They’re Just in Time for Halloween: Seasonal Treats to Delight Kids

Video

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. Warner Home Video. 90 minutes. $19.96. This full-length feature marks the reunion of the TV cartoon gang. Daphne, now a TV reporter, and Fred, her producer, get together with Velma (a mystery bookstore owner) and Shaggy and Scooby (they’ve just lost their jobs as customs inspectors) to investigate a haunted house in Louisiana bayou territory. It’s more entertaining than you’d expect, despite the familiar Saturday morning-type animation. The hook this time: The zombies, ghosts and sharp-toothed monsters are real. Warning: Some of the cartoon gruesomeness is too intense for very young viewers.

Mad Mad Mad Monsters. Golden Books Family Entertainment Home Video & Audio. 45 minutes. $12.98. A forgettable effort from Rankin/Bass, this ‘70s TV cartoon teams up Dracula, Wolfman and other monsters in a “Bride of Frankenstein” spin.

Audio

Hunk-Ta Bunk-Ta Spooky! Katherine Dines. Hunk-Ta Bunk-Ta Music. CD: $14.95; cassette: $11.95. (800) 289-6923; https://songs.com/hunkta. Ages 6 to 12. Exceptional children’s artist Katherine Dines serves up a delightful Halloween treat: atmospheric songs and stories filled with shivers and smiles. With Shakespeare, Poe and her own love of language as inspiration, Dines conjures up chilling fun in such offerings as “Nobody’s Home but Mister Jones’ Bones,” “The Giant Pumpkin,” “Ooey, Gooey Stew” and “The Coffin,” all interwoven with commentary from Dines’ persona as a mysterious old Southern storyteller. Her vivid liner notes are just as entertaining.

Elmo Says BOO! Sony Wonder Music. CD: $13.98; cassette: $9.98. Preschoolers. The little red monster is joined by the Count, Grover and other Sesame Street pals for kid-friendly themed songs such as “Monster Mash,” “Monster in the Mirror,” “Transylvania 1,2,3,4,5” and “Be Kind to Your Neighborhood Monster Songs.”