Straight to the Top

The first Scooby-Doo cartoon aired the year I was born, 1969, and I grew up watching the Mysteries Inc. Gang expose alleged monsters and ghosts as phonies. I can't remember a time when Scooby hasn't been on TV, and I'm looking forward to visiting old friends when Charlotte's old enough to enjoy these mysteries without getting scared.

One Scooby-Doo cartoon I'll have avoid for awhile is Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.

In 1998 this full length movie was a reboot of the original TV series. After growing up and getting real jobs, the old gang reunites for one last mystery tour. The problem is, as far as this cartoon world is concerned, the monsters are real. When Fred tries to pull off the zombie's mask, the zombie's head comes off instead. And the head continues to move and groan.

That would be too much for Charlotte to see. It was pretty strong stuff in '98 when I watched it with my then seven-year-old nephew. We were both on the couch, but Zach was hiding behind my legs. When that head came off, Zach's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline.

Alarmed, he whispered, "Brent? Do you ever pray to God when you get scared?"

"Yeah, if I get too scared, I ask God to help me."

Zach replied, "Me too," and he leaned in close, "Sometimes I just skip right over Jesus."

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