The Scooby-Doo franchise has had its highs and lows, but for millenials like myself who grew up watching the beloved canine sleuth in the 80’s and 90’s, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo holds a special place in our hearts. Before embarking with with Steven Spielberg and producing groundbreaking cartoons like Animaniacs, animator Tom Rueger cut his teeth at Hanna-Barbera producing this overhaul of the Scooby-Doo property. Though slightly darker than previous iterations, 13 Ghosts still retained that trademark Scooby-Doo humor. The casting of legendary horror icon Vincent Price as the gang’s friend and Vincent Van Ghoul more than makes up for the inclusion of Scooby’s despised nephew Scrappy-Doo. As we learned from Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, even just a snippet of Price’s chilling voice goes a long way. Just take a gander of the opening-
Sadly, despite producing 13 episodes, only 12 Ghosts were ever captured in the course of the show meaning that the final 13th ghost is still roaming free. It’s a longstanding plot that has been nagging at die hard fans. But like Twin Peaks and many other beloved properties in the last few years, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will finally give closure to this unresolved story with Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost! animated feature coming to Digital and DVD February 5, 2019.
Don’t worry, Scrappy-Doo is nowhere in sight with Fred and Velma who were absent in the original series along for the ride this time around. The trailer also reveals that Flim Flam, the lovable streetwise huckster (voiced by Sue Blu in the original) is also back albeit aged up. No sign of ghosts Weerd and Bogel but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some kind of appearance by those two dimwitted ghouls.
Funny enough, in a weird bit of cosmic coincidence Matthew Lillard who has portraying Shaggy since the late Casey Kasem retired from the role appeared in the 2001 horror film Thirteen Ghosts. I’m gonna guess that the final 13th Ghost won’t be Tony Shalhoub and that Lillard will make it out of this film alive.
Official synopsis below-
After the Mystery Inc. gang goofed up a case and nabbed an innocent man, they’re forced into early retirement from crime solving. It’s not long however, before their old friend Vincent Van Ghoul needs help and pulls the team right back into action. The gang has unfinished business they must tend to, which involves catching a ghost that previously got away. It all happened one summer while Velma and Freddy where away at camp. Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and Daphne secretly hunted down 12 of the world’s spookiest ghosts but failed to catch the most evil one of them all…the 13th ghost.
Now the elusive spook is wreaking havoc. Vincent needs help having him captured and confined to the chest of demons, a box that contains the other 12 captured ghosts. With the 13th ghost still on the loose, the gang will have to come out of retirement and finish the job once and for all. The chest however, is now located somewhere in a remote village in the Himalayas. Determined to help Vincent, the gang sets out on one of their most thrilling adventures yet! Bundle up and get ready for the icy slopes of the Himalayan mountains, chilling car chases, crystal balls and spine-tingling spells in this terrifyingly fun original movie!
Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo/Fred Jones, Grey Griffin as Daphne Blake, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers, Kate Micucci as Velma Dinkley and Maurice LaMarcheas Vincent Van Ghoul in a fantastic take on the late, great Vincent Price. The film was executive produced by Sam Register, written by Tim Sheridan and directed by Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton.
OMG!!! This was my favorite cartoon as a kid. Not capturing the 13th ghost has always bothered me! I’m a bit sad Fred and Velma are part of this, but it looks like they have the correct Shaggy shirt!
I could not be more excited!!
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