Rating: 
Summary: Scooby and the gang are back...to entertain us
Review: I couldn't believe some of these reviews on here, I am still laughing! People up in arms because of a CARTOON. "Secret agendas?" I think some of you people need to open your minds and get a life. I can't believe the way people have to hate things that they fear and refuse to understand. Anyways, Scooby and the gang get tricked into helping horror writer, Ben Ravencroft. He assures the gang that his ancestor, Sarah, was merely a Wiccan healer, not an evil witch, as the town legend says. Ben needs the gang to help him uncover the location of Sarah's ancient spell book. His secret agenda is to invoke Sarah's ghost which is trapped in the book. Great Halloween entertainment. Great music, my daughter had to get the soundtrack she enjoyed it so much. Some people said that The Witch's Ghost is not for children under 8 or so. My daughter seen this when she was 4 and she loved it, thought it was very funny. She has been a Scooby fan since she was about 3 and collects all the movies. You have to know your child and how well they decipher real life from television. Use common sense. If ghosts and witches scare your kids, don't let them watch this. I was impressed that the creators were brave enough to educate the viewers on Wicca, a very misunderstood way of life. It is a shame that some of the other religions pull out all the stops to be sure that Wicca stays misunderstood with the general public. The real truth about Wicca can be found in many a reputable publication (see my other reviews on these books) by anyone who is open minded enough to learn something new. Someone else had mentioned that they had a problem with some of the songs in the movie talking about loving nature. Since when is that a crime? Look at the state our environment is in right now. Perhaps if more people learned to love nature and treasure it we wouln't have so many of the environmental issues we live with today. Some people need to chill out on the religious hang-ups with this cartoon. It is ENTERTAINMENT. Lets not forget it is a free country with freedom of religion. If something in this cartoon makes you feel threatened, then I feel sorry for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Scooby Doo - updated but still the same fun stuff
Review: Scooby and the Gang are updated a bit in this one; Fred and Daphne's relationship is not as stereotypical as before, the bellbottoms and ascots are gone, and as other reviewers note, the video makes gentle fun of the whole Scooby-Doo genre. But otherwise, I find that this is classic Scooby-Doo. I didn't find this video to be excessively violent or too scary for kids, especially considering that a lot of kids' animation such as Dragonball Z and Pokemon is a lot more violent and scary than this. I was pleasantly surprised at the positive, though somewhat inaccurate, depiction of Wicca; for example, one need not be an hereditary witch to be Wiccan. However, the overall positive view of Wicca far outweighs the occasional goof on the writers' part. I note that some parents were disturbed by the fact that the movie even mentioned Wicca or witchcraft, which is sad, because it shows we still have a long way to go before true tolerance of non-Christian religion happens in American society. It's sad to think that there are still grown adults who haven't learned the lesson of tolerance that an animated dog already knows. Other than the fact that Tim Curry makes a great villain (like we didn't already know that!) and the fact that some of the monsters are "real," the remainder of the movie is very much like your typical Scooby-Doo episode, with Shaggy and Scooby goofing around, Velma figuring things out, Fred being the action guy and Daphne pretty much standing around being The Cute Girl. The animation is very fluid and fun to watch, and the supernatural scenes were spooky but not excessively frightening, especially by comparison to the other animated stuff that's out there that's allegedly for "kids." Scooby-Doo and the Gang are still among the most popular cartoon characters ever, and this video, in spite of the undeservedly negative reviews elsewhere, will please any Scooby fan of any age.
Rating: 
Summary: Proselytizing!
Review: I was so disappointed to see the beloved Scooby characters commandeered and used to promote a religious agenda! What a farce! If you want your kids to absorb a one-sided Wiccan view of the Wicca religion, let them see this film. But if you want a good, funny, Scooby laugh, SKIP THIS PROPAGANDA PIECE!!!
Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun and laughs, Scooby Doo Rocks!
Review: I grew up watching Scooby Doo cartoons and loved them! I was happy to see new movies being produced and brought it home to watch along with my daughter who is three. My husband and I both laughed all the way through, there are many sly in-jokes.
I find it amazing that so many reviewers have focused on only two issues - one that it dares to mention Wiccans in a *gasp* positive light, and two- that it is too *intense* for smaller kids. For the first issue, it's just silly to say that this movie is a lesson in Wicca. It's almost as if the other reviewers are seeing a different movie! The very few bits of dialogue that happen to mention Wicca just say that Wiccans are nature lovers or natural healers. Whoo - clap your hand over your kid's ears!!! In fact the Hex Girls explicitly say they are NOT Wiccans, they are Eco-Goths (whatever THAT means!) and that one of them is 1/16th Wiccan on her mother's side. Ohh, the horror! Their song at the end talks about loving the earth, wow what a bad idea huh? I also thought that being Wiccan is hereditary to be very funny.
