SithVamp Reviews: Scooby-Doo and KISS

Welcome back to Rock and Roll March on SithVamp Reviews! Since last time I looked at a movie starring the Beatles, now I’ll spotlight a movie featuring another one of the World’s greatest Rock Bands: KISS. And no, it’s not KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, it’s a Scooby-Doo movie: Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery! Is it a rockin’ animated experience or just WB Animations trying to cash in on KISS’ popularity? Let’s find out as we dig into Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery!

Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery came out last year, in 2015. The movie opens at a KISS-themed amusement park called KISS World. Here, we see two workers testing the roller coaster. Suddenly they get attacked by the Crimson Witch, who looks like if Big Barda fused with the Scarlet Witch, the Shredder and Thor. The Scarlet Witch appears and she keeps saying: “Give Me Rock!” and she traps the workers in the roller coaster. The workers manage to get away and they try to tell their boss, Mr. Manny Goldman about the Witch, but he pretends not to believe them. It turns out that Mr. Goldman actually does know about the Witch, because as the workers leave, he calls

Then we cut to the Scooby-Gang: Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo, voiced, like most of the time, by Frank Welker, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard and Mindy Cohn, driving to KISS World in the Mystery Machine for KISS’ Halloween concert. Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne and Velma are dressed in KISS cosplay, but Fred isn’t. Fred says that he was part of a band named the Ascot 5 (whom Fred thinks are better than KISS), but the others don’t seem to care about it. Oh, and the Ascot 5’s music sucks. Fred is also jealous, because Daphne has a crush on one of the members of KISS: Starchild.

Anyway, the Scooby-Gang arrives at KISS World, but they see that people are fleeing from the theme park. The security guard of KISS World, Delilah Domino tells the Scooby-Gang to go away too. It’s also revealed that Daphne didn’t get Mr. Goldman’s call, she only came because KISS is giving a concert. A little later the Scooby-Gang secretly sneaks inside KISS World and as they hide, Delilah is talking to Mr. Goldman and she insists that she can solve KISS World’s problem alone.

Fred, Daphne and Velma take a peek inside Mr. Goldman’s office and they see him arguing with one of his investors, Chip McGhoo, who’s trying to sell KISS merchandise, and he hopes that the park closes down so he can sell his KISS merchandise. And BTW, you better get used to Chip, because all he does throughout the movie is advertising KISS stuff. The Scooby-Gang soon gets discovered by Mr. Goldman and Delilah, but then KISS themselves show up and the opening credits start rolling, while the song “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night” is playing.

After the opening credits, the Scooby-Gang meets KISS: Starchild, Demon, Spaceman and Catman, voiced by the actual members of KISS: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. The Scooby-Gang, except for Fred, are happy to see KISS, and the band says that they too are mystery solvers. Demon says that he and KISS can solve the mystery alone and they don’t need the Scooby-Gang’s help, but Starchild tells him and the others that they could use some help. In the end, KISS (and Demon reluctantly) agrees to work together with the Scooby-Gang.

Later, KISS and Mr. Goldman tell the Scooby-Gang about the Crimson Witch and Daphne thinks she’s looking for a rock, considering how she keeps screaming “GIVE ME ROCK!!!” while wreaking havoc. The Scooby-Gang and KISS decide to look for clues, except for Demon, who goes off to have dinner, and since they’re hungry too (like always), Shaggy and Scooby join him (much to his annoyance). So yeah, Demon, Shaggy and Scooby step off for dinner, while Fred, Daphne, Velma, Starchild, Catman and Spaceman start searching for clues.

Shaggy and Scooby try to get past Demon to get his food, but he catches them and chases them off. Since they can’t eat, Scooby and Shaggy decide to go on some rides. Demon rejoins the other members of KISS, and they, along with Fred, Daphne and Velma, find the roller coaster, where the Crimson Witch’s last attack happened. After they magically change costumes, KISS takes a break and the Scooby-Gang meets another employee of KISS World: a young scientist named Shandi Strutter, and Fred starts fancying her.

Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby are still walking around the park, but suddenly the Crimson Witch attacks them and starts chasing them, and as we see the chase scene in one of the KISS rides, the KISS song “Shout It Out Loud” is playing in the background. After the song ends, the Crimson Witch keeps chasing Shaggy and Scooby, but they are saved by KISS, who turn out to have superpowers! By using their powers, KISS fights the Crimson Witch and they manage to save Shaggy and Scooby.

