Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Jim Stenstrum |
| Produced by | Cos Anzilotti |
| Written by |
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| Starring |
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| Music by | Louis Febre |
| Editing by | Rob DeSales |
| Studio | Hanna-Barbera Cartoons |
| Distributed by | Warner Home Video |
| Release date(s) | October 5, 1999 (VHS and DVD) |
| Running time | 66 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost is a 1999 direct-to-video animated supernatural horror-comedy film, and the second of the direct-to-video films based upon Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo Saturday morning cartoons. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. The film was released on VHS and DVD on October 5, 1999.
The plot involves Mystery Inc. travelling to a New England town called Oakhaven after being invited by horror writer Ben Ravencroft. Like a number of direct-to-video Scooby-Doo animated films released in the late-1990s and early-2000s, The Witch's Ghost features real supernatural elements instead of the traditionally fabricated ones the franchise is associated with, giving the film a darker tone. The film has been adapted into a book.
It is the second of the first four Scooby Doo direct-to-video film to be animated overseas by Japanese animation studio Mook Animation. The film marks the first time voice actor and radio-personality Scott Innes voiced Shaggy, as Billy West (who voiced Shaggy in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island) needed time for his voice work on Futurama.
Contents
Plot
After Ben Ravencroft, a famous horror writer of whom Velma Dinkley is a huge fan, assists her and Mystery Inc. in solving a case at a museum, he invites them to his hometown, Oakhaven, Massachusetts. When they arrive, they find the town converted into a tourist attraction by Mayor Corey, complete with 17th-century replicas and attractions based on the alleged ghost of Sarah Ravencroft, an ancestor of Ben's who was persecuted as a witch and executed by the Puritan townspeople in 1657. Ben disputes this, claiming that Sarah was a Wiccan who used herbal remedies to heal the less fortunate, and reveals that he has spent years searching for Sarah's medical journal to prove her innocence.
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers are chased by a witch and run into Ben and the gang. They find broken tree branches at the scene and are drawn to an all-female gothic rock band, The Hex Girls, led by Sally "Thorn" McKnight. The gang then decides to split up; Fred and Daphne stay to watch the Hex Girls, Velma and Ben go explore an old barn, and Shaggy and Scooby follow the Mayor. Fred and Daphne see Thorn performing some sort of ritual and are convinced the Hex Girls are witches. Velma and Ben find a cherry picker truck in the barn. Scooby and Shaggy follow Corey, until they encounter the witch and flee to the gang.
The gang, the Hex Girls and Ben meet in the woods. The witch appears, but is captured by Velma. The witch is revealed to be Mr. McKnight, Thorn's father and Oakhaven's pharmacist. Velma locates the truck and explains that the truck's arm made the witch appear to fly, with the townspeople jointly involved. Back at Ben's house, Thorn explains the "ritual" Fred and Daphne witnessed was a herbal remedy made for soothing her vocal cords and that she is actually descended from Wiccans. Corey and Mr. McKnight arrive to apologize to Ben for using his ancestor in their publicity stunt, explaining the witch was created to boost the town's failing tourist economy and that they found inspiration from digging up the head marker for Sarah's grave; they kept their discovery a secret from Ben to avoid upsetting him. It is then revealed that a shoe buckle Scooby found earlier was actually the lock from Sarah's journal.
Scooby guides the group to where the lock was originally found, where he digs up and finds a box containing the buried journal, which actually turns out to be a spellbook. Ben reveals that Sarah was a witch, who wielded her witchcraft against the townspeople before the Wiccans used their nature-based powers to imprison her within her own spellbook; his ancestry, therefore, makes him a warlock. He explains that he engineered the mystery at the museum just so he could meet with Mystery Inc., knowing they could lead him to the book. After taking it from Ben, the gang attempts to flee in the Mystery Machine, but Ben damages its tires with his powers. Ben takes the book back and summons Sarah. However, he soon discovers that she has no loyalty to him and her ambitions are to destroy the world to avenge her imprisonment, rather than rule it alongside him.
Disillusioned, Ben attempts to reimprison Sarah, but she tells him that only a Wiccan can defeat her, and traps Ben in a magical sphere. The gang launches an attempt to get the book while Sarah turns pumpkins and trees into monsters and enlarges a turkey in order to stop them. Daphne and Velma free the Hex Girls and the latter convinces Thorn to use her inherited Wiccan power to reimprison Sarah. The plan works, sucking her back into the book and turning the monsters she created, except for the turkey, back to normal. Refusing to return to her imprisonment alone, Sarah drags Ben into the book with her. A burning branch then falls onto the book and incinerates it, ensuring that the Ravencrofts can never return. The gang and townsfolk celebrate their deliverance with a concert from the Hex Girls with the gang and the still giant turkey joining in on the performance.
Voice cast
- Scott Innes as Scooby-Doo and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers
- Frank Welker as Fred Jones
- Mary Kay Bergman as Daphne Blake
- B.J. Ward as Velma Dinkley
- Tim Curry as Ben Ravencroft
- Jennifer Hale as Sally "Thorn" McKnight
- Neil Ross as Mayor Corey and Exhibit voice
- Jane Wiedlin as Dusk
- Bob Joles as Jack
- Kimberly Brooks as Luna
- Tress MacNeille as Sarah Ravencroft
- Peter Renaday as Mr. McKnight
- Jamie Alcroft as Dr. Dean
- Rodger Bumpass as Perkins
- David Herman as Babylonian Mummies
- Dee Bradley Baker as the Giant Turkey
- Buster Jones as Tourist #1
- Debi Derryberry as Tourist #2
- Jill Talley as Pilgrim Woman
Soundtrack
On September 14, 1999, the soundtrack was released on CD and Audio Cassette, featuring songs by The Hex Girls, and Billy Ray Cyrus performing "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!".
| Track listing | |||||||||
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| No. | Title | Recording artist(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Scooby-Doo Where Are You?" | Billy Ray Cyrus | 1:02 | ||||||
| 2. | "Hex Girl" | The Hex Girls | 1:43 | ||||||
| 3. | "Earth, Wind, Fire and Air" | The Hex Girls | 1:55 | ||||||
| 4. | "The Witch's Ghost" | The Hex Girls | 3:10 | ||||||
| 5. | "It's a Mystery" | The Hex Girls | 3:08 | ||||||
| 6. | "Scooby Snacks" | The Hex Girls | 3:19 | ||||||
| 7. | "Zoinks!" | The Hex Girls | 3:10 | ||||||
| 8. | "Those Meddlin' Kids" | The Hex Girls | 3:17 | ||||||
| 9. | "Ghost Story" | Louis Febre | 3:13 | ||||||
| 10. | "The Ghost Is Here" | Joe Pizzulo, Gary Falcone | 2:21 | ||||||
| 11. | "Terror Time" | Joe Pizzulo, Gary Falcone | 2:55 | ||||||
| 12. | "Scooby-Doo Where Are You?" (Instrumental Mix) | David Mook, Ben Raleigh | 2:43 | ||||||
See also
In Spanish: Scooby-Doo y el fantasma de la bruja para niños
