Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost

Belated sequel to the short-lived TV show The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985), made for the franchise's fiftieth anniversary. That show, although not hugely popular at the time (it was cancelled early), later acquired a cult following as an early example of Scooby-Doo encountering the genuine supernatural. No sequel so long afterwards was going to please everybody, and when it was announced fan reactions ranged from 'OMG! I've waited so long for this!' to 'I won't hold my breath for this to be decent, let alone good'.

The 13 Ghosts TV show focused on Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby (no Fred or Velma), assisted by Scrappy (Scooby's nephew), Flim-Flam (a young con artist), and a warlock named Vincent Van Ghoul (voiced by the legendary Vincent Price), and the first thing most people wanted to know was whether this would do the same. It doesn't. Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby ALL feature - plus Vincent Van Ghoul and Flim-Flam, but no Scrappy. The second thing people wanted to know was whether the ghosts would again be real - I won't spoil that one.

The first half of the movie is very good. It quickly recaps the original show, reintroduces Vincent (now voiced by the excellent Maurice LaMarche) and has some very funny moments (not least Shaggy and Scooby's response when they realise they've got to go back and capture the 13th ghost that slipped through their grasp last time). There are also a whole load of visual nods to Scooby's adventures back to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You in 1969. But by the half-way point the initial quick-fire pace starts to ease off, with fewer callbacks to the original. It's not that it's bad from then on, but it feels less of a continuation and more like its own thing. The conclusion (again, I won't spoil) has fans divided, with some loving it, and some not so much.

At the end of the day it's as wacky as you'd expect. The regular voice cast (Frank Welker, Grey DeLisle, Matthew Lillard, and Kate Micucci) are on top form. The character interplay is as strong as ever, and there are some laugh-out-loud moments. It's not quite what I'd hoped it would be, but it's still enjoyable. 7/10.

With the overwhelming amount of animated Scooby-Doo movies being essentially copy-paste products, then it is progressive getting more and more difficult to find the will to invest time and money into sitting down to watching them.

But alas, my son wanted to watch this 2019 addition to the Scooby-Doo franchise, so of course I indulged him and went along with him to watch it. And I must say that it was actually one of the better and more interesting of animated Scooby-Doo movies I have seen in a while.

Sure, it still follows the traditional run-of-the-mill blueprint of how to make a proper Scooby-Doo movie, which it should also do, by all means. After all, it is part of the charm and what we love about the Scooby-Doo franchise, isn't it? But at the same time, the people at Hanna-Barberra managed to keep it fresh and adding just that addition twist and spice to it, to make it outstanding and interesting.

For me it was the wonderful nod towards Vincent Price in the character named Vincent van Ghoul. Not only did it look like the late Vincent Price, but also sounded much like him, and the dialogue of this particular character was just loaded with nods and references to the old horror movies that Vincent Price was in.

The animation style and the art style was loveable and wonderful, as it always is in these animated Scooby-Doo movies, and that is also one of the things that I love about the franchise. No matter how many years have passed, it remains the same. Sure they have opted for some questionable movies and such, but I always find comfort in returning to the cartoons and animated movies that look and feel like they did when I was a child watching Scooby-Doo every Saturday and Sunday morning.

For an animated movie, then a proper cast for the voice acting is a must. And as always, then they nailed it right on the head with "Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost". They always do. You, of course, have the wonderful talents of returning voice actors Frank Welker, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard and Kate Micucci, which pretty much sums up the entire thing that is the Mystery Gang. But then you throw a voice like Maurice LaMarche into the soup and he nails it spot on with his impression of Vincent Price.

"Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost" is a much needed and much welcomed addition to the Scooby-Doo franchise, and hopefully it will set a new standard of what to expect from forthcoming movies in the franchise. This is definitely well worth a watch for old-time fans of Scooby-Doo as well as newcoming fans.

Mortifer and Vincent trap 13 evil spirits in a magical chest. Mortifer sacrifices himself in order for Vincent to escape. In present day, the kids screw up a case and they have to stop solving mysteries. Fred even sells off the Mystery Machine. While selling the rest of their gear, they uncover a crystal ball and are contacted by Vincent. It was a case without Velma and Fred. The others and Scrappy-Doo vanquished 12 ghosts. With a new vehicle, the gang heads off to help Vincent defeat the final ghost.

