Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

 Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999) ***/*****

The de facto 30th anniversary of the franchise playfully indulges in the "ghost is a fake" tradition of the series while trying to recapture the  "ghosts are real/but humans are worse" vibe of Zombie Island. 

                                                            ***SPOILERS BELOW***

A couple of downsides, the animation budget is lower, so it's less cinematic than the previous movie, and that's pretty much how things will stay for most of the series. Still nicely animated, just lacks the sparkle of Zombie Island. 

I am also disappointed in the soundtrack, which I think is a step down from Zombie Island. You have Billy Ray Cyrus providing the Scooby-Doo Where Are You Theme and the Hex Girls providing the sex appeal and what was clearly supposed to rival "It's Terror Time Again". They have great voices and the tune is catchy, but does not have the impact it was supposed to. But the characters themselves have become recurring guest stars in other Scooby projects. So clearly they did indeed put a hex on Scooby fans everywhere.

The plot of the movie is kind of complex (For a Scooby cartoon) and doubles back on itself as the events unfold. Everything makes sense and is explained adequately leaving no insulting gaps in the logic. Long story short, horror author Stephen King... er.. sorry, Ben Ravencroft, meets the Mystery Inc. gang and invites them to his hometown hoping they can help him clear his ancestor's name of witchcraft. Unbeknownst to him, the Mayor has turned the town into a tourist attraction using the titular ghost as a lure to help revitalize the town. The Hex Girls are the band providing the concert. Obviously nothing is as it seems, the ghost is a fake created by the town elders to attract people to the town (Inversion of  The Village). Eventually Ben reveals he engineered the cute meet with the Gang to trick them into helping him find his ancestor's book of spells, and like idiots they do. Ben unleashes his ancestor and spooky shenanigans occur, And there's a giant turkey as well.    

 The final act of the movie does have one of my favorite moments in any Scooby cartoon though, the real Ghost's reaction to Scooby and Shaggy's efforts to escape her. 5 seconds and it's hysterical to me. I'll include the screen cap below. It works better if you actually watch the scene.

I think I love the background scenery the most, the warm autumnal tones, you can almost smell them. Very lovely. It's my favorite time of year. It's a cozy aesthetic...

  

Okay so now onto the cast credits.

Mystery Inc., switched out Billy West for Scott Innes as Shaggy, other than that the rest of the gang are unchanged

Frank Welker as Freddy

Mary Kay Bergman as Daphne

BJ. Ward as Velma

Scott Innes as Scooby and Shaggy

All of whom I touch upon in previous posts. Onto the guest cast.

Tim Curry as Ben Ravencroft. There is nothing this man cannot do, his resume is full of classics of every kind for fans of all ages. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Legend (1985), Clue (1985), Stephen King's It (1990), Home Alone 2 (1992), Loaded Weapon (1993), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Addams Family Reunion (1998),  and I haven't even mentioned his tv stuff, Nigel Thornberry is just the tip of iceberg. He's a treasure.   

The Hex Girls

Jennifer Hale as Thorn. Jennifer Hale is also an accomplished voice actress and legendary in her own right. She is also well known to comic book fans for portraying many characters in both DC and Marvel projects. And to quote Wikipedia. 

In 2013, she was recognized by Guinness World Records as "the most prolific video game voice actor (female)".[2]

Jane Wiedlin as Dusk. The co-founder of the all girl rock band, The Go-Go's. She also made numerous appearances in film and television. She shares another credit  with Tim Curry in Clue (1985) in which she was "The Singing Telegram Girl", Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), as Joan of Arc,  on the television side of things she has provided voices for The New Batman Adventures, Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, Wild Thornberrys, and has recurring appearances in the Scooby franchise.

Kimberly Brooks as Luna. This was actually her first feature length project. She too has recurring appearances in the Scooby franchise. She's another voice actress heavily involved in comic book related projects. Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003), various DTV DC animated films and series. She has Rugrats, Fairly Odd Parents, Totally Spies, and countless video games on her resume. 

And the rest

Neil Ross as The Mayor. Perhaps not as well known as some of his colleagues, he is nonetheless an icon himself. Starting in 78 for Hanna-Barbera, and becoming a reliable supporting player, he appeared in shows like Richie Rich, Transformers, GI Joe, Voltron, Garfield and Friends, Batman: The Animated Series, Rugrats, The Mask: The Animated Series. He's lent his voice to films and videogames. 

Peter Renaday as Mr. McKnight. The OG splinter from the 1987 TMNT cartoon. Mandrake from "Defenders of the Earth". He along with Olan Soule, are top tier comfort voices for me. Renaday is also a bonafide Disney legend. He appeared in over a dozen projects for them from 66-96. After 2011 he pretty much retired. 

Tress Macneille as Sarah Ravencroft.. Legend, legit has claim to the "voice of  your childhood" title for 90's kids everywhere. I think I've covered her elsewhere. Anyway, she reuses her Tempestra voice from the 1987 TMNT cartoon. Her episode was one of my favorites of the series. the "Leonardo Lightens Up" vhs was among my most rewatched childhood videos. Irrelevant to the movie at hand, I've decided to include an image of the VHS.