Scooby and Shaggy pass out, but the Scooby-Gang revives them with a stick of Churro. After they wake up, Shaggy and Scooby tell the others about their encounter with the Witch. They also tell the others about KISS’ superpowers, but they don’t believe them. This is when another employee of the park enters: Chikara, the Fortune Teller, who acts a little crazy. Chikara warns KISS to stay away from the Scooby-Gang or the Crimson Witch will get them.

Velma is suspicious about Chikara, so she and Spaceman go to ask her how much she knows about the Crimson Witch. Meanwhile, Daphne, Fred and Starchild go back to the scene, where Scooby and Shaggy were attacked by the Crimson Witch to find more clues. Oh, and Fred is still jealous. Since they annoy him, Demon disappears, leaving Catman to look after Shaggy and Scooby.

We then see Fred, Daphne and Starchild looking for clues and Daphne asks Fred to take a picture of her and Starchild. Since he’s jealous, Fred covers out Starchild’s face with his finger on purpose and this turns into an art-off between him and Starchild (who calls Fred “Frank”). That is, until Daphne finds a trap door. This must be a clue, so Daphne, Fred and Starchild go down the ladder under the trap door and into the catacombs under the park.

Meanwhile, Velma and Spaceman pay Chikara a visit. They ask her what she knows and then she opens the Book of KISS and starts telling a story. Chikara says that the Rock the Crimson Witch is looking for is the Rock of KISSteria, a key to unleash evil. Rock of KISSteria belongs to the World of KISSteria and it was protected by a group of warriors, called the KISS Army. The Crimson Witch created a monster called the Destroyer to destroy KISSteria, but the KISS Warriors forced the Destroyer into a volcano with magic crystals and after they trapped him, they put the power of the crystals into the Rock of KISSteria. The Crimson Witch wants the Rock so she can release Destroyer on Halloween Night. The Rock has been protected by many KISS Warriors and is now in the possession of the current members of KISS. Also, according to this movie, the Rock of KISSteria is the thing KISS sings about in their song: “Detroit Rock City”. Also, in the Book of KISS, we see symbols, like an Ankh and a Fox (obvious references to past KISS members: Vinnie Vincent aka “The Ankh Warrior” and the late Eric Carr aka “The Fox”).

Anyway, since she still doesn’t trust her, Chikara throws Velma out, so Velma and Spaceman leave. Meanwhile, Daphne and Fred are still down in the catacomb, but Starchild is missing. After an encounter with Chip (the guy who’s advertising KISS merchandise), Fred and Daphne find Starchild in the special effects lab and here they also meet Shandi again. Shandi takes Daphne, Fred and Starchild to the chemical lab and tells them that many chemicals have gone missing. Oh, and Fred is only crushing on Shandi to make Daphne jealous.

Meanwhile, Shaggy and Scooby help Catman set up the stage and he tells them to get the props called the KISS Monsters. Shaggy and Scooby go down to the Warehouse and they find the KISS Monsters, but the Crimson Witch attacks them again and brings the KISS Monsters to life. But the KISS Monsters disappear and Shaggy and Scooby reunite with the rest of the Scooby Gang.

Then we see Velma showing the possible suspects on the computer: Mr. Goldman, Chip, Delilah Domino, Shandi and Chikara. The Scooby-Gang already knows that it can’t be Mr. Goldman or Delilah, because they don’t want to lose their jobs, but they do suspect Chip, who always lurks around trying to sell his KISS stuff; Shandi, who has access to the chemical lab and Chikara for her weird behavior and strange knowledge of the Crimson Witch. Then KISS shows up again and they hand the Rock of KISSteria over to the Scooby-Gang.

Meanwhile, the KISS fans are growing impatient as they wait for the concert. Mr. Goldman and Chip see this and Chip thinks he could cash in on the concert, but Mr. Goldman tells him the concert is free (much to Chip’s shock). Oh, and Delilah leaves the office…

The Scooby-Gang and KISS decide to lure the Crimson Witch into a trap and, like always, they send Shaggy and Scooby to be the bait. Shaggy and Scooby take the Rock, and they are soon attacked by the Crimson Witch. The Scooby-Gang captures the Witch, take off her mask, but it’s not a criminal, it’s a twisted old face! KISS confronts the Crimson Witch again and they fight her by using their superpowers. Unfortunately the Witch gets away.

