Weekly Poll #297

8/24/2025

This is the final round of our VHS-released episodes poll series! All of the winners from the past month and a half are now facing off against each other, to determine one winner for the best Scooby episode released on VHS! I included the Behind the Scenes shorts in this final round, since they were a piece of media released on VHS but didn't really fit in any of the other polls.

The top 2 in last week's final results should come as no surprise. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see Boo Brothers got so much love!

What is your favorite Scooby-Doo movie to be released on VHS?
Zombie Island - 16
Witch's Ghost - 10
Boo Brothers - 9
Cyber Chase - 6
Alien Invaders - 5
Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed - 5
Where's My Mummy? - 3
Scooby Goes Hollywood - 2
Ghoul School - 1
Legend of the Vampire - 1
Monster of Mexico - 1
Loch Ness Monster - 1
Reluctant Werewolf - 0
Arabian Nights - 0
Scooby-Doo (2002) - 0
Aloha - 0

18 Comments

WildwindVampire link

8/24/2025 08:03:14 am

11. France and Australia - No quality difference here at all compared to the rest of the episodes. Actually, the intense kangaroo race with Scooby-Dum and Mumbly comes close to Zombie Island for having the darkest tone in any Scooby-Doo media! Lol jk, at least for me, this is an easy standout for last place and doesn’t even come close to the others.

10. The Scarab Lives! - Like I mentioned in its original poll, I do kinda like the setting here, but the mystery and villain don’t do too much for me. Certainly not a bad episode, though.

9. Behind the Scenes shorts - These are really cute shorts! I enjoyed the quirky, tongue-in-cheek writing quite a bit. Fred singing showboat to calm the others after a tough mystery still gives me a good laugh lol.

8. The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld - This is where it gets really tough for me. This feels way too low considering I think of it as one of the best Scrappy episodes, but it just goes to show what an iconic list this is. Love the villain and strong atmosphere in this one!

7. The Ghoul, The Bat and the Ugly - This and the previous episode are very close in quality, but this one slightly edges it out as my favorite from the series. The haunted house and horror awards setting is such a cool vibe. The Shadow Creature is also one of the best villains in the Scrappy era imo. Fantastic episode!

6. The Vampire Strikes Back - My favorite What’s New Scooby-Doo episode. Fortescu Castle is easily one of the best and most unique castle settings in the franchise imo. The atmosphere here is so so strong, and I love the unique vampire design! The Hex Girls being here is also a major bonus.

5. The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair - I debated switching this episode and “The Vampire Strikes Back,” but ultimately I have a little more nostalgia over this one. Despite not having a strong villain, this episode has so much to offer. The Joker and Penguin haunted house subplot is a really great supplement to an already excellent mystery. And while the last episode had the bonus of the Hex Girls, this one is graced by the bonus of Gentlemanly Batman lol.

4. The Nutcracker Scoob - While I would consider the previous two to be slightly better quality, I have more nostalgia over this one. I love the warm Christmasy vibes of this, and the villain and settings are also really strong. This is my second favorite episode of the entire Scrappy-Doo era.

3. A Night of Fright Is No Delight - This marks the cutoff where it goes from tough to impossible lol. This is an all-time classic that would be my vote in most other polls, but this set is so strong that the other two are slightly better.

2. Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats - Very very close to “A Night of Fright Is No Delight” for the incredible dark tone, and the amazing villain, setting and mystery. Scooby-Dum also balances this episode out nicely with a little comedy relief. While this may be my favorite episode here, the remaining movie comes out just ahead.

1. Zombie Island - With this being here, not much else stood a chance for me lol. I could easily see this movie winning this poll series, but it will be interesting to see if one of the other classic episodes is able to pull off the win.

Matt

8/24/2025 09:05:03 am

I like all of the options here to varying degrees so this should be fun

11. France and Australia- Agreed with this being easy last place, though this is fine

10. Behind the Scenes Shorts- I actually wanted to put this higher on the list because I love everything in that late 90s-Cyber Chase era, but it is hard for them to stack up to the rest of these

9. The Vampire Strikes Back- It sucks putting a great What’s New episode so low, but the other episodes are in my all time top 100, while this one is close, but didn’t get there

8. The Ghoul, the Bat, and the Ugly- These next two Scrappy episodes are really close for me. I do have slightly less nostalgia for this one though. It does make up for that with one of the best settings of the series and a really interesting mystery

7. The Scarab Lives- I think this is a standout pilot in the series, and is a really interesting concept

6. The Nutcracker Scoob- I remember last December flipping around the tv on Christmas day and finding this on Cartoon Network and it is just such a warm vibe. These 83-84 two part episodes just have really good vibes even if this is not my favorite of them

5. The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld- Ugh I wanted to put this HIGHER, but the top 4 are some of the biggest heavy hitters in the franchise. But this is just such a good episode and is an all time classic, but I have already said my deal about this one many times

4. The Dynamic Scooby Doo Affair- Talk about action packed. The way they made such a well done multi layered mystery and really utilized the runtime. Gentlemanly Batman provides a really polite presence that really ties it all together lol

3. Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats- For these top 3, it is almost at the point where it is like, what else needs to be said about these three lol. Brilliant episode

2. A Night of Fright is No Delight- It will be interesting to see what wins between this and Zombie Island, which I assume are the two contenders for this poll, as the most acclaimed movie and most acclaimed episode of the franchise. I think I might know the answer though

1. Zombie Island- Best thing in this franchise, no competition for me

WildwindVampire link

8/24/2025 09:54:52 am

10. I really debated where to put these too. Ultimately I decided to put them above "The Scarab Lives" since even though they're objectively lesser substance/quality imo, I feel more fondness for them than I do that episode.