The second issue, that it is too intense, is also being overblown. Some have objected to the "real" witch. Say it with me now, people: "iiit's aaa caar-tooon". There, isn't that better? Just as in most Scooby episodes, nobody is hurt, nobody dies, there's no blood, no body parts, the explosions don't hit anyone, and the "pumpkin spiders" as my family calls them, are just funny. I'd rather my kid watch this than most of "kid's" tv or video games that are far more violent. The evening news, for example..
Rating:
Summary: Nice "Scooby Doo" sequel
Review: "Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost" is better than the TV series, with a fun soundtrack, kooky characters, and the same, though slightly different formula. Scooby and the gang catches two archaelogists and coincidentally meet Ben Ravencroft, a horror novelist, a la Stephen King, who is one of Velma's famous horror novelists. Ben invites the gang over to spend a weekend with him at his hometown in Salem, Massachusetts. There, they meet a local group, the shapely trio Hex Girls, who insert two cool new music numbers in the movie. They are connected with the mystery about Sarah Ravencroft, Ben's descendant, who he claims that her name is wrongly accused of witchcraft, that she was a Wiccan healer, leading to funny and unpredictable results. "The Witch's Ghost" is considerably a little more darker and scarier than it's 1998 predessor "Scooby Doo on Zombie Island," and contains the same formulaic plot that comes with the 1970s series, though it's different, and is a must have for any Scooby-Doo collector. The voices for the characters considerably match the ones to the '70s show, though they could have used Scott Innes as Scooby only (he's going to be the voice of the animated Scooby in the real-live movie with Sarah Michelle Gellar "Buffy" and her fiance, Freddie Prinze Jr., as Daphne and Freddy). But Scott Innes does a terrific job of doing both roles. Tim Curry does a teriffic job as Ben Ravencroft, while Frank Welker more or less fits the voice for Freddy and Mary Kay Bergman (died last year, due to suicide) as Daphne and B.J. Ward fit the role as Velma perfectly. All in all, a pretty good Scooby Doo movie, and worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: Harmless
Review: I am honestly STUNNED by the shocking narrow-mindedness displayed by God-fearing, puritan Christians in other reviews of this DVD. There ARE other religions out there, exposing your children to them is no big deal, shielding them from it is both fascist and dangerous. And to dismiss them as evil is pure insanity. Especially Wicca. This is not a 'satanic' or 'devil-worshipping' religion and saying so only promotes further ignorance. Surely something was learned from the Dark Ages and the Salem Witch hunts. But reading other reviews here...I'm having second thoughts. I'm actually quite glad Warner had the balls to have a plot involving Wicca and witches in a Scooby Doo cartoon. Okay, so ONE of them ultimately turns to be evil but there are evil people of all religions. Witch's Ghost is NOT pure Wiccan propaganda, it merely educates and enlightens on what is a highly misunderstood way of life. I would definitely prefer children to watch this. The movie itself was one of the earlier efforts in the Scooby Doo revivals. Meaning that the monster is real and the writing is stronger and the gang have updated outfits. Tim Curry has a role as whacko writer Ben Ravencroft, a sort cross between HP Lovecraft and Sutter Cane, plus there is a Goth Girl Group called The Hex Girls who have a couple of cool songs. Billy Ray Cyrus sings the theme tune this time around. There's a decent amount of mystery and humor, obviously nothing too sophisticated, to keep anyone, not just the kids, entertained. It's perfect family fun and I suggest you give it a ago and pay no attention to the insane reviews of Christian fundamentalists. The DVD is in 1.33:1 fullscreen, as drawn, with Dolby 2.0 sound. However, my Region 2 release has a Dolby 5.1 track that was surprisingly loud and forceful with plenty of surround effects and deep bass. Sorry, but this ain't on the Region 1 version. A small amount of okay extras are included too. This DVD is an awful snap case but my Region 2 is a sturdy keepcase. If you can play multi-region DVDs get the UK version.
Rating:
Summary: Jinkies! A Scooby Anyone Can Do!
