Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Blu-ray Movie Review

Ghost in the machine.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 25, 2024

Is thirteen years too late for a disc review? Not in this case. Now that all four of the "Mook Animation" direct-to-video Scooby-Doo movies have reached Blu-ray -- most recently, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island back in May, and the terrific double-feature of Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders just a few weeks ago -- now's as good a time to cover the last one made but the first to hit Blu-ray: Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, released for its 10th anniversary in 2011. It's still selling pretty well on Amazon due to renewed interest in the other three, so let's jump back in time to see if this video game-themed adventure is worth adding to your library.

If you're here for nostalgic reasons, of course this one's worth picking up. I missed the boat on these back at the turn of the century, as I was in my post-college years and didn't have Scooby-Doo movies on my radar... and that includes those live-action ones, too. So just like the other three (which I liked to varying degrees, but they're all at least good), Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase doesn't get a free pass due to me watching it on repeat as a kid. In fact, among the four "Mook Animation" S-D films, this one's actually kind of the black sheep: it's probably got the goofiest tone of the bunch, the meta-story is fairly broad, there are fitting digital effects on display, and the "real supernatural threat" is actually controlled by a person-behind-the-curtain who's figuratively unmasked at the end. (Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders shares a few of these similarities, so consider that one a fairly close relative if you're new.)

As usual, our story begins with the threat at hand: a devious-looking electric blue creature who appears suddenly in a computer lab, much to the fright of an elderly lab technician. We then cut to the Mystery Inc. gang en route to a college campus to visit their old buddy Eric, an aspiring computer programmer who's made a new video game in their honor. (Fittingly enough, an actual video game based on the movie was released for the PS2 and Game Boy Advance in 2001.) Unsurprisingly, these computer labs are one and the same, and Eric -- alongside his colleagues Professor Kaufman and Bill McLemore -- informs them that this "Phantom Virus" materialized from Eric's game but was driven away by a high-powered magnet. After the gang's search leads to a discovery of the virus lurking nearby, they're suddenly zapped into their own game and must complete ten levels to return home... hopefully without losing any lives.

With as broad a subject as "Scooby-Doo and his pals trapped inside video game world", the possibilities are numerous and Cyber Chance at least tries to make the best of it. For the most part, each level has a generic environment with appropriate enemies (the prehistoric era, the moon, ancient Rome), and these lead to a few fun gags and encounters. But the movie doesn't take full advantage of its creative possibilities until near the end, where Mystery Inc. teams up with cyber-versions of themselves to fight familiar foes from the original TV series in an abandoned amusement park. This makes Cyber Chase maybe half of a great movie on paper, but collectively it's more than that due to the elevated efforts of Mook Animation's visual designs, a fairly clever script, and of course great voice work. When gauged against Zombie Island, Witch's Ghost and Alien Invaders, I'd still probably rank this third or fourth... but Cyber Chase is still a lot better than most of what the franchise has churned out during the past 30 years. I mean, ugh.

All in all, Cyber Chase is a pretty decent way to spend 70-odd minutes and, dated tech aside, it can certainly still be enjoyed by the whole family, including parents. It makes pretty good use of its limited time and wraps up before long before wearing out its welcome... but you'll stlll want to stick around for the surprisingly lengthy post-credit sequence when Shaggy, Scooby, and the gang give a series of short meta-interviews about their favorite locations and parts from the film (many of which weren't actually in it). In short, this one's worth picking up at its current low-risk price tag to complete your 2000-era Scooby-Doo DTV collection... but why didn't WB just give us a four-disc set?

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It's tough to judge WB's texture-free 1080p transfer of Cyber Chase: the movie makes regular use of digital effects, which suggests that it may not have been produced the same way as Zombie Island, Witch's Ghost and Alien Invaders. This is the part where I might normally complain about excessive DNR... but if it wasn't photographed like typical hand-drawn animation from that era and earlier, it wouldn't have any grain to lose? Regardless, the visual presentation here is more or less on par with the other three films and thus has a relatively smooth overall look, bright colors, hit-or-miss compression, and a very stable and damage-free appearance. Even so, odd source anomalies occasionally appear such as thin white or green remnants at the very edge of the image (these would normally be hidden by tube TV overscan, but not any more), and stray interlacing hiccups can be seen as well. Overall, I'll simply say that it looks generally good and certainly better than VHS or broadcast quality... but this is a 13 year-old Blu-ray, so don't expect perfection.

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio is a lot more straightforward and easy to critique by comparison, offering a relatively plain-wrap but perfectly serviceable presentation of its standard surround source material. Obviously the bulk of the dialogue is right up front with a few well-placed discrete effects and general ambience used along the way, which are of a greater variety than usual due to the assortment of locations here. Cyber Chase's mix isn't overwhelmingly involving nor does it reinvent the wheel; what we get instead is more than enough for what the film demands, and the original score by returning composer Louis Febre (Smallville) gives everything a nice cinematic sheen.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles, as well as a Spanish dub and subs, are included during the film and extras.

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork; no slipcover or inserts are included. Bonus features are fairly minimal and, like other Scooby-Doo movies, seems to mimic its DVD counterpart.

• Making of Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (9:43) - Slightly longer than the usual S-D behind-the-scenes promotional piece, this dated but fun little featurette includes short conversations with several key members of the voice cast including Gary Sturgis (The Phantom Virus), Scott Innes (Scooby and Shaggy), the ever-reliable Frank Welker (Fred), B.J. Ward (Velma), and Grey DeLisle (Daphne), who took over for Mary Kay Bergman after her untimely death in 1999. Unfortunately, like the majority of Warner Bros.' recycled DVD-era bonus features, this one suffers from noticeable interlacing issues and has obviously seen better days.

• "Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Love to Eat" Music Video (2:29) - A fun song about crippling food addiction set to various rough-looking clips from various S-D direct-to-video movies and TV episodes.

• Trailers - Separate promotional clips for three movies: Scooby-Doo and the Spooky Swamp (not on Blu-ray), Scooby-Doo: Legend of the Phantosaur, and Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown.

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'd imagine that most die-hard fans of Mystery Inc. bought Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase soon after it debuted on Blu-ray in 2011... but with Warner Archive's long-awaited release of the other three "Mook Animation" direct-to-video films in recent months (Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost, and Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders), now's as good a time as any to grab a copy if you haven't already. Recommended.