Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword Blu-ray Movie Review

Slicing and dicing, Scooby style!

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown April 1, 2013

Wandering deep into the catacombs, Warner Bros. digs up four less than classic direct-to-video Scooby-Doo! movies; none of which are all that special (or very good frankly), hint at a multi-release Complete Collection master plan, or offer junior mystery junkies what they're really after: early Hanna-Barbera Scooby-Doo, meticulously restored and presented in high definition. Instead comes the 5th, 6th, 7th and, leaping forward five years, 13th Mystery Inc. misadventures from Warner Animation. The oldest hails from 2003 -- subsequently the oldest animated Scooby release available on Blu-ray -- and the youngest is still a pup, born in 2009. Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003) and Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003) at least have the distinction of reuniting the original series' voice cast (Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Heather North and Nicole Jaffe) for the first time in more than thirty years, even though the ends fail to justify the means (or the potential). While Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster (2004) and Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword (2009) are decent but lesser efforts altogether, two small evolutionary steps between the earliest DTV releases as yet unavailable on Blu-ray and some of the more flashy or clever Scooby-Doo! movies released in recent months, namely Legend of the Phantosaur and Mask of the Blue Falcon. Ah well, completists can't be choosers.

Australia, Mexico, Scotland and, half a decade later and at long last, Japan! The Mystery Inc. crew -- Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), Velma (Mindy Cohn), Shaggy (Casey Kasem) and Scooby-Doo (Welker) -- head to the Land of the Rising Sun to attend a martial arts tournament. Two of the fighters? Daphne and her friend Miyumi (Kelly Hu), both of whom hope to impress karate school headmaster Mirimoto (Hu), the woman hosting the tournament. It isn't long, though, before the Black Samurai of ancient legend arrives with an army of ninja warriors to steal the fabled Destiny Scroll from Mirimoto's school. And the Black Samurai isn't playing around. He's no mere criminal masquerading as a spirit. He's the real deal, and the gang has to figure out how to thwart his plans. There's still a mystery that needs solving, but it only presents itself after a few twists and turns leave our heroes scrambling to stop the real villain in their midst. But just how many people are involved in the sinister plot? Miyumi? Miss Mirimoto? Museum curator Mr. Takagawa (Sab Shimono)? Mr. Takagawa's assistant Kenji (Gedde Watanabe)? Miss Mirimoto's bodyguard Sojo (Kevin Michael Richardson)? And how quickly can Scooby and Shaggy become master samurai? Even with the help of sushi chef Matsuhiro (Keone Young) and powerful spirit The Green Dragon (Brian Cox)?

It's nice to mix things up once in a while. Bona fide supernatural beasties are a relative rarity in the world of Scooby-Doo, making Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword something of a departure. Hanna-Barbera dabbled in real ghosts and goblins with The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo in 1985, but series villains have long been of the flesh, blood, mortal and inevitably unmasked variety. No such luck here, and no complaints either. (As long as the supernatural remains a rarity, it's a fun franchise diversion.) The katana-sharp reference humor of later series movies is starting to bubble to the surface, Scooby and Shaggy's slapstick munchie-munching is out in full force, and the laughs that come -- particularly from any junior detectives in the room -- are loud and long. I was mildly amused; my son was in stitches, and soon went bounding off through the house with a sword in one hand and a cup of "Scooby Snacks" in the other. Not that I'm suddenly prepared to anoint The Samurai Sword a classic. The action is a tad wooden, Hu's voice acting is uninspiring, the animation is still a tad shoddy at times (although much improved from The Legend of the Vampire, The Monster of Mexico and The Loch Ness Monster). And the mystery isn't much of a mystery at all; it's a plot twist wrapped in a handful of riddles. Even so, Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword bests the other four, even if the tournament only features a few average contenders.

Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

What a difference five years makes. With an uptick in animation and a reduction in the number of issues inherent to its source, Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword and its 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation are more in line with recent Scooby Doo direct-to-video Blu-ray releases than its predecessors. Colors are strong and vibrant, primaries pack a punch, black levels are fresh from the animators' pen, and contrast is bright and satisfying. Detail is quite good too, with fewer instances of the rampant pixelation and other anomalies that plague The Legend of the Vampire, The Monster of Mexico and The Loch Ness Monster. (Key word: fewer.) Lines are crisp and largely clean (although frame zooms still distort overall clarity), backgrounds are striking, and the usual suspects -- noticeable banding, exceedingly minor macroblocking and negligible intermittent ringing -- are really the only things that threaten the integrity of the presentation. All in all, The Samurai Sword delivers.

Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Samurai Sword's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track benefits from the five-year gap between it and its Loch Ness Monster cousin. Rear speaker activity is more playful and aggressive, LFE output is fiercer and more nuanced, and dynamics are more refined. A prevailing, two-dimensional cartoon soundstage still dominates the proceedings, but it doesn't take much of a toll, especially since it's par for the animated DTV movie course. Voices are clean, crystal clear and grounded in the soundscape, effects are bolstered by noteworthy power and weight, and the entire experience, flat as it can be at times, is a bright, bombastic blast overall.

Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword doesn't include any special features.

Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Of the four Scooby-Doo direct-to-video movies from the March 12th block, Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword is the clear winner, and the one to choose if you're only interested in picking up a single release. It's a departure (the ghost is real for once!) but it amounts to a fun bit of mystery solving and katana-wielding action kids will eat up. Moreover, Warner's Blu-ray release and AV presentation are quite impressive, even if the disc doesn't offer any extras. Long story (and four reviews) short? Go with The Samurai Sword first; sample the others afterwards, one by one until your family gets its fill.