Review: This is Scooby the way he was meant to be - still good, clean fun for the kids, but nostalgically campy enough to appeal to their parents, as well. The recent feature-length live-action movie took a few hints from this (and one or two of the other newer Doos), and should have followed the lead even further. It playfully spoofs itself with the adult sensibilities of every former child fan who has now grown up, but does so with a great deal of love and affection. Scooby and Co. begin the proceedings by solving one of their classic nutball-in-a-mask mysteries, with the usual ridiculous goings-on, delightfully underscored by the singing of the famous theme song by none other than Billy Ray "Achy Breaky Heart" Cyrus. Handsome horror writer Ben Ravenscroft - wickedly and wonderfully voiced by Rocky Horror's Tim Curry, who excels at this kind of thing - then invites the gang to join him for a holiday weekend in his small New England town, which pulls out all the stops as a tourist attraction capitalizing on Ravenscroft's notorious witch ancestor. Taking part in the proceedings is the glamorous Goth-girl group, the Hex Sisters - lead-voiced by Jane Weidlin - who, along with sundry other bizarre goings-on, suspiciously seem to indicate that something more sinister than usual is occurring at this year's Witch Fest. Breaking the usual Scooby formula (which everyone who ever watched the show has always wanted to see happen), the Mystery, Inc. gang's quarry actually turns out, for once, to be supernatural. Zoinks! The animation is, needless to say, far superior to that in the original Hanna-Barbera series, which is even commented on subtly and in humorous fashion by the characters. If hearing Billy Ray Cyrus down-homely sing the theme song while idiot bad-guys are tripping over Shag's and Scoob's improvised traps doesn't have you sufficiently chuckling from the very start, you're sure to enjoy the Hex Girls' sultry rockin' - the music in this movie is really very good, considering what it's in. Fred and Daphne begin to indicate that they are more than just friends, and unlucky-in-love brainy-geek Velma has her poor heart broken, but comes through it like a trouper. And the appearance of a few real spooks, for a change, just makes it all that much more fun. The warnings that younger kids might be frightened by the supernatural goings-on are nonsense. Anyone can watch this movie, and have a great time. It's simply a delight.
Rating:
Summary: Great for all ages
Review: I don't understad why so many kids are afraid of harmless cartoons. This movie is NOT scary. I was watching a three year old, and she wanted to watch it, so I put it on for her, and She loved it. She wasn't scared at any point. If you think your kids will be scared of this movie, you might as well not let them watch television at all.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Scooby-Doo Animated Movie Ever
Review: Gosh, let's just stop and think a little. Not for children under 8? Oh, are your kids insane or what? Sorry, but this DVD it's NOT scary, I mean it! The most frightening thing that you will find here are walking pumpkins...if this is scary, you'd better go to a doctor. This movie has a perfect soundtrack, perfect animation, perfect story...
This is my opinion, and Warner Brothers haven't still produced a movie that could be better than this one. Not even the Scooby Doo - Motion Picture, the real movie, is better than this. So, if you would not buy this one 'cuz u think it's 2 scary, forget it. It's perfect, kids will love it.
Rating:
Summary: Great for Halloween Purposes, and for Just Whenever!
Review: Scooby's been around since 1973. Then, 26 years later, they make a great movie for a new generation. Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost is a wonderful movie with rockin' songs, a great plot, loads of laughs, beautiful animation, but even though it has all of these qualities, I would not recommend it for children under six. The movie starts where a common TV episode would stop. They are having the final chase trying to catch the villains. And as always, their plan goes whacko when Scoob and Shagg goof. But still they catch them. Then from out of the blue, Velma's favorite author, Ben Ravencroft, shows up and invites the gang to join him on a trip back to his home-town. Velma, never resisting something that wonderful, readily aggrees. When they get there, the normally peacefull town of Oakhaven is jam-packed with tourists! Ravencroft asks the Mayor what's all the hubbub about. When he says that they built a Puritan Village Tourist Park, he learns about how the ghost of his ancestor, has "come back to haunt the town." After about what would typically happen in a regular Scooby-Doo Where Are You? episode, they discover that many of the shop-owners in town, including the Mayor, put on the whole charade to attract tourists. But even though it was just a scam, the gang finds out that during the construction of the P.V. they dug up the grave of Ravencroft's ancestor. They go to the spot where they dug it up, and planned to search for any remains. [We interrupt this review to bring you a special announcement: Now's probably a good time to tell you that Ravencroft's ancestor was accused of being a witch. Thank You.] Scooby dug into the ground, and found an old box. In the box, they find what, unknown to the gang, what Ravencroft had been looking for for so many years. They found the Witch's old spellbook. Everyone was horrified as Ravencroft ressurected the Witch! After that everything old Mr. Obsessed-With-Magic had planned went wild. The Witch caused total and complete chaos!! After all hope seemed lost to cease the destruction, they finally found the spell to imprison the Witch again. Henceforth, the Witch, Ravencroft, and all of the evil magic that had been released, was trapped in who knows where again, and since a tree was burning during the destruction, a burning branch fell down on the evil spellbook, and the Witch was never seen again. The DVD has some cool bonus features that you can do after you watch the movie. There's a trivia game, a music video, a documentary, character bios, but you might have lost your remote or something so I'm just telling you now, it's not something you need to plan your day around. Well, that's it. I hope this review has helped you and encourages you to get this DVD.
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