The Best Scooby-Doo Movies, Ranked

Since 1969, Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Incorporated gang have been solving mysteries and unmasking villains everywhere. From the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" to the more recent "Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who?," these meddling kids and their talking dog have won the hearts of millions over the decades. But aside from the gang's standard Saturday morning cartoon adventures, did you know that there have been nearly 50 Scooby-Doo movies released since the 1980s? These feature-length tales range from animation to live-action, having been released as made-for-TV features, direct-to-video productions, and even on the big screen.

To say that there's plenty of Scooby-Doo content to choose from would be an understatement, and with so many great additions (and, sadly, several that we can't highlight here), we've narrowed Scooby's feature adventures down to the very best of the bunch. Sure, there are some things that happen in every Scooby-Doo movie, but these are some of Mystery Inc.'s finest feature-length adventures. If your personal favorite doesn't make it on the list, never fear, there's plenty of Scooby-Doo where these came from.

Masterfully blending comedy, horror, and musical elements into one cohesive vision, 2008's "Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King!" marked the first Scooby production without the involvement of either William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Connecting to the concurrently running "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" cartoon series, "Goblin King" follows the gang as they arrive at Coolsville's Halloween carnival, which turns out to be a bit more enchanted than any of them bargained for. It turns out, fairies are very real, and as Fred Jones (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), and Velma (Mindy Cohn) are busy elsewhere, Shaggy (Casey Kasem) and Scooby (also Welker) find themselves on a supernatural adventure that only they will remember.

In some ways, "Goblin King" feels like a fun callback to some of the '80s Scooby movies that followed Scooby and Shaggy (and Scrappy-Doo, too) as they engaged constantly with the paranormal. The direct-to-video Scooby movies had largely drifted away from any real supernatural happenings since the brand took on the "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" look, with "Goblin King" feeling like a natural return to ghoulish form. It might be a controversial pick, but it's a Scooby adventure you have to see to believe.

Released just in time for Halloween 2001, "Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase" brought the gang into the digital age. As Mystery Inc. visits a friend of theirs at a local university, they're soon zapped into a computer game he made based on their zany adventures. The culprit? A mysterious Phantom Virus that has somehow projected itself into the real world (ala "Tron"), only to follow the gang back into cyberspace. As Mystery Inc. is forced to beat every level, they come face-to-face with digital versions of themselves, as well as avatars of some of their most iconic adversaries, such as Old Iron Face, the Tar Monster, and the best Scooby villain of them all – the Creeper.

"Cyber Chase" is a blast, and was a pretty monumental installment in the Scooby franchise. The brand had already been trying to modernize in prep for the 21st century, and now that the digital age was here, it felt like a natural continuation. Aside from being the last of four Scooby features to be animated by the Japan-based Mook Animation, "Cyber Chase" was also the first film to feature Grey DeLisle as Daphne Blake, and the last to star Scott Innes as Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers and B.J. Ward as Velma Dinkley.

Traveling to their own version of San Diego Comic-Con (called "Mega Mondo Pop! Comic ConApalooza"), "Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon" follows Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby (Frank Welker) as they convince the others to tag along, beyond thrilled to meet their television hero, Owen Garrison, aka the Blue Falcon (Jeff Bennett). But Garrison is perturbed by Hollywood's shameless "Blue Falcon" reboot, as they aim to give the character a darker, edgier, and more streamlined appearance that barely resembles the comic book character. The Batman comparisons here are half the fun, especially considering the gang have had their fair share of team-ups with the Caped Crusader as well.

Aside from the meaningful commentary on the way Hollywood is constantly rebooting their brands and characters, 2013's "Mask of the Blue Falcon" contains a lot of Hanna-Barbara-inspired antics. There are plenty of callbacks to not just "Dynomutt, the Dog Wonder," but shows like "Super Friends," "Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles," "Adam Ant," "The Herculoids," and even "Space Ghost." It's a lot of fun if you love classic cartoons, and shows us a different side of Scooby and Shaggy.

Leaning a bit more into the horror side of Scooby-Doo is "Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare," which understandably lives up to its name. Released in 2010, "Camp Scare" takes the gang back to Fred's (Frank Welker) old summer camp, now as counselors, just in time for them to encounter the villainous Woodsman. As the gang uncovers the mystery of the spooky happenings around the woods, they discover a larger conspiracy they hadn't expected. In what feels like a cross between Scooby-Doo and '80s horror slashers (seriously), this one has some pretty interesting twists. Sure, there's quite a bit going on at times, but the climax makes this one stand out as one of the most notable in this "modern" era of Scooby-Doo features.

Younger viewers will undoubtedly find "Camp Scare" a bit too frightening (the villains are spooky), but the summer camp setting mixed with the comedic tropes of Scooby-Doo make it a bit easier to digest. The film's utilization of classic horror tropes works remarkably well for a Scooby-Doo movie, and almost makes us wish the brand ventured into this territory more often.

1980s Scooby-Doo introduced the concept that some of the monsters that Scooby, Shaggy, and the gang face are real, and that was especially true of the made-for-TV movies released at the time. One of the best of these is the 1988 feature "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School," where Shaggy (Casey Kasem), Scooby, and Scrappy (both voiced by Don Messick) end up as the new gym teachers at Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls Ghouls. Thrown head-first into the world of monsters, the trio must learn to survive horrible witches, mirror monsters, and the boys at the neighboring military academy, all while keeping these monster girls safe.

