Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! (NR, 2007)

In a DVD that will appeal to every fan of the mangy mutt and his meddling crew, CHILL OUT, SCOOBY-DOO! follows the adventures of Scooby-Doo (voiced by Frank Welker ), Shaggy (Casey Kasem), Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle), and Velma (Mindy Cohn), as they try to solve the mystery of the abominable snowman, high in the Himalayas. The adventure starts when Shaggy and Scooby are diverted from a planned Parisian rendezvous with the rest of the gang, and instead are dropped unceremoniously in the Himalayas as bait for a hunter determined to capture the mythical Yeti. The pair come across a brother-sister duo who disagree about whether the Yeti exists, and eventually the rest of the gang shows up in the Mystery Machine to put the question to rest.

Slapstick but clean humor and lots of red herrings will keep viewers between ages 4 and 11 amused and intrigued until the very end. Yet the Paris scenes introduce a puzzling and unnecessary change to the traditional tone and energy of the Scooby-Doo franchise: it seems that Daphne is burned out by mystery solving, and would prefer to shop and flirt with clueless Fred. It doesn't seem fair to leave Velma as the only girl in the movie whose heart is with the mission.

As with every Scooby-Doo caper, there are a couple of side characters who may or may not be the bad guys. An ambitious scientist appears to be in the Himalayas in search of Shangri-La, but that plot angle quickly veers off in another direction. Other stock-in-trade Scooby characteristics, like Shaggy and Scooby's incessant eating, Velma's "Jinkies!" and the terrific reaction shots as characters realize they are in danger, give this an authentic feel.

Studio: Hanna-Barbera Productions
Director: Joe Sichta
Cast: Casey Kasem, Frank Welker, Mindy Cohn
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 73 minutes
Theatrical release: September 4, 2007
DVD release: September 4, 2007
MPAA Rating: NR
MPAA explanation: not rated