The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo Was the Franchise Going Properly Supernatural
Toons Up North
The setup
Scooby and Shaggy accidentally release thirteen dangerous ghosts from a magical chest. Joined by Daphne, Scrappy, Flim-Flam and Vincent Van Ghoul, they travel the world trying to capture them again.
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo is a strange little corner of the franchise because it throws out one of the biggest Scooby rules. The monsters are real. That immediately gives it a different energy, and bringing in Vincent Price as Vincent Van Ghoul makes the whole thing feel even more like a spooky Saturday morning experiment.
Flim-Flam is going to test some people's patience, and Scrappy is still Scrappy, but the series has loads of personality, and the supernatural setup lets it go much bigger than another haunted fairground. It only lasted thirteen episodes, which makes it easy to revisit, and it is interesting to see Scooby-Doo try something so different years before the franchise started playing with its own formula more regularly.
But you do get some type of closer in the movie.
Positives
Real supernatural threats, Vincent Price, colourful monsters, a genuinely different Scooby format.
Negatives
Flim-Flam can be annoying, no Fred or Velma, the short run leaves the concept feeling unfinished.
Verdict
A weird but fun Scooby experiment that deserves more credit for changing the formula.
