The Story:
Let me start out by saying I've never watched a "new" episode of the Scooby Doo cartoons. I began my Scooby experience in the Scooby Doo, Where Are You? days, and followed it through its first run episodes featuring Scrappy. I still catch reruns, but had yet to stumble upon the updated cartoons. So, for purists, I'll tell you what I noticed was different. The animation is more "cartoonish" and polished than the original series, but I found it refreshing. Some of the voice actors are different. Shaggy (hats off to Casey Kasem) and Scooby are in good voice, and even Fred sounds good. Velma is a little different, but passable. Daphne is a disappointment. In terms of personality traits, I now understand why the characters acted the way they did in the live action movies—they were clearly based off the 'What's New' characters. Fred is a little dumb and athletic, Velma is insecure, and Daphne is sort of air-headed and obsessed with her looks. I guess the creators wanted to give more dimensions to these three. They also give them more of a role. Scooby and Shaggy just don't get as much screen time as in the old episodes (not enough if you ask me). And the other characters are much more animated…and I mean that in terms of how much they move. The old Fred, Daphne and Velma mostly stood in the same poses or ran in the same manner. Now, all three are much more mobile: swimming, jumping, falling, changing outfits—you actually see midriffs on both girls! Wow. Times have changed. What's also changed is the theme song. This updated theme (same as the title of the new series) is performed by Simple Plan. The band does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of a Scooby theme. Just as the original theme had that 60s surf's up sound, this one has that new millennium post-punk pop sound. My only real complaint about this modern show is the background score during the episodes. It's completely different than the original sneaky sounding, clue searching music from the original series, which was one of the best parts!!! Also, the laugh track is gone! I guess it's just a thing of the past, but there was always something endearing about laugh tracks on cartoons because it was just such a ridiculous concept.

Okay, now onto the review of this disc. For starters, let me say that, although the word 'Halloween' is in the title of this collection, there isn't a jack-o-lantern in sight! It's a marketing technique. This is also subtitled "volume 3", so it must have just been decided that for this volume, throwing in the name of everyone's favorite pagan holiday would sell the disc more. Having said that (and having been a little disappointed about the lack of Halloween spirit in the actual shows) here's a breakdown of each episode.

The Vampire Strikes Back—the Scooby gang helps a girl band stalked by a vampire while shooting a video in a castle. Classic Scooby Doo material here, with full moon, bats, fog, and more. And for a little bit of trivia, the real band who performs the girl band songs for this episode features Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Gos!

Mummy Scares Best—the Scooby gang is off to the pyramids, where they have a run in with a mummy and an ancient curse. This episode was too cute for my tastes, lacking the eerie atmosphere of most Scooby episodes. But, there's a creepy twist at the end that I just loved—a little something happens to a few of our lead characters.

High-Tech House of the Future—this one reminded me of the remake of "Thirteen Ghosts." The gang gets trapped in a professor's crazy futuristic house. This one was okay, but not creepy enough for a 'Halloween' collection. Oddly, the 'chase' music in this episode is a Paul Van Dyke track, for all you dance/trance/techno/house fans. Talk about modernizing a classic cartoon!

She Sees Sea Monsters by the Seashore—this was one of my favorites. I have a thing about water creatures, thanks to Jaws when I was a kid, and this one captures that fear, and might even freak out some young viewers! And this one uses "Rockaway Beach" by the Ramones as musical accompaniment at one point! Totally didn't expect that.

Overall, I'd say two episodes were really good, and two were just okay. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the musical appearances, and a little disappointed in the amount of screen time Scooby and Shaggy received. But the staples of the series are there, including Velma losing her glasses, crazy chase scenes, and of course, the unveiling of the criminal and the final "I would have gotten away with it…" tagline to each episode.

The DVD

Video:
I find that cartoons usually look excellent on DVD, and this is no exception. The colors are right on, vibrant and rich. The image is sharp. The episodes retain the original 1:33:1 fullscreen format used for television broadcast, but even viewed on a widescreen television, they don't feel stretched out.

Sound:
Really nice Dolby 2.0 sound. Pro Logic automatically kicked in on my receiver, and there was a wonderful simulation of surround.

Extras:
First off, you have the option of turning on English, Spanish, or French subtitles. As for the fun stuff, there's a bit of filler hear that probably won't even entertain the kids, but there was one extra that I really enjoyed.

Scooby's Famous Foes—this seemed like wasted space. It's short 'bios' of each of the monsters from three of the episodes on this disc, but it's all clips from the shows you just watched, with a little narration on top of it, filling you in on the monsters' origins.

Shari the House of High Technology—well, read the above paragraph and apply it here for the fourth episode. Don't know why it wasn't included above. Guess because the house wasn't a 'foe.'

Sneak Peeks—Previews of various other childrens shows, as well as the second Scooy Doo motion picture.

WB Studios Tour—this part was the best! A tour guide from WB Studios takes Scooby and Shaggy—and us—on a tour of famous sets used in various TV shows and movies. It's shot mostly in first person, so you feel like you're on the cart with Shaggy and Scooby, who add their funny comments to the tour as the guide drives. But, even better, the whole time this actual man is talking to the camera and guiding us, Shaggy and Scooby are freaking out, because they keep seeing ghosts all over the place. Animation is combined with live action for a fun little virtual tour scenario where you learn some interesting movie facts.

Final Thoughts:
What's New Scooby Doo, volume 3: Halloween Boos & Clues is a misleading title for this collection, which features 4 episodes, some scarier than others, but none of which actually revolves around Halloween. But, it's still solid Scooby fun. Kids will love this updated take on a classic series, and adults who are fans of the show will need to do only minor adjusting to the modernization of animation, voices, and music. Any small drawbacks for purists is far outweighed by the enjoyment of joining the Scooby gang on a new mystery, and this collection is as scrumptious as a Scooby Snack.