Too much of everything

Am I Missing Something?

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is another classic Scooby-Doo film. While it isn't quite as good as "Zombie Island," it has similar elements that make it click. The film is one of my earliest childhood memories.The gang return and are their usual selves, and as usual, they provide some funny moments. Tim Curry is known for various villain roles, and he is very good as Ben Ravencroft.The story is well-written and full of intriguing mythology. It isn't as dark as "Zombie Island," but it still has plenty of supernatural elements.The scenery and backdrops are simply beautiful and filled with wonderful fall colors. This film also has possibly the best climax of any Scooby-Doo film with Ben Ravencroft causing all kinds of destruction with his ancestor's magic book. It will keep you hooked.Of course, the film is also known for introducing The Hex Girls. They are awesome characters, and they play great music.While it can't top "Zombie Island," this is still one of the best Scooby-Doo adventures out there. Very much recommended for all Scooby-Doo fans.RATING: B+

How wonderful the advent of DVD so that we can all enjoy our favorite movies and television shows over and over at our own leisure - and commercial free to boot! For me, Scooby Doo is one that I'll always enjoy. I watched the television series as a kid, and seeing it again now brings back many fond memories. The new movies are an extra special delight in that they introduce the aspect of real ghosts and monsters rather than the usual bad guys wearing masks. Although "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost" starts out with just that, both in the opening museum capture sequence and the first sequence in the New England town, it's soon revealed that there is indeed a real witch in the works.When Scooby and the Gang meet writer Ben Ravencroft (deliciously voiced by Tim Curry), he invites them back to his home town, where they discover tourist season in full swing, fueled by rumors of a witch's ghost in the form of Ben's ancestor Sara Ravencroft (isn't the name Ravencroft absolutely perfect for a witch?). Ben is hurt by the bad name it gives himself and his ancestor, whom he insists was a good Wiccan who acted as a sort of seventeenth century apothecary, using herbs and natural potions to cure people of their ailments. He enlists the help of Scooby and the gang to help uncover the truth behind the witch hauntings and assist him in finding Sara's old journal which he says holds in its pages the recipes for all her cures.It isn't long before the sleuthing youths uncover the real culprits behind the witch and reveal a scheme orchestrated by the Mayor and several other townsfolk. They apologize to Ben saying they just wanted to bring money to the town in the form of tourist dollars. This is a cute and amusing twist, and a nice touch that the townsfolk aren't bad guys at all but simple folk trying to boost their own economy. And it's nice that their trick hasn't done any real harm. Of course this sort of skulduggery could only be feasible in an animated film, as the stunts they pull would be quite impossible in reality, and impossible even to believe in a live-action film. But for me at least, that's one of the charms of watching a Scooby Doo movie.At this point I thought the film was over and was delighted when Ben reminded the gang that Sara's journal still hasn't been found. There was more to come! Velma then finds the clue they need in a portrait of Sara. Earlier, Scooby had dug up an old shoe buckle that Shaggy now wears on one of his sneakers. But Velma has noticed that it's not a shoe buckle at all but the clasp of the journal that Sara is holding in her portrait. Scooby leads them to the spot where he found the buckle and voilà! They find Sara's journal in a buried chest.Now things really heat up, because instead of looking like the innocuous journal of a Wiccan healer, the journal resembles something like the Book of the Dead from the Evil Dead movie. Velma remarks on this and Ben (in typical Tim Curry fashion) suddenly turns on the evil "charm" and reveals that his ancestor Sara was in fact a witch, imprisoned inside the book by her enemies four hundred years ago. It's Ben's plan to free her spirit and have her rule the world by his side.But once freed, Sara has plans of her own, and they don't include playing second fiddle to Ben. She traps him in a magic bubble and then goes on a vengeful rampage. It's up to Scooby and the gang to save the day; and with the help of Thorn, lead singer of the local band The Hex Girls and 16% Wiccan by blood, they manage to cast the spell that sends Sara back into her book prison. She drags Ben with her and the book is then set on fire and destroyed by a burning tree branch.The final action sequences are exciting, funny and extremely entertaining for a straight to video cartoon film, and I highly recommend this and all the other Scooby Doo movies to any fan and anyone who enjoys good fun, laughs, and witches, ghosts, and zombies. And is it just me, or does anyone else get really hungry during the scenes in which Scooby and Shaggy scarf down all the food? All in all a delightful experience.

I started watching the original show when I first got the Cartoon Network, and as soon as I found out that they were making movies separate to the usual formula of fake villains, I just had to check 'em out.Don't get me wrong; Zombie Island was cool too, but this one in particular is by far my favorite.This has got to be one of the best of these movies simply because of the fact that the gang faces off against a conjured ghost... it also sheds some much-needed light on the differences between wiccans and witches.Not only is the plot a draw, but the music was pretty cool too. The Hex Girls were pretty killer for an animated band.All in all, I really enjoyed this movie. I even look for it every October.9/10

The second direct to video Scooby home movie is a pleasant surprise with elements of the old series resurfacing in an updated storyline. Scoob and the gang are in the thick of things as the video opens, solving another mystery, and meeting a new friend in the process. Mystery writer Ben Ravencroft, one of Velma's idols, meets the crew and invites them up to his old country home to see the fall colors. But when the gang gets there, they find the town being haunted by a creepy witch. The legends say the witch is the spirit of Sara Ravencroft, Ben's ancestor who he believes was actually a Wiccan -- a healer, misunderstood by those who persecuted her.The classic Scooby-Doo episodes of the first two seasons had a mix of mystery, musical numbers and silly humor. Much of that mix was absent in the first video, Zombie Island. This video recaptures that formula nicely, with a couple of musical numbers performed by the "Hex Girls", who also figure into the plot. The story is well-done, with the ending not coming where you expect it. Voice talents are a strong point here, with Tim Curry as Ben Ravencroft, Tress McNeill (of Animaniacs fame) as the Witch, and Scott Innes returning as the voices of both Scooby and Shaggy.Overall, a great family movie and a must for any serious Scooby fan... well worth the price of the video.