The Movie:  Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders is pretty much your classic Scooby-Doo episode, but lengthened to a healthy 71 minutes. The gang encounters aliens which inevetably scare Shaggy and Scooby, so they're off on their own, while the rest of the gang investigates the alien invaders. It's a pretty cheesy movie, but what did you expect from Scooby-Doo? If you like Scooby and the gang, you'll most likely enjoy this movie.

The Picture:  The picture is exactly what you'd expect from this straight-to-video movie. The animations are crisp and clear and there are hardly any video problems evident. Being developed directly for video, this film is in 1.33:1 ratio, which most people probably won't like, but it's geared for the kids, and they probably could care less about aspect ratios.

The Sound:  The sound is also to be expected of a direct-to-video film. It's presented in Dolby 2.0 stereo, but hardly anything was presented in a stereo aspect and there's really nothing to be expected to be represented in stereo. You're certainly not missing anything without surround - and once again - I really don't think the kids are going to care when you pick this one up for them.

Special Features: "Making Of" Special, Scooby's Steps to Solving a Mystery, Bios of Cast & Crew, "Making of" the Scooby Doo Video Game

The Extras:  The extras are actually above par for this type of DVD. To my surprise, there are a couple of featurettes that go behind the scenes and interview the actors working on the film along with the animators. There's also a featurette detailing the making of the video game that apparently is on the market to accompany the DVD. More extras than I actually expected, and actually quite interesting.

The Insert:  There is no insert because this is a snapper case, but the inside of the cover lists the various chapters.

Conclusion:  You're not going to be getting more than you expected with this one. The video ratio and stereo sound are mediocre at best, but feature no noticeable problems. It's a kid's DVD from start to finish with the usual Scooby-Doo mystery. The kids will be entertained, although showing them the extras that feature the actors of the characters might warp their fragile little minds - something like seeing the man behind the giant head. The extras are interesting, but nothing extraordinary and if you're looking to hear Jennifer Love Hewitt sing, this one's for you - she sings the Scooby-Doo theme song about 1/5th of the way in. Other than that, there's nothing to look forward to, and at a price of $25, it's a little high for standard children's DVD fare.

Genres: Animation, Kid's Comedy, Scooby Doo, Cartoon Network
Rated: NR | 71 minutes
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Catalog #: H1533 | ISBN: 1-56039-638-5