Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is a 1998 animated comedy horror film based on Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo Saturday-morning cartoons. In the film, Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Velma, and Daphne reunite after a year-long hiatus from Mystery, Inc. to investigate a bayou island said to be haunted by the ghost of the pirate Morgan Moonscar. The film was directed by Jim Stenstrum, from a screenplay by Glenn Leopold.

Popularity for Scooby-Doo had grown in the 1990s due to reruns aired on Cartoon Network. The channel's parent company, Time Warner, suggested developing a direct-to-video film on the property, but it eventually became a theatrical release. The team at Hanna-Barbera consisted of many veteran artists and writers. Much of the original voice actors of the series were recast for the film, although Frank Welker returned to voice Fred Jones. It was also the first of four Scooby-Doo films to be animated overseas by Japanese animation studio Mook Animation. Rock bands Third Eye Blind and Skycycle contribute to the soundtrack.

Zombie Island contains a darker tone than most Scooby-Doo productions, and is notable for containing real supernatural creatures rather than people in costumes. The film was released on September 22, 1998, and received positive reviews from critics, who complimented its animation and story. The film is also notable for being the first Scooby production featuring the entire gang (sans Scrappy-Doo) since The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries episode A Halloween Hassle in Dracula’s Castle, which premiered on ABC on October 27, 1984. The film was aided by a $50 million promotional campaign, and sponsorship deals with multiple companies. The film was a massive box office success, grossing $187 million on a budget of $30 million.

Two decades after the film's release, Warner Bros Animation released a sequel, ''Scooby Doo! Return to Zombie Island'', released in 2019.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Ronin and Urban Legend and was projected to gross $20-25 million in its opening weekend. However, after grossing $17 million on its first day, including $1 million from Thursday night previews, projections were raised to $35-40 million. The film ended up debuting with $45 million, knocking holdover Rush Hour off the top spot. At the time, multiple publications called the film's debut "staggering" and "surprising", and Warner Bros. announced they were fast-tracking a sequel. In its second weekend, the film retained its top position, grossing $34 million and upsetting projected winner Antz, another animated film. The film was first in its third, fourth, and fifth weekends, grossing $25 million, $17 million, and $10 million, respectively. However, in the film's sixth weekend, it was knocked down to second by newcomer Vampires, grossing $7 million.

Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 92 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's consensus reads, "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is packed with fun animation and light humor that make this an enjoyable flick." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F.