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"SCOOBY-DOO!: CAMP SCARE" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD September 14 Official Scooby Doo Camp Scare site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Scooby and the gang head out to Camp Little Moose where Fred spent his formative years. However, now there’s a creature haunting the woods, and it comes to life every time someone tells a ghost story. While the Mystery Inc. gang butts heads with the group from the cooler and fancier Camp Big Moose, they try to solve the mysteries of the woods.
WHAT I LIKED
I’ve been a fan of Scooby-Doo since I was a child, which is to say from the days of the original “Scooby-Doo! Where are You?” cartoons in the 1970s. Scooby and the gang have gone through many changes over the years, with appearances in multiple television series as well as direct-to-DVD movies.
Over the past decade or so, Warner Bros. has been developing a neat slate of direct-to-DVD movies, which takes the Mystery Inc. gang to new heights. Sometimes the monsters are real, and sometimes they’re not. I won’t say which is the case with “Camp Scare,” but the option is out there, so now you actually can wonder if it’s a real haunting or some greedy land grabber or Old Man Smithers.
“Camp Scare” brings Scooby and the gang to a new location, which offers a change of scenery. Plus, being set in a spooky campground allows this DVD selection to be a choice for a neat little Halloween scare for the kids, while keeping things safe.
“Camp Scare” is a typical Scooby-Doo show with all the characters falling into their familiar pattern. But isn’t that why we watch Scooby-Doo in the first place?
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Anyone over the age of twelve watching a Scooby-Doo mystery will find plenty of problems with cliches, formula and general silliness, but it’s not made for the grown-ups. While these direct-to-DVD movies fall more in line with grown up tastes than many of the other kids shows resurrected from our youth, it’s ultimately a movie for kids, and my kids loved it. That’s really all that matters.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with spooky stories told from the movie as well as a bonus episode of “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Inc.” This last feature serves as a test run for anyone curious about the new iteration of the Scooby-Doo characters. It’s far better than “Scooby and Shaggy Get a Clue” and has a continuing storyline, which is nice to see for a change.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Original fans of the Scooby-Doo mysteries... and their kids.
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"GOOSEBUMPS: THE BLOB THAT ATE EVERYONE" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: Scholastic Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
R.L. Stine’s wildly popular scary book series “Goosebumps” comes to life in these mid-90s television adaptations. Three episodes are featured on this disc: “The Blob That Ate Everyone,” “My Hairiest Adventure” and “Piano Lessons Can Be Murder.”
WHAT I LIKED
As a fan of horror fiction, I always respected what R.L. Stine did with the genre for children in the 90s. I was too old to enjoy the “Goosebumps” books as a child, having graduated from college in the mid-1990s. However, I broke with many educators and championed these books. Now that I have kids, I enjoyed sharing these (and the original books) with them.
“The Blob That Ate Everyone” is a simple story that seems inspired by Stephen King’s “The Word Processors of the Gods.” A twelve-year-old finds an old typewriter and discovers that anything he writes comes to life. For as all-encompassing as this story can be, this is a pretty self-contained story. It offers a pretty cool monster that eventually appears and shows off some real potential peril.
“My Hairiest Adventure” tells the story of a boy who, after using expired tanning lotion, finds himself turning into a dog-like creature. It features one of the better twists in these recent episodes released on disc, even though it follows the typical formula set out by Stine with a male protagonist and his female friend. This is my favorite story on the disc for how far it takes the psychological effects.
“Piano Lessons Can Be Murder” features a boy taking piano lessons at a music school. But something there isn’t quite right, and a ghost appears to be haunting the school. This story is cool enough for kids to enjoy. It provides a typical beware-of-adults message and actually features an interesting mix of creatures.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Because these shorts were produced on a limited budget in the mid-1990s, they feature some pretty weak special effects, and the video production quality is quite low. They’re low-budget filmmaking, and it shows. Aside from that, the only other complaint one could have would be with the predictability of the stories, which is par for the course on the “Goosebumps” front.
DVD FEATURES
No features are available on the DVD.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Kids into “Twilight Zone” stories, children’s style.
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"GOOSEBUMPS: GO EAT WORMS!" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: Scholastic Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
More short horror stories for kids are on this release of R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps”: “Go Eat Worms!” “Bad Hare Day” and “Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes.”
WHAT I LIKED
Like the disc of “The Blob That Ate Everyone,” this release includes three episodes of the “Goosebumps” series from the mid-90s. In “Go Eat Worms!,” we find a pre-teen boy who is fascinated with worms, to the point that he tortures his sister Regina with them. However, one day, the worms fight back. This episode was rather clever and has a great ending reminiscent of an old short film I saw once featuring Ewan MacGregor called “Desserts.”
“Bad Hare Day” reminds me more of an old “Tales from the Crypt” episode than the more obvious “Twilight Zone” stories. It follows a kid who meets a real magician only to discover the white rabbit in the act is actually another magician trapped by a spell. But things aren’t always as they seem. The writing in this one is cheesy, even for a “Goosebumps” story, but the overall concept saves it. While these stories were never overly violent, this one has a grim ending to it.
“Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes” is exactly what you’d expect. A family buys some lawn gnomes for their yard, which they are entering into a neighborhood competition. But at night, the weird little statues come to life and cause plenty of mischief. Probably my least favorite of the series, it still is enjoyable for kids to watch.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
As stated previously with the other “Goosebumps” shorts, the biggest problems include a low budget and poor production design. This really only comes into play with “Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes” because the gnomes themselves are almost too cheesy to watch. But as before, the kids will still enjoy the shorts as companions to the book series.
DVD FEATURES
No features are available on the DVD.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Kids into “Twilight Zone” (and “Tales From the Crypt”) stories, children’s style.
