Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost
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| Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jim Stenstrum |
| Produced by | Davis Doi Joseph Barbara (executive producer) William Hanna (executive producer) |
| Written by | Rick Copp David A. Goodman |
| Starring | Scott Innes Frank Welker Mary Kay Bergman B. J. Ward Jennifer Hale Peter Renaday Tim Curry |
| Music by | Louis Febre |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Video |
| Release date(s) | October 5, 1999 |
| Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998) |
| Followed by | Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost is the second of a series of direct-to-video animated films based upon Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was released on October 5, 1999, and it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation (although with a Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. copyright). The Mystery, Inc. gang, which includes Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma, travel to a New England town called Oakhaven after being invited by horror writer Ben Ravencroft.
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[edit] Plot
The Mystery, Inc. gang is invited by horror writer Ben Ravencroft (voiced by Tim Curry) to his home town of Oakhaven. When they get to Oakhaven, they find out that the town is haunted by the ghost of a witch. Ben Ravencroft believes that the ghost is that of his ancestor Sarah Ravencroft, who was persecuted by the town members hundreds of years ago as a witch. Ben tells the gang that Sarah was actually a Wiccan and wants their help in clearing her name by finding her old journal.
The gang meets a goth girl rock band named the "Hex Girls" during their investigation, comprised of Luna (voiced by Kimberly Brooks), Dusk (voiced by Jane Wiedlin), and Thorn (voiced by Jennifer Hale). These characters would later reapear in the 2003 Scooby-Doo direct to video film Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire and "The Vampire Strikes Back" episode of What's New, Scooby-Doo?.
The first two-thirds of the film play out like a regular Scooby-Doo cartoon, with the gang checking out clues & proving that the "ghost" was just a person in a mask. They deduct that the "ghost" is just a publicity stunt set up by the mayor and some of the townspeople as a way to expedite the tourist trade. During the last part of the movie however, it turns out that Ben was lying and his ancestor really was a witch and the journal was actually her spellbook. The ghost of Sara Ravencroft is brought from the netherworld by Ben, and it turns out that only Thorn, because of her own Wiccan heritage (about 1/16 blood on her mother's side), can stop the ghost from acting out her revenge. She recites the spell and Sara's ghost is sucked back in the book but this time she takes a hesitant Ben with her. A burning branch falls on the book, destroying it and killing Sara AND Ben. The townspeople thank the gang and the Hex Girls continue with their concert. They are backed up by the gang who play various instruments: Velma on keyboards, Daphne on tambourine, Fred and Shaggy on guitar, and Scooby banging on bongo drums.
Like a number of direct-to-video Scooby-Doo animated films released in the late-1990s and early-2000s, Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost features real ghosts instead of simple bad guys in masks. The videos sold well and received generally positive reviews in the press.
[edit] Cast
- Scott Innes - Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers
- Frank Welker - Fred Jones
- Mary Kay Bergman - Daphne Blake
- B.J. Ward - Velma Dinkley
- Tim Curry - Ben Ravencroft
- Jane Wiedlin - Dusk
- Jennifer Hale - Thorn
- Kimberly Brooks - Luna
- Tress MacNeille - Sarah Ravencroft
- Bob Joles - Jack
- Peter Renaday - Mr. McKnight
- Neil Ross - Mayor Corey
[edit] Trivia
- Daphne asks Fred why the two of them are always splitting off from Shaggy, Velma, and Scooby and going off alone. Fred has no awareness of the implication being made. This is a nod to the original series, where this happened a lot.
- Billy Ray Cyrus sings the Scooby-Doo theme song in the museum scene.
- Daphne wears the same purple suit she wore in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island.
- Ben Ravencroft seems to be a play on H.P. Lovecraft, who is also a horror writer.
- The scene at the end with the gang playing along with The Hex Girls is a nod to what the original Scooby-Doo series was originally supposed to be before the idea was changed. Originally,the show going to be a group of teens who are in a band with their dog that travel around performing while solving mysteries. The instruments the gang plays are the same ones they were going to play in the show which even included Scooby on the bongos.