Since they have the Rock, the Crimson Witch starts chasing Shaggy and Scooby again, but KISS and the rest of the Scooby-Gang go after her on a big spaceship shaped like a Gibson Les Paul guitar and they go through a portal to KISSteria. As they chase the Crimson Witch, KISS sings the song “I Was Made for Lovin’ You”, but despite them slowing her down, they don’t catch the Witch. Oh and she gets hold of the Rock.

The Scooby-Gang and KISS enter the World of KISSteria and here is where they meet the KISS Army, led by the Elder. The Elder tells KISS that they must stop the Crimson Witch from releasing the Destroyer or all will be lost, not only for KISSteria, but also for Earth. The Elder also tells the Scooby-Gang to go with KISS. Oh, and Fred tries to put on KISS makeup to make Daphne like him again, but it makes him look like a mime and everyone mocks him.

Anyway, the Scooby-Gang and KISS go after the Crimson Witch again, and Demon tells Shaggy and Scooby how to breathe fire: they have to swallow all their darkest fears, hold them in for a while and let them all out in a fireball. KISS and the Scooby-Gang soon arrive at the volcano, where the Destroyer is trapped, and KISS once again confronts the Crimson Witch and fight her with their superpowers. To stop them, the Crimson Witch brings some Harpy Gargoyles to life and sends them after KISS and the Scooby-Gang. KISS fights off the Gargoyles and so does Shaggy and Scooby who do what Demon told them: they swallow their fears and breathe fire, turning some of the Harpies into a roast chicken!

Starchild tries to stop the Witch, but she succeeds and releases the Destroyer! The Destroyer is just a big head and he looks like if Galactus fused with MODOK. Anyway, the Destroyer is released, and the Scooby-Gang tells KISS that they should make “Too much Rock and Roll” in order to stop him. Starchild suggests that while he and KISS give a concert in KISS World the Scooby-Gang should distract the Destroyer. The Scooby-Gang accepts.

KISS goes onstage and they start playing the song “Detroit Rock City”. While the song is playing, the Destroyer is still chasing the Scooby-Gang, but KISS quickly comes to their aid and by using their superpowers, they destroy the Destroyer. Once the Destroyer is destroyed, the Scooby-Gang falls back to KISS World unconscious through the portal.

After that, Shaggy and Scooby wake up again on hospital beds and here comes the only part in the movie that I hate: Velma, Daphne and Fred tell them that everything, including KISSteria, the Destroyer and KISS’ superpowers, was just a hallucination caused by the Crimson Witch’s gas! No way am I buying this!

Anyway, the Scooby-Gang and KISS decide to capture the Crimson Witch (for real this time) and find out who she really is.  They lure her into the camera room and here it turns out that the Witch has been using a gas canister that she stole from Shandi’s chemical lab and an anti-gravitational belt to make her fly. The Witch gets trapped in cables hanging from the ceiling and the Scooby-Gang reveals who she really is: it’s Delilah Domino the chief security guard! Velma says that Delilah used to work for a secret agency and that’s how she knew where everything was and she wanted to get the Rock of KISSteria so she can give it to that said secret agency. She just dressed up as the Crimson Witch to scare customers out of KISS World.

And by the movie’s end, Delilah gets arrested and KISS and the KISS World employees thank the Scooby Gang for helping them solve the mystery and even Demon changes his mind about Shaggy and Scooby. Even Fred apologizes to Starchild, but gets a little worried when Starchild kisses Daphne goodbye. And as the Scooby-Gang leaves KISS World, it turns out that Velma was wrong: Shaggy and Scooby see that KISS indeed has superpowers and they fly up in the sky and take the Rock back to KISSteria. Shaggy and Scooby decide to keep this a secret and then the ending credits start rolling as we hear the song: “Modern Day Delilah”.

And that’s Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery! What do I think of it? I… I actually enjoyed it! And I gotta tell you: *THIS* is what the Jem movie should have been like! An animated musical superhero movie!

Good things:
- It’s an animated movie featuring KISS
- The music of KISS
- KISS having superpowers and they fight ancient demons
- I liked how Demon was the grumpy one.
- Shaggy and Scooby turning the Harpies into roast chicken!
- I liked how in the Book of KISS they made references to ex-KISS members: Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr.

Bad things:
- Chip constantly advertising KISS stuff

Favorite character:
- Daphne
- Demon
- Catman
- Velma
- Starchild
- Shaggy
- Spaceman

Least favorite character:
- Delilah Domino
- Chip

So overall, I think Scooby-Doo and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery is impressive. I’m giving it 9 out of 10. See you next time on Rock and Roll March on SithVamp Reviews! Keep Rockin’!