It's not often that you find Scooby and Shaggy protecting monsters, but that's exactly what makes "Ghoul School" so special. As the pair learn to overcome their fear of the macabre, they turn out to be quite heroic in the end. Though Fred, Daphne, and Velma don't appear here (they had been largely written out of this era), "Ghoul School" is loads of spooky goodness. Even Scrappy is pretty manageable, despite his penchant for over-enthusiastic "Puppy Power." 

A lot can be said about the first two live-action Scooby movies. Some believe they're irreverent deconstructions, while others consider them generally faithful takes on the original material. Either way, 2002's "Scooby-Doo" and its sequel, "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed," are pretty hilarious, each with their own quirks and gimmicks that honor the classic cartoons. Whether the gang finds themselves at the haunted Spooky Island dealing with very real monsters or solving a mystery back home in Coolsville that centers on a man in mask, there's a fun mix of comedy, drama, and even some low-level horror here that give fans the best that Mystery Inc. has to offer.

Additionally, these flicks are notable for the introduction of Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, a character he would go on to become the official voice of in later years (and to this day). With the inspired castings of Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, "Buffy" star Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, and Linda Cardellini as Velma, these live-action flicks rank pretty high on many Scooby fan's lists, and for good reason. While future live-action ventures would be very hit or miss, these first two were gold.

When "The X-Files" hit the airwaves in the 1990s, extra-terrestrials became all the craze, and it wasn't long before that same fad hit Scooby-Doo and the gang. 2001's "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" is the most notable display of UFOs the cartoon had ever seen. The gang find themselves in the American Southwest, where they stumble upon an alien-inspired mystery in a small desert town, and the rest practically writes itself. As the team splits up, Scooby and Shaggy (both voiced by Scott Innes) meet and fall in love with newcomers Crystal and her dog Amber (Candi Milo), who have some major secrets of their own. Head-over-heels for his new "groovy" girl, Shaggy sings a love-song one won't easily forget. It's kinda spectacular.

Unlike the previous two direct-to-video Scooby films before it, this one's monsters don't turn out to be real, but that doesn't mean real aliens aren't involved somehow. In many respects, this movie took the franchise back to its "greedy real estate developer" roots, though it still managed to mix in some of the more modern ideas of real creatures as well. "Alien Invaders" was the last Scooby production to feature Mary Kay Bergman as Daphne, as she died prior to the film's release, thus the film is dedicated in her memory.

The first of the 1980s trilogy of Scooby-Doo made-for-TV features, "Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers" is a wild ride for any Scooby fan. Released in 1987, it was the very first full-length movie in the Scooby-Doo franchise, clocking in at just over 90 minutes. After Shaggy (Casey Kasem) inherits a Southern plantation estate from his deceased uncle (there are lots of those in "Scooby-Doo"), he, Scooby, and Scrappy (Don Messick) are soon harassed by an array of ghosts, including one Headless Horseman. Hoping to rid themselves of the threat, they hire the "Three Stooges"-inspired Boo Brothers, three actual ghosts, as "security," and that goes about as well as you might expect.

As far as Scooby movies go, there's a lot going on in "Boo Brothers," but that's part of the fun. One part treasure quest, one part paranormal adventure, this movie kick-started a Scooby TV movie craze at the end of the decade. Without it, we likely wouldn't have as many Scooby-Doo films as we do. Also, "Dukes of Hazzard" star Sorrell Booke voices Sheriff Rufus Buzby in the film, which is just perfect casting all around.

The second direct-to-video Scooby-Doo adventure, 1999's "Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost" features everything we love about Scooby-Doo. A classic small-town mystery, plenty of Scooby and Shaggy (Scott Innes) hijinks, ties to the paranormal, and a plot twist that we don't see coming. In every way, "Witch's Ghost" feels like the perfect Scooby movie to watch around Halloween, and remains a powerful addition to the franchise. As horror author Ben Ravencroft (Tim Curry) invites the Mystery Inc. gang to his hometown of Oakhaven for their annual harvest festival, they soon discover that the spirit of his dead ancestor (who was tried as a witch) is plaguing the community. Or is she? 

To this day, many consider "Witch's Ghost" to be the best Scooby-Doo feature of them all, with its stylish animation, complicated characters, and overall spookiness as significant draws. It's also notable for being the introduction of recurring franchise characters the Hex Girls, who are still just as popular as ever nearly 30 years later. With a more mature, grown-up version of the Mystery Inc. team, it's fun to see these characters develop, even if Scooby and Shaggy stay relatively the same.

Was there ever any doubt that the best Scooby-Doo movie is 1998's "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island"? Credited with reviving the Scooby brand and kickstarting the nearly three-decade long direct-to-video line of animated features, "Zombie Island" is by far the scariest Scooby-Doo film of them all. As the Mystery Inc. gang reunite after a year away from solving mysteries, they find themselves on the eerie Moonscar Island, which is haunted by the zombie spirits of old pirates who once terrorized its people. As the movie's tagline reads, "this time, the monsters are real," putting our heroes in the middle of immortal danger that threatens them like never before.

As the first Scooby feature spearheaded by Mook Animation, "Zombie Island" raised the bar for Scooby-Doo entertainment. Not only are the art style and animation incredibly detailed, but the characters are more complex than before, with a mystery that is especially frightening by the time the third act rolls around (kids beware). At a time when the Scooby-Doo franchise was largely reruns and nostalgia, this movie sparked new life into the talking dog, and has stuck with us ever since.