The Hanna Barbera, Scooby Doo franchise underwent a drastic decline in the late seventies to early eighties when little Scrappy Doo- or as others would rename him as 'Crappy Poo'- arrived out of nowhere to join the gang of Scooby, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne. The so-called diminutive nephew of Scooby was, in many Scooby fans eyes, an annoyance and who'd embarrass the hell out of the gang, not to mention the fans themselves.
Thankfully however, a new animated show based on the characters, arrived towards the mid-eighties titled: 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' and HB decided to shift their focus away from Scrappy (and rightly so), for once and onto the likes of Daphne, Shaggy, Scoob, as well as the new additions to the franchise; a pint- sized kid going by the name of Film Flam (who looked like he was of Mixed race/Asian origin) and Vincent Van Ghoul- voiced by none other than the famous Vincent Price, whose often scary voice-overs once scared the pants off me, as a kid. For those of you, who need reminding, he did the soliloquy or spoken word bit towards the end of Michael Jackson's 80s hit, 'Thriller'.
I assumed the arrivals of Price and Film Flam, meant that Fred and Velma had to make way for those two, but this in itself didn't hinder the quality of the cartoon or the story itself. I actually thought that Film Flam was not that bad- I could do with Film Flam in the cartoon and get rid of Scrappy. You also had two ghosts, Boogel and Weerd, who were the main villains and of whom tried to outwit the gang, but in the end they always fail.
The Scooby gang have to retrieve the 13 Ghosts, of which they have released from a chest, after Scooby and Shaggy were duped by Boogel and Weerd.
Arguably, the best aspect of this show was that whereas all the other Scooby shows had the same formula, plot-wise that is; i.e, haunted house, Scoob, Fred, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne (and later on Scrappy) try to solve the mysteries and unmask the villain, dressed as a monster and ghost, 'The 13 Ghosts' had a completely different narrative angle, which was refreshing to see. For once, it wasn't just about capturing and unmasking the villains, but also, there was an element of mystery, suspense and of the chest-, which acted as a prop device to further propel the gang forward, in their attempts to recapture the ghosts. It was also good to have the late Vincent Price aka Vincent Van Ghoul and his contribution in the show, was very effective I have to say.
Whilst it wasn't in the same league as say 'Scooby Doo, Where are you?' for example, 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' was much better than The Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show and A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which I prefer over the Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show. It is completely different and the show's plot brought an extra dimension to one of the most famous cartoon franchises in history.
This was one Scooby show that didn't get the exposure it deserved, which was a shame but nevertheless, it was a good cartoon, -but for the inclusion of Scrappy-, and like many other toons, 'The 13 ghosts of Scooby Doo' deserved a longer run.
Thankfully however, a new animated show based on the characters, arrived towards the mid-eighties titled: 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' and HB decided to shift their focus away from Scrappy (and rightly so), for once and onto the likes of Daphne, Shaggy, Scoob, as well as the new additions to the franchise; a pint- sized kid going by the name of Film Flam (who looked like he was of Mixed race/Asian origin) and Vincent Van Ghoul- voiced by none other than the famous Vincent Price, whose often scary voice-overs once scared the pants off me, as a kid. For those of you, who need reminding, he did the soliloquy or spoken word bit towards the end of Michael Jackson's 80s hit, 'Thriller'.
I assumed the arrivals of Price and Film Flam, meant that Fred and Velma had to make way for those two, but this in itself didn't hinder the quality of the cartoon or the story itself. I actually thought that Film Flam was not that bad- I could do with Film Flam in the cartoon and get rid of Scrappy. You also had two ghosts, Boogel and Weerd, who were the main villains and of whom tried to outwit the gang, but in the end they always fail.
The Scooby gang have to retrieve the 13 Ghosts, of which they have released from a chest, after Scooby and Shaggy were duped by Boogel and Weerd.
Arguably, the best aspect of this show was that whereas all the other Scooby shows had the same formula, plot-wise that is; i.e, haunted house, Scoob, Fred, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne (and later on Scrappy) try to solve the mysteries and unmask the villain, dressed as a monster and ghost, 'The 13 Ghosts' had a completely different narrative angle, which was refreshing to see. For once, it wasn't just about capturing and unmasking the villains, but also, there was an element of mystery, suspense and of the chest-, which acted as a prop device to further propel the gang forward, in their attempts to recapture the ghosts. It was also good to have the late Vincent Price aka Vincent Van Ghoul and his contribution in the show, was very effective I have to say.
Whilst it wasn't in the same league as say 'Scooby Doo, Where are you?' for example, 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' was much better than The Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show and A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which I prefer over the Scooby and Scrappy Doo Show. It is completely different and the show's plot brought an extra dimension to one of the most famous cartoon franchises in history.
This was one Scooby show that didn't get the exposure it deserved, which was a shame but nevertheless, it was a good cartoon, -but for the inclusion of Scrappy-, and like many other toons, 'The 13 ghosts of Scooby Doo' deserved a longer run.