Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase

Plot

Mystery Inc. visits their old friend Eric Staufer, a college student who has invited them to see a prize-winning computer game he made based on their adventures and a high-tech laser, both intended for a campus science fair. Upon arrival, they learn that a monstrous computer virus called the Phantom Virus materialized from Eric's game and attacked him; his teacher Professor Kaufman drove it off with a high-powered magnet. The virus has been terrorizing the campus.

While investigating suspects—Eric, Kaufman, Eric's best friend Bill McLemore, and campus security guard Officer Wembley—the gang encounters the Phantom Virus. Someone uses Eric's laser to beam them into his game, where they learn they must complete every level by finding a box of Scooby Snax to escape. After initial difficulties in the first three levels, the gang progresses quickly to the final level, where they meet cyber-versions of themselves.

The cyber-gang leads them to an amusement park, where they battle real versions of previously faced monsters. Scooby's cyber-double distracts the Phantom Virus so the original Scooby can grab the last box of Scooby Snax, deleting the virus and returning the gang to the real world. Using baseball-related clues and phrases the virus used, they reveal Bill as its creator. Arrested by Wembley, Bill admits he was jealous that Eric's game was chosen for the science fair over his, so he created the virus to scare Eric away and claim the prize money.

He beamed them into cyberspace hoping they would not survive. The gang and Eric celebrate at a restaurant and reunite with the cyber-gang on Eric's laptop. In a post-credits scene, the gang tells the audience their favorite parts of the film.

Production

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase is the fourth direct-to-video Scooby feature and the last for the original team that worked on the first four films, led by Davis Doi and including Glenn Leopold, Jim Stenstrum, Lance Falk, and others. The team had previously clashed with studio executives who suggested outside screenwriters for the second film, Witch's Ghost. For Cyber Chase, executives recommended Mark Turosz, a writer under contract with Warner Bros. with little animation experience.

The crew, who had produced the first and third films with total autonomy, were insulted by Warner's insistence on using Turosz's script. The team criticized Turosz's draft, which Falk considered a regression in the franchise's potential, with unsatisfactory pacing and plot line, poor formatting, and unfamiliarity with animation processes—including complicated camera moves impossible within their budget and countless tedious locales. The original team moved onto other projects after completion; the next Scooby feature, Legend of the Vampire, was also written by Turosz.

Stenstrum initially suggested using live-action actors for scenes inside the video game, but the idea was quickly dropped. Cyber Chase features the largest array of storyboard artist credits among the first four films due to significant time constraints. It was the last Scooby film animated at Japanese studio Mook Animation. Three songs were produced: the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? theme performed by the B-52s, and two others, Hello Cyberdream and Double Double Joint, both produced by Richard Lawrence Wolf.

Home media

Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase was released on October 9, 2001 on VHS and DVD. DVD bonus features include a ten-minute behind-the-scenes featurette titled Making of Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase with interviews of voice actors; a promotional trailer; a spot-the-difference game called Virtual Detective; and a music video for Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Love to Eat, composed by Nelson Blanchard and Scott Innes and performed by Innes in-character as Shaggy and Scooby-Doo with a children's chorus. This music video also appears on other Scooby-Doo DVDs. The film was re-released on Blu-ray on March 29, 2011, becoming the first animated Scooby-Doo film produced in high-definition format.

Did You Know?

• On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on five reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10.
• Common Sense Media gave the film a two out of five stars, saying, 'Fine for fans of the franchise, but too much cartoon jeopardy for little kids.'
• The film was the first in the series to utilize digital ink and paint.