6. Completely agreed on the vibes of 1983 and 1984 two-parters all being amazing. I wish there had been a whole season (or series) of them made.

2. I'm guessing Zombie Island will be our winner, but it will be very interesting to see considering "A Night of Fright Is No Delight" has won 7 polls overall on the blog as opposed to Zombie Island's 5 wins.

Matt

8/24/2025 01:34:47 pm

6. And they all just have very good vibes in different ways too. You take Wedding Bell Boos, Nutcracker Scoob, and Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle for example, they all have very different vibes, yet that same warmth that overlaps them I think

2. That is my guess as well, but it can be difficult to beat A Night of Fright is No Delight in these polls

WildwindVampire

8/24/2025 01:39:54 pm

6. That’s what I love about those episodes too. To me, they all feel quite experimental compared to previous content on the franchise at the time, but also feel loosely connected through that warmth that isn’t really present in any of the 11 minute episodes to the same extent.

Matt

8/25/2025 07:53:54 am

6. I would say the 11 minute episodes kind of have it, but in their own way, and that way is definitely not as strong as the two part episodes. The one that gets closest for me is The Hand of Horror, which makes sense why it is my favorite out of any of the 11 minute episodes from either series

WildwindVampire link

8/25/2025 09:25:16 am

I agree that "The Hand of Horror" is probably the closest it gets to the two-parters of that series, although it still doesn't quite get there imo.

Mr Neith

8/24/2025 09:55:10 am

The Dynamic Scooby Doo Affair, that's the one I remember most in VHS from my childhood.

WildwindVampire

8/24/2025 03:15:40 pm

I would say I’m nostalgic over almost the entire series, but I also remember watching the Batman and Globetrotters episodes the most because of their sets. I can’t remember if I had the VHS or DVD for the Batman set though.

Spooky Space Ghost

8/24/2025 01:46:51 pm

1. A Night of Fright Is No Delight: I was torn between this episode and Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats. I was lucky enough to watch A Night of Fright Is No Delight yesterday on Boomerang, and although it was my fourth time watching it in a short time, it's still incredible! The mansion contains secret rooms, which contributes to many twists and turns in the episode. Scooby-Doo is particularly prominent in this episode and brings a good dose of humor to the story. A Night of Fright Is No Delight is undoubtedly a model episode of the franchise.

2. Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats: I must admit that I've never been a big fan of The Scooby-Doo Show, but this episode really stood out to me. The atmosphere in the hotel is incredibly creepy and frightening, especially in the coffin room. This makes Gramps the Vamp's appearances even more terrifying, even though this isn't the first time a vampire has appeared in the franchise. Finding the culprit seems obvious, but the events triggered by the vampire, including Lisa's transformation, lead us to see the monster as very real. Of all the installments in the franchise I've seen, Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats is the scariest.

3. Zombie Island: I don't know what to say about this film; it's certainly the most realistic in the franchise. The zombie appearances are horrifying, and the ending is even more so.

4. The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair: I loved the collaboration between Batman and the gang in this installment. Unlike his appearance in Guess Who, Batman was much less withdrawn, so much so that he came across as a fully fledged member of Mystery Inc. If he had been a little funnier, I think he would have worked very well with Fred. Of course, the scene with the Joker and the Penguin is my favorite in the episode! All the haunted house trappings and the Joker's humor were excellent!

5. The Nutcracker Scoob: This excellent Noel episode is an example of what could have been achieved during the Scrappy era. The supporting characters, especially Winslow Nickleby, were particularly well-developed. The Noel Ghost was an excellent choice for a monster, especially because it works well with the play the gang presents in the episode.

6. The Vampire Strikes Back: The atmosphere of the castle and the presence of the Hex Girls make this episode particularly memorable. I'm glad the writers finally found a new way to prevent us from finding the culprit too easily!

7. The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld: The amusement park looks like it came straight out of The Jetsons! I think this futuristic episode is particularly ingenious in its way of creating a new kind of atmosphere with robots, which is still just as scary. The episode loses some of its appeal when the gang arrives in London, but its uniqueness elevates it to the top of the Scrappy era!

8. The Ghoul, The Bat, and the Ugly: In both The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, I'm not a fan of movie- and showbiz-themed episodes. When I think back on this episode, I mainly remember the ingenious choice of culprit.

