New direct-to-video feature-length movie. Scooby-Doo and the gang visit a friend in Mexico to celebrate the Day of the Dead (Mexico's version of Halloween). Unfortunately, a monster appears and begins terrorizing the town.

Sooner or later, the Mystery, Inc. gang had to take on Mexico's legendary Bigfoot equivalent, El Chupacabra, and that's precisely what they do in this entertaining, feature-length, Scooby-style investigation into the paranormal. Taking the Mystery Van south of the border, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo celebrate Day of the Dead festivities, which become less festive when a towering, glowering Chupacabra monster turns up to terrify both tourists and locals. The young snoops smell a conspiracy, and as they chase down clues their search for the truth leads them into sundry Mexican antiquities--ancient tombs and temples--where danger increases exponentially. There are the usual rituals: Our time-warped heroes run like the wind during encounters with alleged ghouls--particularly best-buds Shaggy and Scooby, when they aren't stuffing themselves with delicious Scooby Snacks. The animation is slicker and smoother--and more pleasing--than some other, recent Scooby-Doo features. --Tom Keogh