Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare Blu-ray Movie Review

Scooby, Scooby Doo... where are you? On Blu lookin' better than ever!

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 28, 2010

I know there are those who adore all things Scooby Doo, but I have an ongoing love-hate affair with the franchise. I can't get enough of Classic Scoob; the series, reboots and specials, old and new, that make sure mystery is the only one riding shotgun in the Mystery Machine. No malevolent ghosts, no real hellspawn, not a drop of ectoplasm to be found. Just rubbery unmaskings, common criminals and plenty of honest-to-goodness flesh-n-blood fun. I'm not so fond of Supernatural Scoob; the misguided TV follow-ups and spin-offs (like The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo), mishandled live-action theatrical films (Scooby-Doo and Monsters Unleashed), and cheesy direct-to-video releases (The Mystery Begins) that get bogged down with corny spirits and phantasms. Thankfully, Camp Scare is Classic Scoob through and through. It's much too long, stretching a twenty-minute tale into a seventy-three-minute movie, but it's also a satisfying throwback to the Golden Days of Hanna-Barbera and Scooby Doo, Where Are You!

On the case...

Every summer, creepy campfire stories are shared at Camp Little Moose to the delight of everyone involved... until the brutal beasties in the counselors' tales prove to be more than urban legends and begin terrorizing the young campers. An ax-carrying Woodsman appears in the forest, a vicious Fishman prowls the nearby lake, and a ghastly Spector swoops down from the skies. With campers packing up and counselors panicking, it looks like Camp Little Moose will have to close unless someone can get to the bottom of it all. Luckily, the Mystery Inc. gang is on the case. Fred (voiced by Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), Velma (Mindy Cohn), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby Doo (Welker) do what they do best: uncovering clues, dodging ghosts and foiling sinister plans. But with three monsters, the promise of buried treasure, and such a long list of suspects -- one that includes everyone from a friendly head counselor (Stephen Root) and a helpful forest ranger (Dee Bradley Baker) to a local shopkeep (Mark Hamill) and the employees of a rival summer camp -- are our favorite meddling kids in over their heads?

Of course not. They may spook all too easily (even after closing what must be hundreds of similar cases), but the Mystery Inc. crew have made a career of outwitting, out-maneuvering and out-bumbling the most dastardly villains, and greedy chumps like the Woodsman, Fishman and Spector ain't got nothin' on Scoob. All the while, Welker and his Lilard-led castmates deliver, lending Fred enough cheesy charm and Shaggy enough gutless goofiness to recall the heyday of the original series. Granted, I only chuckled half-heartedly -- such is the curse of middle-age -- but my son could barely contain himself, reacting to every familiar Scooby Doo gag with the sort of pure enthusiasm people tend to cast aside as they approach Junior High. The mystery the gang tackles isn't half bad either. Several surprises will catch even the sharpest amateur detectives off guard, misdirection is used to solid effect, and a healthy blend of light humor and tame frights keep the story clipping along.

Subplots lurk in every cob-webbed corner of Camp Scare though, often to the film's detriment. Fred earns a love interest (Lauren Tom), Velma mentors a like-minded girl (Tara Strong) and attracts the affection of a not-so-secret admirer (Baker), underwater towns are discovered and dams are destroyed, Camp Little Moose and Camp Big Moose work to put aside their differences, and clues and suspects arrive in droves. But most of it amounts to filler. All of the extra bits, jaunts and characters feel a tad extraneous; as if director Ethan Spaulding and writer Jed Elinoff were determined to bob and weave for seventy minutes come hell or high water. Kids certainly won't mind, but parents are sure to notice how much the film drags at times. Still, Camp Scare succeeds on the whole. There's just enough snacking, laughing, tip-toeing, running and gasping to slap a grin on every Scooby fan's face, whether they're young or simply young-at-heart.

Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scooby Doo scares up a splashy 1080p/VC-1 encoded presentation that, imperfect as it may be, will satisfy Mystery Inc-ers of all ages. The film's lineart is crisp and clean, color fills are strong and stable, and every last animated detail is sharp enough to draw blood. Likewise, primaries are commanding, black levels are exceedingly inky, and contrast is bright and bold. Just be warned: the film's colors are so vibrant, so rich, that viewers with improperly calibrated displays may finally find it necessary to dive into their video menus and adjust their settings accordingly. Otherwise, there isn't too much cause for concern. Some obvious banding and aliasing haunt the presentation, as they do almost every Warner Bros. Animation Blu-ray release, but several clues point to Camp Scare's source as the culprit. Regardless, neither issue is a debilitating distraction and there aren't any other major problems of note. All in all, this is a fine looking encode that gets the job done, and then some.

Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Camp Scare unleashes its most blood-curdling scream, albeit by way of a 640kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. Strong and serviceable, any disappointment Scooby Doo fans have with Warner's standard sonic offering will stem from the fact that it simply isn't a lossless audio mix, not because the Dolby Digital mix suffers from any serious issues. Dialogue is clear, nicely centered and neatly prioritized; the LFE channel is given plenty of opportunities to rumble and roar convincingly; and the rear speakers, though utilized sparingly, grab hold of any and every bone the film throws their way. Dynamics aren't spectacular, but they are decent. The soundfield isn't enveloping per se, but it isn't flat or ungainly either. Music and effects aren't going to leave any jaws on the floor, but the original sound design rarely falters. Honestly, I'm not sure a lossless track would represent a substantial upgrade, at least not with the animated direct-to-video hijinks Spaulding conjures up. Ultimately, Camp Scare's 640kbps mix is more than adequate to the task at hand. Not ideal, mind you; just more than adequate.

Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from a bonus DVD and Digital Copy of the film, the Blu-ray edition of Camp Scare doesn't offer much supplemental content. "Scooby Doo Camp Stories" (SD, 9 minutes) offers up several spooky campfire tales and "Beware the Beast From Below" (HD, 23 minutes) is a full episode of the new Scooby Doo cartoon series.

Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scooby Doo! Camp Scare isn't the greatest Mystery Inc. misadventure to date, but it makes its live-action brethren look plain silly. Now if only Warner Bros. Animation could beef up the story to support a 73-minute runtime or trim it down to a more manageable 25-minutes... that would be a treat. Have no fear though, as a Blu-ray release Camp Scare is a bit better. While the few special features it offers are anything but special, its video presentation is an impressive one (barring WBA's usual pinch of banding and aliasing) and its Dolby Digital audio mix holds its own (despite its lossy demeanor). $20? Seems a tad steep. But on sale? Nab a copy, wait for a rainy day and introduce your kids to the world's finest (and funniest) animated amateur detectives.