The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo was one of my favorite incarnations of the show as a kid. So I was excited when I heard about this movie. Sad to say, it doesn't live up to my expectations. What I thought was going to be a reunion of the gang with Van Ghoul and Flim Flam turned out to be a series of overly long, unfunny gags, mostly centering around Fred's insecurities (and cheerleading because they thought that was funny, I guess) that strained even my tolerance for lame 80s Hannah Barbera comedy. I often felt the writers were more concerned with poking fun at the concept of Scooby-Doo more than the advertised plot. Which is all well and good but it's been done (Zombie Island) and done better (Mystery Inc.)
The reunion of the 13 Ghosts cast, which you actually came here to see, didn't come until late into the movie, essentially being treated as an afterthought. Likewise, the absence of Scrappy-Doo was reduced to one throwaway joke.
The most grating part of this movie for me was that 13 Ghosts centered around the gang trying to trap 13 actual ghosts in a magic chest, eventually catching all but the 13th. This is back during a time when the series was less mystery and more goofy comedy that didn't care to shy away from the supernatural. But this movie was trying to fit that plot into their usual and current "guy in a mask" theme. This not only ended up being a major letdown but kind of insulting. The 13th ghost was a great big nothing, Van Ghoul was portrayed as a powerless whimp and they invalidated the entire 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo series by implying it never happened. Why couldn't they have just set this in the 13 Ghosts universe as a stand alone? It's not like these movies have a continuing narrative you have to follow.
This movie didn't know what it wanted to be. Kids today don't remember 13 Ghosts so they'll probably like it but as someone who grew up with it, and obviously was the target of their nostalgia, I feel like they took something dear from my childhood and dumped all over it. Why even bother making this a series finale of a 30 year old show to begin with?
The reunion of the 13 Ghosts cast, which you actually came here to see, didn't come until late into the movie, essentially being treated as an afterthought. Likewise, the absence of Scrappy-Doo was reduced to one throwaway joke.
The most grating part of this movie for me was that 13 Ghosts centered around the gang trying to trap 13 actual ghosts in a magic chest, eventually catching all but the 13th. This is back during a time when the series was less mystery and more goofy comedy that didn't care to shy away from the supernatural. But this movie was trying to fit that plot into their usual and current "guy in a mask" theme. This not only ended up being a major letdown but kind of insulting. The 13th ghost was a great big nothing, Van Ghoul was portrayed as a powerless whimp and they invalidated the entire 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo series by implying it never happened. Why couldn't they have just set this in the 13 Ghosts universe as a stand alone? It's not like these movies have a continuing narrative you have to follow.
This movie didn't know what it wanted to be. Kids today don't remember 13 Ghosts so they'll probably like it but as someone who grew up with it, and obviously was the target of their nostalgia, I feel like they took something dear from my childhood and dumped all over it. Why even bother making this a series finale of a 30 year old show to begin with?