Scooby-Doo! und der Fluch des 13. Geistes

Being a huge Scooby Doo fan for goodness knows how long, any new show, special or film would be watched with great anticipation. While 'Scooby Doo Where Are You' is still the jewel of the crown of the franchise, one where most of the shows and films are watchable and more, a vast majority of the Scooby Doo films have a huge amount to like and are worth watching at least once.

Harkening back to, or spun off, the short-lived left incomplete mid-80s incarnation 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo', 'Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost' is not one of the best of the Scooby Doo films. Do prefer 'Zombie Island', 'Witch's Ghost', 'Big Top', 'Goblin King' (am aware that this is not going to be a popular opinion) and 'Mask of the Blue Falcon' (also really enjoyed 'Frankencreepy', 'Abracadabra Doo', 'Camp Scare' and 'Stage Fright', despite the last having an overstuffed and convoluted ending). Of the Scooby Doo films, the only one that didn't do much for me are 'Monster of Mexico', despite Scooby and Shaggy appearing in 'Arabian Nights' from 1994 not only does it not really count as a Scooby Doo film and also try to pretend that doesn't exist. 'Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost' is enjoyable on its own, it is a nice change of pace from the formula with the right amount of spookiness, endearingly goofy humour and attempts to be true to both the classic Scooby Doo and 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo'. Just to say, am aware that that show is not one of the most popular incarnations of Scooby Doo and is considered by some to be one of the worst. Personally have a soft spot for it myself and actually consider it underrated despite some take or leave elements, if mainly for the character of Vincent Van Ghoul and Vincent Price and liked that it tried to do something different.

'Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost' has a lot to like, much of it in common with many of the previous Scooby Doo films, and certainly do not think respectfully it is anywhere near as terrible as the negative reviewers have made out, talking about the continuity issues and how Fred is written without mentioning much of anything else. It's not what is being pointed out that is being objected to as actually a couple of the criticisms are valid, it's the rather mountain-out-a-molehill way it's being said. Enough of that, let's talk about the film. The animation is great, colourful, suitably spooky and sometimes imaginative. Everything is beautifully drawn and meticulously detailed, with rich, atmospheric colours and a lot of care and time clearly went into how the characters were drawn and move, Vincent Van Ghoul (like 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo', if not as much as that show as this Vincent Van Ghoul is leaner, he is uncannily based on Vincent Price who voiced the character originally and one he was made for) and Asmodeus in particular.

Music is both dynamic and groovy, with a lot of energy and a haunting undercurrent. The writing is smart and clever, as well as very funny. There are some endearingly goofy jokes (in classic Scooby Doo fashion, while also feeling current) and witty quirkiness, and loved the nods to 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo', including briefly mentioning the previous ghosts in the series, basing itself in the very first location of its first episode, the van and re-introducing Flim Flam who is a little (emphasis on little) less annoying here even when true to character (he does talk a little too much though and too fast) that helped make the film a change of pace.

Humour is quirky and upbeat but there are a fair share of thrills and macabre elements that stays true to 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo', which is what makes Scooby Doo so charming in the first place. Yes the creators were definitely having a ball with this. The story is mostly very compelling, with the right amount of upbeat goofiness and creepiness without being too cheesy or too scary. Asmodeus is suitably intimidating and absolutely loved the strong and resourceful characterisation for Daphne, at her most interesting in a while and another thing true to 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo'. Shaggy and Scooby are dead on as usual, but the standout is Van Ghoul, who fits in like a glove and recognisable if not as quite in command perhaps. The voice acting is nothing to complain about really, Maurice LaMarche being especially good and made me nostalgic for Vincent Price without impersonating him too much. Matthew Lillard is endearing and amusing as Shaggy, as usual, and Grey Griffin does a great job as Daphne, some of her best voice acting as her actually. Frank Welker shows no signs of being long in the tooth and Nolan North is suitably sinister with a voice that reminded me of the voices of Maldor and Zimbulu.

The film is not without its issues though. Can totally understand why people dislike how Fred is written here, though actually this is not the first film or incarnation to portray him in an out of character way. Was not very fond of him being written idiotically and being constantly negative in thinking, that 'Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost' remained true to the writing for Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne and their roles in 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' was admirable and appreciated but it did feel like the writers/creators did not know what to do with Fred once the role reversals were in place. Do agree to some extent that Velma's scepticism was overdone.

Likewise with the beginning crisis not being resolved enough and the second half started losing energy and became less imaginative.

Where 'Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost' falls down most is the ending. Found it very rushed and with a far too easy defeat, but what mainly doomed it was that after doing so well with the change of formula the ending went into conventional territory reminiscent of a denouement of an episode of 'Mystery Incorporated'. Don't know about anybody else, but everything about the outcome for me was obvious (or at least guessed it) very early on and nothing about it surprised me at all.

On the whole, very enjoyable but had room for improvement. 7/10

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.

Yes, I really did enjoy this movie because I love me some Scooby Doo and the gang! Was glad to see some of the "Old Characters" from the "Thirteen Ghost of SD", but Flim Flam was the only one who brought up Scrappy. Then Velma was like, "Who is a Scrappy?" First of all, if the writers would of look at all of the Scooby Doo shows, they would have known that Scrappy had first join the Scooby Gang back doing "The Scooby and Scrappy Show." It was some other stuff that didn't make sense to me in this movie, but I'm not going to discuss it. Smh I think that they should bring Scrappy back because he was Scooby's nephew for goodness sake!!!!

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.

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.