If you were to list the most enduring cartoon characters of all time, amongst the Homer Simpsons, the Fred Flintstones, and the Daffy Ducks, there would be one name at the top of the list – and that name would be Scooby-Doo!
Since the arrival of his first TV show in 1969, Scooby and his gang of pals – better known as Mystery Incorporated – have been hunting down monsters, solving cases, and unmasking bad guys with gusto. And on top of all this, the team have also been starring in an exhaustive collection of movies.
You see, as successful as the various Scooby-Doo television shows have been – and they have been very, very successful – the movies have been just as popular. But what are they all and in what order do you watch them?
Today I’m serving up some answers, so sit back, relax, grab some Scooby Snacks and prepare yourself with a whole lot of Doo! But first up, let’s deal with the movies that aren’t quite movies.
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The New Scooby-Doo Movies
OK so I’m starting with a bit of a cheat here with The New Scooby-Doo Movies, because despite the name, these aren’t actually ‘movies’, instead this was a short-lived TV show which ran for two seasons between 1972 and 1973. The series saw Mystery Inc. team up with various pop culture icons of the day to solve crimes.
Billed as ‘movies’, each episode would see the gang investigating a case that would have them cross paths with a big named star of the 1970s, ranging from the Harlem Globetrotters, to The Addams Family, and The Three Stooges. Heck, they even teamed up with Sonny and Cher!
So, not a collection of movies, but I’ve included this show in this post for two reasons:
- Most people presume these are movies
- Some of the episodes have been released on home video as ‘mini movies’, including the ever popular, Scooby-Doo Meets Batman (a ‘movie’ created by combining The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair and The Caped Crusader Caper)
Should you want to watch these ‘movies’, you can view them as follows:
- The New Scooby-Doo Movies – season one
- The New Scooby-Doo Movies – season two
In total, The New Scooby-Doo Movies ran for 24 episodes.
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The TV special ‘movies’
In 1979, Hanna-Barbera Productions produced an animated TV special called Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood. This was the beginning of a number of Scooby TV specials/ movies that would air between the ‘70s & the ‘90s.
If you want to watch these TV specials/movies, then here’s the list:
- Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood (1979)
- Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987)
- Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)
- Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)
- Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994)
In addition to the above, there were also a couple of feature-length ‘retrospective specials’ featuring Scooby-Doo. These are not Scooby-Doo movies, but do feature the Doo in some way.
For reference these are:
- Hanna-Barbera’s All-Star Comedy Ice Revue (1978)
- Hanna-Barbera’s 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989)
OK, onto something HUGELY successful now and probably the reason you’re reading this post.
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The direct to video movies
In 1998, Warner Bros. Animation released the first in a very long run of Scooby-Doo movies. This series of films proved popular and to date is Scooby’s most successful run of movies.
The first entry in this series was Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. This movie reintroduced Scoob and the gang for a modern audience, and took a slightly darker tone than what had come before.
Due to the success of Zombie Island, the movie was followed by Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost!, Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase. All were hits and proved there was a lot of life – and financial potential in the Scooby-Doo direct-to-video market.
After these initial entries, the series then took a lighter tone for film number five – Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire – as well as the subsequent films that followed. Once again, these films were very popular and allowed Scooby to continue a long-running career on home video.
Over the course of time, the direct to video Scooby-Doo films have seen Shaggy and Scooby share screen time with the likes of Batman, Dynomutt, Kiss, Krypto the Superdog, and even the WWE wrestlers. And in 2019, the series also linked back to an old Scooby-Doo ‘toon to produce a sequel/conclusion to the 1985 TV series The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, in the shape of Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost.