This follows The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985) which I never saw. I don't think that it's necessary to understand this movie. It is notable that Vincent Price voiced Vincent VanGhoul in the TV series. So, it's not so macabre to have a rando voicing an obvious Vincent Price character. The bigger issue is that Mortifer is too obvious. It's obvious right from the beginning. As for the gang, I get the forced retirement but I do not abide with selling the Mystery Machine. They can refurbish it. They can add to it. They cannot get rid of it. I do not like the new van and I hope that they do not keep it. It's only good comedically for Fred not being able to drive it. The next mystery should be tracking down the Mystery Machine. The actual mystery is a bit messy but whatever. It does go back to the standard mystery which is helpful. This is not that good but it's enough. They better get the Mystery Machine back.

I just loved this movie, really. I remember myself back when I was like 8 years old and I was watching the 13 ghosts of scooby doo, God I was crazy about this gang, it was something different. When I watched that movie I felt nostalgic, that van ghoul and flim flam comeback was adorable. The only thing that's bothering me is the absence of scooby's nephew and Fred's cheerleading thing, otherwise, I like it very much.

Way back in 1985, a pair of bumbling ghosts named Bogel and Weerd tricked Scooby and Shaggy into opening a chest of demons, and it was up to the beloved goofballs to return all 13 escaped specters into the mysterious box. To aid them in their mission, Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy, and Daphne were joined by a young con artist named Flim-Flam, and a warlock named Vincent Van Ghoul (voiced by and modeled after horror icon Vincent Price). Unfortunately, the show was canceled with only 11 demons back in the chest.

"The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo" was a departure from the established formula. Although it wasn't considered a hit at the time, it immediately began to develop a cult following, which has grown in the ensuing decades thanks to occasional reruns and a DVD release. It was wildly irreverent and self-referential years before that became a standard, plus the ghosts were real. Vincent Van Ghoul went on to become a recurring character in "Mystery Incorporated," although in that incarnation, he became an outright caricature of the late Mr. Price.

So for the 50th anniversary of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!," WB decided to greenlight two sequels, one that finally gave closure to the "13 Ghosts" and a follow-up to "Zombie Island," which is universally regarded as the best Scooby-Doo movie ever made. Both films give little nods and winks to their predecessors, but they each managed to disregard the established stories in really insulting ways.

This film begins with a promising prologue with Mr. Van Ghoul, which is followed by a brief recap of the show. But instead of picking up where they left off with Scrappy and Film-Flam in tow, it's the usual goings-on at Mystery Inc., with Fred and Velma being utterly oblivious to events that transpired while they were away at summer camp. It quickly becomes clear that the writer goofed by not cluing them in. Velma becomes obnoxious in her skepticism of the supernatural (which she's witnessed in many instances in many different timelines), and Fred is reduced to an endless barrage of unfunny gags as Daphne assumes the role of the group leader.

It takes way too long for the gang to be reunited with Vincent and Flim-Flam, who are both a shell of their former selves. Mr. Van Ghoul was charming as a washed-up horror actor in "Mystery Incorporated," so they made the colossal mistake of transplanting THAT version of the character into this story. Instead of being a powerful mystic, he's a powerless eccentric who continuously delivers insipid pun-filled one-liners. Flim-Flam fares slightly better. Now, the huckster does have a few shining moments where he feels like the original character, but they gave him absolutely nothing to do. If you snipped his few scenes out of the movie, it wouldn't change the story at all.

Furthermore, there's no Bogel and Weerd, or even Scrappy-Doo. Bringing Scrappy back for one final outing would have been the right thing to do, and since he was at his least annoying in the original show, maybe they could have even made him likable. The absence of the charmingly goofy Bogel and Weerd is downright unforgivable since, at the very least, they could've offset Velma's relentless ghostly skepticism.

What made the show stand out from the pack is that it dared to be different, with its regular throwaway gags and zany sense of humor. A few other Scooby iterations have come close to recapturing that feeling ("Frankencreepy" immediately springs to mind), but they didn't even attempt it here. And that might've been okay if they'd gone the darker route of the original "Zombie Island" or "The Witch's Ghost," which for a while seemed to be the intention. Sadly, the tiny bit of goodwill that they accrued is negated by the final act, in which the story suddenly devolves into a run-of-the-mill Scooby tale.

As a stand-alone Scooby-Doo film, it's overwhelmingly average. As a finale to the series, it ranks right up there with "Lost" and "Game of Thrones" as one of the most unsatisfying conclusions in television history.