Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico (2003) Reviews

• Very, very weak

  CuriosityKilledShawn2004-05-07

  Back again in the brand new slicker animation form, the Mystery Inc gang head down to Mexico to visit Fred's e-mail pal but get caught up in the Chupacapra mystery as said beast begins terrorising the locals. It's not very good as the plot is practically discarded in favor of endless running around scenes and over-indulgence in set pieces. The recent Scooby Doo feature-length animations have had decent stories, nice atmospheres and a couple red-herrings. It's very post modern and has certainly help revamp the franchise. But Monster of Mexico feels very dated and 60's. The gang are back wearing their old clothes instead of the modern gear they wore in the first four animated movies. The ending is no surprise and completely unsatisfying. I don't like it. I wish for the next one to be a little more sophisticated. I mean children are intelligent and they deserve intelligent entertainment. Monster of Mexico may have been okay back in the 60's but in the modern day it's quite poor. The DVD has a great 1.33:1 picture and a rather good Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. The extras are rubbish apart from the commentary by Shaggy and Scooby which is actually a really neat touch. I was excited at the Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman trailer featured here but it's 20 seconds long and shows you nothing. What's the point?

• Not the best... or the worst

  joesgirljeri2009-05-25

  This movie had a lot going for it. The voice cast, sound effects and smoother animation felt more like the original Scooby Doo and I appreciated the classic feel. I really liked that Scott Innes was not voicing Shaggy. Velma is good for relating some good Mexican history. The behind-the-scenes, blooper reel and cast commentary on the DVD are great! There were definitely parts where the plot was interesting and a lot of vintage Shaggy/Scooby comedy that made us all laugh. That being said, the plot didn't hold together very well for me. Somewhere in the middle, things get a little TOO confusing and far-fetched, even for Scooby. The story seems to slow down and then jump ahead making the movie lurch along awkwardly. Daphne's voice seems slow and... old! The dialog really dragged in parts. The extra characters didn't have much personality or add interest to the movie, they were just... there. Overall the movie was OK and my kids enjoy it now and then. Not the greatest... but pretty good.

• This is no time to be chicken

  kyle-mcdonald2011-06-29

  Well I have to say that this Scooby-Doo cartoon although far from the greatest its also far from the worst. This cartoon definitely brought a smile to my face. It was funny, smart, but it could also get confusing, I often found myself lost near the middle and end of the movie. I found there were many funny jokes and many unfunny jokes, many smart twists and turns and many predictable twists and turns, but overall a good mystery, but many points during the middle and end its gets confusing. Fred informs his friends that one of his best friends tells him that this a great time to travel to Mexico. Quickly after hearing the great news Scooby along with Fred, Shaggy, Velma, and Daphne hurry to pack their bags and are fast on their way to beautiful Mexico. Velma tells the gang that they will be there in time to attend the annual day of the dead, of course Scooby-Doo and shaggy are terrified. When they arrive in Mexico the gang hears a creepy story of El Chupacapra that has been terrorizing the town. After coming face to face with El Chupacapra decide they have a case on their hands. Along the way the gang is met with funny and unfunny gags, clever twists and turns and predictable twists and turns, and a confusing middle and end, but by the time its over you will still have a smile on your face. The plot and setting are now once again like the original style Scooby-Doo where the villain turns out to be a man in a mask. This type of plot and setting I find gives the old feeling back of when I used to watch the old TV show, while I will always like when they use real monsters I always like the original way more. The storyline the movie follows is not bad, its far from the best but still enjoyable. While the movie offers many funny Scooby-Doo gags but also gives some unfunny ones. The movie does get confusing near the middle and end while it is a good twist it can still be confusing. Once again this Scooby-Doo cartoon has an all star voice cast such as: Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo and Fred, Heather North as Daphne, Nicole Jaffe as Velma, and of course Casey Kasem as Shaggy. Each voice actor does a great job as the character they are voicing. By the time this cartoon is over I still had a smile on my face. I found that you either like this cartoon or you don't like this cartoon, it is in the middle. There could be many improvements but there are also aspects that just cant get any better. I would have liked to have seen more of El Chupacapra during the movie. This cartoon will never be called one of the best but it will definitely never be called one of the worst as it is an enjoyable cartoon but an enjoyable one that could be just a little bit better. So you may want to read some of the reviews to this cartoon before making your decision on buying or renting it, but for this movie you should make the decision yourself because you either take or leave this Scooby-Doo adventure. Overall rating: ****** out of ********** *** out of *****

• A Poorly Written and Executed Scooby-Doo Movie

  carologletree2017-06-07

  This is possibly the worst animated Scooby-Doo movie. The film just feels uninspired and poorly put together. I liked it when I was younger, but it's amazing how many things wrong with it I now realize there are. One thing I can't review this movie without mentioning is the obvious fact that the Chupacabra here is inaccurate to the legend. In this movie, it is a purple Big Foot, whereas the legends generally depict it as a malformed wild dog. A little research would probably help, you know! The script has many inconsistencies, and there is a fair amount of exposition and redundant scenes to drag things down. Also annoying is how stupid the townspeople were for not realizing how obvious it is that the bird was mechanical, not to mention them immediately believing the bird that Scooby and the gang are criminals without any evidence. The voice acting is surprisingly dull with the voices of the gang phoning it in, especially Heather North as Daphne. I also hated that the villain was somebody we hadn't even seen in the movie at all. His motivation didn't even make much sense. I can't call this movie unwatchable, because I did enjoy the Mexico setting, there are some funny scenes, and the animation is pretty decent. However, this is still a pretty poor Scooby-Doo movie overall. Definitely not recommended to anyone other than Scooby-Doo fans, but even the fans don't really need to see it. RATING: D+

• Again another classic-style entry

  wile_E20052005-03-03

  Now, I have said before that starting with "Arabian Nights" in 1994, Scooby cartoons became crap, with some exceptions (like "Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost" and "Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!"). But "Scooby and the Legend of the Vampire" of 2002 is very, very good compared to "What's New Scooby-Doo." Despite that and "Monster of Mexico" being produced at Warner Bros. Animation rather than Hanna-Barbera, this is a nice follow-up to the vampire one. Again, we have the old voice cast (complete with Heather North and Nicole Jaffe,) the old Hanna-Barbera sound FX, the remakes of the 1968-1973 Scooby underscore, the original outfits, etc. The animation is crisp and smooth, and almost matches the high-quality animation of the first four direct-to-video Scooby-Doo films, and is much better than the bad animation of "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" and the even worse animation of "Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!" This adds more charm to the cartoon, and the Mexican music is fun, especially the eerie Latin American violins and handclaps that accompany the opening credits. Overall, the nice animation and retro format make this and "Legend of the Vampire" seem like they were done at Hanna-Barbera and not WB!