If you want to work your way through this impressive collection of movies, you’ll need this list:
- Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)
- Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost! (1999)
- Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)
- Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003)
- Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster (2004)
- Aloha Scooby-Doo! (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! in Where’s My Mummy? (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)
- Chill Out Scooby-Doo! (2007)
- Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King! (2008)
- Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword! (2009)
- Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo! (2010)
- Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare! (2010)
- Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur (2011)
- Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire (2012)
- Big Top Scooby-Doo! (2012)
- Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (2015)
- Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)
- Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood (2016)
- Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Speed Demon (2016)
- Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown (2017)
- Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash (2017)
- Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost (2018)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019)
- Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island (2019)
- Happy Halloween Scooby-Doo! (2020)
- Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob (2021)
- Scooby-Doo! and Courage the Cowardly Dog (2021)
- Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022)
- Scooby-Doo! And Krypto, Too! (2023)
In addition to the above titles, Warner Bros. Animation has also released a series of direct-to-video shorts. These aren’t really movies, but if you want to check them out then here is the list:
- Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Games (2012)
- Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays (2012)
- Scooby-Doo! Spooky Scarecrow (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie (2015)
- Lego Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror (2015)
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The live-action movies
While the vast majority of Scooby-Doo movies have been animated, there is a collection of live-action features starring Mr. Doo. The first two movies in this collection were released theatrically, while the next two entries were made for television prequels.
The movies are as follows:
- Scooby-Doo (2002)
- Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
- Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009)
- Scooby-Doo! The Curse of the Lake Monster (2010)
The theatrical releases – Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed – are perhaps best remembered for starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr, Linda Cardellini and Matthew Lillard. Meanwhile, the prequels may not have had the same star power, but they still proved to be hits on TV.
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The live-action movies take two
In 2018, the live-action brand continued beyond the first collection of movies with a reboot/prequel. Only one entry was created for this series.
If you wish to watch the movie, it is as follows:
- Daphne and Velma (2018)
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The big screen animated adventure
Back to animation now, for the animated Scooby-Doo movie, Scoob!, which featured the voice cast of Amanda Seyfried, Will Forte, Jason Isaacs, Mark Wahlberg, and Ken Jeong. The film was created for a theatrical release, but sadly this fell to the wayside because of the global pandemic in 2020.
Should you want to check it out, take a look for:
- Scoob! (2020)
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Production order
OK, time to start wrapping things up…
Should you want to watch all of the Scooby-Doo films (irrespective of which category they fall into) then your best bet is to watch them in production order. If this order tickles your pickle, then work through the movies as follows:
- Scooby-Doo Goes Hollywood (1979)
- Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987)
- Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)
- Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)
- Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994)
- Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)
- Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost! (1999)
- Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000)
- Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)
- Scooby-Doo (2002)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003)
- Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
- Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster (2004)
- Aloha Scooby-Doo! (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! in Where’s My Mummy? (2005)
- Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)
- Chill Out Scooby-Doo! (2007)
- Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King! (2008)
- Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword! (2009)
- Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009)
- Scooby-Doo! The Curse of the Lake Monster (2010)
- Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo! (2010)
- Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare! (2010)
- Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur (2011)
- Scooby-Doo! Music of the Vampire (2012)
- Big Top Scooby-Doo!
- Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright (2013)
- Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy (2014)
- Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (2015)
- Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery (2015)
- Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood (2016)
- Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Speed Demon (2016)
- Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s Showdown (2017)
- Scooby-Doo! Blowout Beach Bash (2017)
- Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2018)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Gourmet Ghost (2018)
- Daphne and Velma (2018)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019)
- Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island (2019)
- Scoob! (2020)
- Happy Halloween Scooby-Doo! (2020)
- Scooby-Doo! The Sword and the Scoob (2021)
- Scooby-Doo! and Courage the Cowardly Dog (2021)
- Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! (2022)
- Scooby-Doo! And Krypto, Too! (2023)
You’ll note, I’ve not included the New Scooby-Doo Movies, the Hanna-Barbera ‘retrospective specials’ or the shorts in the above list. Feel free to add them to your viewing order if required.
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So, what is your favourite Scooby-Doo film? Are you a fan of the direct-to-video films or do you have a thing for the live-action pictures?
Perhaps Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed is for you, or maybe Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!? It’s possible you just can’t get enough of Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy, or Scooby-Doo! and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Well, whichever is your favourite Scooby-Doo film, be sure to let everyone know.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post about the Scooby-Doo movies on It’s A Stampede! – I hope it has proved useful. For more useful posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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One Response to What is the best order to watch the Scooby-Doo movies?
Amazing. Thank you for this as a long time scooby doo fan (48 years) this is a bible so to speak. My son is the next gen (started with Kizz and scoob) of scooby lovers and he just asked what was the first movie and i found your page.. great work and thank you again
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