"The Secret of Shark Island", along with the Batman and Robin episodes, was one of my first episodes of 'The New Scooby Doo Movies'. It also was one of my favourites as a kid.
Re-watching the episode, as part of my re-watch of the whole show after a while, this reviewer does like it less than as a kid. It is not a bad episode at all, so far it's fourth best of the series after "Wednesday is Missing", "The Dynamic Scooby Doo Affair" and "The Frickert Fracas" and a big improvement over the previous episode "Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde" (the weakest so far).
It definitely has its flaws. The animation was never a strong point of 'The New Scooby Doo Movies' and it doesn't hold up as great now. There is definitely far worse in the series, as the setting is one of the creepiest and most atmospheric of the show, but it is despite the setting and nice colours is pretty poorly drawn with a lack of smoothness and finesse and a lot of crudeness.
While the mystery is not as dull as "The Ghastly Ghost Town" or "Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde", to a lesser extent "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner" as well, the mystery does feel like it plays second fiddle to Sonny and Cher's guest appearance (same with most of the gang, apart from Shaggy and Scooby) though still has some interesting parts and some great atmosphere. It is let down too by the very obvious identity of the main villain behind the crime, one of the most obvious in the show as a result of too few suspects.
However Sonny and Cher make for one of the show's most memorable and fun guest appearances, are far better used than the Three Stooges in their first outing for example, have good chemistry and their lines are some of the funniest of the show to me. Scooby and Shaggy also have some good lines, that are endearingly goofy and vintage Scooby Doo.
The sharks are still quite creepy, especially when upright. The music is haunting and energetic with the theme song as catchy and infectious as ever and the voice acting is strong, especially from Don Messick, Casey Kasem and Sonny and Cher. Frank Welker, Heather North and Nicole Jaffe do their best and handle their roles with conscientiousness and professionalism but deserved more to do.
Overall, the fourth best episodes of the show so far on re-watch (re-watching in order of airing and listing) but its flaws are more noticeable. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Re-watching the episode, as part of my re-watch of the whole show after a while, this reviewer does like it less than as a kid. It is not a bad episode at all, so far it's fourth best of the series after "Wednesday is Missing", "The Dynamic Scooby Doo Affair" and "The Frickert Fracas" and a big improvement over the previous episode "Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde" (the weakest so far).
It definitely has its flaws. The animation was never a strong point of 'The New Scooby Doo Movies' and it doesn't hold up as great now. There is definitely far worse in the series, as the setting is one of the creepiest and most atmospheric of the show, but it is despite the setting and nice colours is pretty poorly drawn with a lack of smoothness and finesse and a lot of crudeness.
While the mystery is not as dull as "The Ghastly Ghost Town" or "Sandy Duncan's Jekyll and Hyde", to a lesser extent "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner" as well, the mystery does feel like it plays second fiddle to Sonny and Cher's guest appearance (same with most of the gang, apart from Shaggy and Scooby) though still has some interesting parts and some great atmosphere. It is let down too by the very obvious identity of the main villain behind the crime, one of the most obvious in the show as a result of too few suspects.
However Sonny and Cher make for one of the show's most memorable and fun guest appearances, are far better used than the Three Stooges in their first outing for example, have good chemistry and their lines are some of the funniest of the show to me. Scooby and Shaggy also have some good lines, that are endearingly goofy and vintage Scooby Doo.
The sharks are still quite creepy, especially when upright. The music is haunting and energetic with the theme song as catchy and infectious as ever and the voice acting is strong, especially from Don Messick, Casey Kasem and Sonny and Cher. Frank Welker, Heather North and Nicole Jaffe do their best and handle their roles with conscientiousness and professionalism but deserved more to do.
Overall, the fourth best episodes of the show so far on re-watch (re-watching in order of airing and listing) but its flaws are more noticeable. 8/10 Bethany Cox