9. France and Australia: I really liked this episode, but more as a Yogi fan than a Scooby-Doo fan (I wonder if the same is true of Arabian Nights). I'm ranking it here simply because it's not really a Scooby-Doo episode, but I think the fact that it's in this poll already makes it a great Laff-A-Lympics episode.

Ranking all these great episodes wasn't easy, but I enjoyed the activity! I also wanted to let you know that this is my last poll before school starts again. I'll still participate, but I'll stick to writing about my top pick instead of ranking them, as I did in May.

WildwindVampire link

8/24/2025 03:12:40 pm

2. Interesting to see different opinions on this show! I’d be curious to know what you like less about The Scooby-Doo Show compared to some of the other Scooby shows!

5. Completely agreed that this is a great example of what the Scrappy era could have done. This episode shows there was a lot of potential, so it’s a shame there aren’t many more episodes like this one.

6. I also really love how creative the solution to the mystery was. The way the mystery was written definitely made it harder to guess.

Totally makes sense. Good luck with the start of the school year!

Spooky Space Ghost

8/24/2025 01:48:38 pm

Speaking of rankings, I remembered a cartoon ranking I used to consult a lot a few years ago. It came out in 1994 and was compiled by Jerry Beck, the writer of The Hanna-Barbera Treasuries, with the help of several other animation experts. Together, they published a book listing the 50 best Canadian and American cartoons of all time. I was lucky enough to get the book from a library and found it very informative. I wish we could one day decide to revise this ranking, since several cartoons came within a few votes of entering the top 50.

This ranking, completely dominated by Looney Tunes, unfortunately only contains one Hanna-Barbera cartoon: The Cat Concerto. Yogi, the Flintstones and the Jetsons are mentioned in the first pages, but I don't remember Scooby-Doo being there. I would be curious to know if episodes like A Night of Fright Is No Delight could have made the list.

If you're curious, you can check out the book's Wikipedia page. I recommend the French version, since the English version doesn't list the rankings.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_50_Greatest_Cartoons

WildwindVampire

8/24/2025 03:13:28 pm

That’s an interesting book! I hadn’t ever heard of it before, so thanks for sharing!

Matt

8/24/2025 09:08:27 pm

I would assume Scooby Doo episodes wouldn’t qualify for that list at all as these are all theatrical shorts/individual release shorts, not part of a series. These Looney Tunes for example only became a tv series when they were packaged together for shows like The Bugs Bunny Show later on but they weren’t released that way

Becker

8/24/2025 03:04:48 pm

Zombie Island is the best, but Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats gets my vote for the same reason Boo Brothers did lol.

WildwindVampire

8/24/2025 03:14:21 pm

Honestly I’d be happy with any of my top 3 winning. Zombie Island will most likely win but it’d be cool if Vampire Bats could pull off an underdog win!

sdf

8/25/2025 08:16:52 am

11)France and Australia - Easily 11th place for me as well. I remember the kangaroo race, and that’s it.

10)The Scarab Lives! - Average episode with some cool ideas, but nothing much to distinguish it from the others.

9)Behind the Scenes shorts - I remember seeing these shorts in between shows on Boomerang. They’re super fun, and some interesting information about the gang is shared here, but in the end, they’re just shorts and can’t go higher.

8)The Ghoul, The Bat and the Ugly - Tough to place it that low because of how much I like it (one of the best and darkest Scrappy episodes), but the others are really strong candidates. Thrilling setting, though.

7)Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats - Now, a really hot take, I guess. Awesome episode with a great villain and eerie setting, but for some reason, it was never one of my favorites in the series (I don’t think I even have it in my top 10, if I remember well).

6)The Nutcracker Scoob - Nice and warm Christmas episode with a great villain. The only reason this isn’t higher is because of the nostalgia I have for the others.

5)The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld - Probably my favorite Scrappy episode. Nice futuristic concept, an interesting cameo from Sherlock Holmes, the eerie Victorian London setting, a great mystery, and last but not least, a super creepy villain.

4)The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair - Tons of nostalgia for this one, as I saw it a billion times as a kid. The mystery is interesting, and Batman and the rest of the Gotham crew are great guests, but it kind of lost its magic when I saw it as an adult.

3)The Vampire Strikes Back - As I said last week, nice villain, spooky setting, and of course, the Hex Girls. One of the better WNSD episodes.

2)A Night of Fright Is No Delight - If we had to choose the ultimate classic episode, I guess this would be it. One of the most iconic mysteries in the franchise, one of the darkest early episodes, and featuring some of the most iconic ghosts in Scooby history.

1)Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island - Easy choice, because this is always going to be No. 1 on every list. The ultimate piece of Scooby media.

WildwindVampire link

8/25/2025 09:31:30 am

Our lists are super similar this week!

10. Glad I'm not the only one who feels this way about this episode. It's not a bad episode but it has never stood out to me.

8. Although I placed it a spot above you, I also hated how low I had to place this! Just goes to show what a strong final set we had.

7. I went back and looked at your list on ScoobyAddicts, and you put it as #19. This one is my favorite of the entire series, but there's some strong competition with how great the episodes in this show are.

Weekly Poll #297

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