Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! starts with an ill-fated excursion by Professor Jeffries (Alfred Molina) and his sherpa guide Pemba (James Sie), who are seeking the Lost Kingdom of Shangri-La, high atop Mount Everest in the Himalayas. There, they encounter the huge, vicious Abominable Snowmonster. Meanwhile, Shaggy (Casey Kasem) and Scooby (Frank Welker) are unknowingly being brought to the Himilayas by Alphonse LaFleu (Rene Auberjonois), a big game hunter who seeks the Snowmonster and who has tricked Shag and Scoob into coming along so they can be used as bait. In Paris, the rest of the gang - Fred (Frank Welker), Daphne (Grey DeLisle) and Velma (Mindy Cohn) - are relaxing, wondering where Scooby and Shaggy are since they were both supposed to meet them there for their shared vacation.

Of course, Shag and Scoob immediately get drawn into the search for the Snowmonster, with the aid of Minga (Kim Mai Guest), the sister of Pempa, and Del Chillman (Jeff Bennett), a friendly DJ located at the weather station high in the mountains. Clued in by The High Lama (James Hong) about a valuable gem held sacred by the villagers that is also used to ward off the attacks of the Snowmonster, naturally, the criminal - whomever he or she may be - is out to snatch it.

It's tough to work up much enthusiasm for Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! because although some of the rough framework from the original series exists, much has changed at this point, and only a vague feeling of déjà vu remains. Obviously taken from earlier Scooby-Doo episodes like That's Snow Ghost! and The Ghost of Bigfoot, Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! can't even muster up a vaguely discernable twist to its familiar plot mechanics. The decision to split up the gang for the first half or more of the show doesn't work, either, although I'm sure by this point, the suits at Warner Bros. (who now produce all the Scooby-Doo material) figure that Shaggy and Scooby are the most easily - and therefore profitable - marketable characters in the franchise, so screen time is disproportionately thrown towards them.

As for the voice work, of course it's great to have Frank Welker still doing Fred after all these years, and his work as Scoob is right up there with Don Messick's interpretation (although, Scoob seems fairly quiet in these later incarnations). However, it must be noted that Casey Kasem, the original voice of Shaggy, may be at the point where it's time to pass this character on to another voice performer. As much as I love Kasem's work as Shaggy, it's become apparent in Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! that Kasem's voice just isn't suited anymore to the youthful Shaggy. Often sounding out of breath, with whispery trailing-offs to his line readings, Shaggy's voice now no longer matches his image, and it's time to recast him, sad to say.

Ultimately, the real critics for a movie like Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! are its intended audience. Having a ready supply of kids of various ages, I sat my youngest ones down, and had them watch along (actually, they sat me down and demanded to watch Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! first, before any of my other titles). They seemed to enjoy the show quite well enough; I can't say they were laughing along with it like they do the original series, or even the fun reinterpretation, What's New, Scooby-Doo?, but they didn't walk out on it, either. No one asked to watch it again as soon as it was over (usually a good indication of quality with such young viewers), but later that day, they asked about it, so.... Not a knock-out but also not terrible, Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! pretty much fits into the generic, action-filled mode of most of these new Scooby-Doo movies: they're okay time-fillers, but classics? No.

The DVD:

The Video:
The full screen video image for Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! is bright, clear, and sharply detailed. Colors are absolute, and I saw no transfer issues whatsoever.

The Audio:
There's a strong Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround mix that's fun when you jack up some of the music cues (Portuguese and Spanish 5.1 Surround mixes are also available). English subtitles are also included.

The Extras:
There's a clip from Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! showing the gang singing along to the Pirate's Song. It's funny, but a fairly pointless commercial for the DVD that came out a year ago. There's also an interactive game, Scooby-Doo's Shangri-La Showdown, where you have Scooby either jump or duck under obstacles, using your remote (my kids won).

Final Thoughts:
The strangest thing happened when I put the disc in for Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!. I turned off the program the kids were watching to watch this movie - and the program they were watching was Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!. It had just started when I was getting ready to watch the disc version. I think that pretty much says it all as to whether or not you should actually purchase Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!. If you're a big fan, and your child must all the Scooby-Doo mystery movies, then by all means, buy Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!. It's okay, and you won't hate it. But if they just wait, it's going to show up on Cartoon Network for free. A rental should suffice if you're on the fence.