), Shaggy (Scott Innes), and Scooby-Doo (Scott Innes) are heading over to meet Eric. There they meet Officer Wembley (Joe Alasky) who regards suspicion against the gang. The gang meets Eric and learns of the problem with the Phantom Virus. They learn the Phantom came from the video game that Eric was designing about the gang and that if they could bring the phantom into the lab they could zap him back into the computer world, but their plan backfires and instead the gang is zapped into cyberspace and must compete in Eric's computer game and win all ten levels to get out.
The Good News: The Phantom Virus is one of the more imposing villains of the Scooby-Doo movies. He's a pretty menacing threat and make the danger that much more higher. He cracks a few occasional jokes, but even in those moments he never comes of as corny or cheesy and remains a threat to the gang. The plot is really modern day with the video game design and the technology is really today. The levels in the video game are designed fantastically and the animation is vivid and bright. The levels get harder and harder and some are pretty unpredictable and they are just a joy to watch them as they unfold in front of your eyes. In the last level there is a pretty good jump which got me the first time I watched it. The gang approaches a woman who's face is hidden in shadows and it turns out to be the Pantom Virus. Meeting up their Cyber doubles was neat, cool, and imaginative all rolled into one. It allows a look back in time and we see how much the gang has changed over the years. As with almost all Scooby-Doo movies what stands out from the entire movie is the ending and this one is no exception. The grand finale at the amusement park is fantastic, but I don't want to give anything away. The voice cast is good, with the standout being Gary Sturgis as his interpretation as the Phantom Virus. The relationship between Fred and Daphne is expanded on a little with this film having their first kiss. Granted it is on the cheek, but you can slowly see it building up. The film moves along at a constant speed and has the best example of a successful beginning: Introduce character, set up problem, and go from there.
The Bad News: This translates back to the original episodes where the villain is clueless. At one point in the film Shaggy and Scooby are being chased by the Phantom and they run into an office and the Phantom follows them only to be fooled by Shaggy and Scooby when they dress up as doctors and "operate" on him. It takes the Phantom far to long to realize what is going on and since he is one of the creepier villains this is a shame. The characters preform some of the dumbest acts ever. Listen to this, Shaggy and Cyber Shaggy have just escaped the Tar Monster and they stop and eat! The clues are also hard to spot, they're right in front of you, but a little more time on the culprit would have made the clues easier to spot out.
Conclusion: Scooby fans will find a lot to like here and non Scooby fans will also find some things to like, but other may want to exercise caution. Recommend
Rated: Not Rated