Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost

Oh no! Scooby-Doo is back in the hands of an American production company after the funny, scary, awesome, Japanese-produced Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998). Apparently Hanna-Barbera was a little uneasy at the thought of Scooby-Doo remaining in foreign hands for too long, so they quickly yanked it back to American soil. To their credit, the Americans in charge of Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999) have apparently learned a little something. The animation is once again crisp, colorful, and appropriately dark. While Witch's Ghost is no watershed film like Zombie Island, it is a more than decent entry.

The factual, historical, and ideological errors in Witch's Ghost are numerous. Of course, Americans made it, and we are quite adept at manipulating the facts to suit our needs. This film opens as the gang wraps up a museum ghost caper, exposing the corrupt archaeologists at its core. They are serendipitously assisted by Ben Ravencroft (Tim Curry), world-famous author of horror, supernatural, and other occult fiction. A huge fan of the Mystery Team, Ravencroft invites them back to his ancestral home in a quaint Massachusetts village. Capitalizing on real life, the filmmakers have pieced together Ravencroft as a sort of Stephen King/Wes Craven hybrid.

It's with Ravencroft and his hometown that the movie's inaccuracies start. If Ravencroft is from Massachusetts, why is it that he has a British accent? The hastily thrown-in "I live mostly in Europe now" reeks of someone in the casting department covering their ass. Not that Tim Curry is necessarily a bad choice. Although uncharacteristically understated through most of the film, Curry shines in the last 15 minutes or so, utilizing his incredible vocal talents to really bring Ravencroft to life and expose him for what he truly is.

The director may have gotten a little carried away with the Stephen King comparison, because the people of Ravencroft's Massachusetts home sound quite out of place, considering their accent is much more insular Maine than Mass. At any rate, Ravencroft and the gang arrive to find the town alive in a frenzy of tourist activity. Turns out, the town has been busy constructing a working Puritan village as a historical tourist attraction. The main draw? The ghost of Sarah Ravencroft, Ben's ancestor, executed as a witch in the 1600s. Ben is outraged by the town's insensitive exploitation of his ancestor. He enlists Scooby and the gang to discover Sarah's final resting place and retrieve the journal that was buried with her. The journal, Ben insists, will clear Sarah's name and show the world that she was in reality a gentle Wiccan healer. Never mind that Wiccans didn't really exist as such in the 1600s. Hey, at least they're trying to present some cultural relativism, even if it's historically inaccurate.

As the gang slowly peel away the secrets of the town, it becomes clear that the Ravencrofts, as well as the entire town, are not what they appear. Now Scoob, Shag, Freddy, Daphne, and Velma will have to hold back an ancient evil with the aid of a group of "eco goth" rocker chicks, one of whom carries Wiccan blood. Never mind that Wicca is a religion and not really a bloodline.

Despite the mountain of errors, Witch's Ghost delivers on the laughs and scares for the Scooby-Doo age group. A layered plot with a good twist add to the film's depth, and a fairly well-executed score gives the film life. Once again, Casey Kasem is absent as the iconic voice of Shaggy, but Scott Innes, a consummate mimic, delivers in his stead.

Storyline & plot: 7/10
Cinematography & effects: 6/10
Music & mood: 5/10
Performances: 6/10

The Reverend says: 6/10