Scooby Doo has been around long enough for there to be fans of the various genres of the franchise. The review and opinion I am about to share is from what I grew up with. Let the record show, I hate Scrappy Doo. I know there are plenty of Scrappy fans out there and that's okay, I respect that. I don't expect many if any fans to agree with my review, but here it goes.
Since this is primarily a negative review, I will start off with the good. I loved Scooby Doo and Shaggy, you can always count on them to stay the way they are with their comedy, love of food and fear of ghosts, It was great to actually see Fred and Velma in the same movie as Vincent Van Ghoul and that Flim Flam character (UGH!) as opposed to their absence in the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo series. And of course, the animation quality of today. But that's as far as the positive reviews go. Now for the cold hard truth .
I am a purist fan of the original Scooby Doo cartoons, from Scooby Doo Where Are You? series from 1969 to the New Scooby Doo Movies from 1972, to the Scooby Doo Show (Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour & Laff a Lympics) from 1976-1978 and maybe Scooby and Scrappy Doo from 1979. This might be considered unpopular opinion, but of all the characters on Scooby Doo, Fred Jones (or Freddie sometimes) has always been my favorite character. I have always identified with the teenage guy who would be the handsome heroic leader of a group and that's what Fred was during the years I dated. Back in those days, Fred was not only the intelligent leader of the gang but also THE driver of the Mystery Machine And even when Fred guest appeared in select episodes of the New Scooby Doo Mysteries in 1984, Fred and Daphne both took leadership roles and Fred drove the Mystery Machine then. I have NEVER liked the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo because Fred and Velma were phased out of existence and replaced by not only Scrappy Doo, but this stupid kid named Flim Flam who I hated even worse, Anyway, on to the present. I was originally planning on buying the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo on DVD to have along with this movie. I watched the two episodes added as extras before the movie and I got the gravest disappointment ever. WHY??? Because the writer(s) of this movie apparently hated Fred to the point of completing ruining his character. He is NOT the Fred Jones classic fans like me have all known and loved. Fred has been reduced to an incompetent dufus who is literally muscled out of the leadership role by Daphne who also takes over as the driver of the new Mystery Machine because Fred can't drive a stick shift. And it is later revealed that Fred's absence from the 13 Ghosts series is because he was at CHEERLEADING CAMP?!! Seriously?!!!! And of course, after Daphne becomes the new leader, Fred becomes whiny and needy, questioning what his role is in the gang. I kept waiting for Fred to redeem himself in this movie, and all I got was more and more nauseas!! All the other characters were fine. But Fred was forever ruined. I believe it all started when Freddie was dumbed down in A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which was fine for that show, But starting with Zombie Island and everything that's followed, Fred has been slightly dumbed down, but was still a leader. And in Mystery Incorporated, Fred's niche was specializing in traps, I would have bought that reason for his absence, but becoming a cheerleader and cheering Daphne on as a new leader was the killing blow., I couldn't have cared less if Scrappy was not included. And Fred and Velma had little interaction with Vincent Van Ghoul. The ending was a huge disappointment to fans of the 13 Ghosts series since the final ghost is merely a man in a mask.
Finally, if you love the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo series or Flim Flam or Vincent Van Ghoul, of if you're a fan of Scooby Doo himself or Shaggy, Velma or the modernized Daphne, yes, it's a good movie, but if you're a fan of Fred Jones, this movie is absolute garbage!! Give me the classic Scooby Doo Where Are You over the 13 Ghosts series and this craptastic movie any day of the week!!!! Thankfully, I'm not the only one who feels this way. Read the RIP FRED JONES 1969-2019 review to see a similar but shorter review.
I am a purist fan of the original Scooby Doo cartoons, from Scooby Doo Where Are You? series from 1969 to the New Scooby Doo Movies from 1972, to the Scooby Doo Show (Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour & Laff a Lympics) from 1976-1978 and maybe Scooby and Scrappy Doo from 1979. This might be considered unpopular opinion, but of all the characters on Scooby Doo, Fred Jones (or Freddie sometimes) has always been my favorite character. I have always identified with the teenage guy who would be the handsome heroic leader of a group and that's what Fred was during the years I dated. Back in those days, Fred was not only the intelligent leader of the gang but also THE driver of the Mystery Machine And even when Fred guest appeared in select episodes of the New Scooby Doo Mysteries in 1984, Fred and Daphne both took leadership roles and Fred drove the Mystery Machine then. I have NEVER liked the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo because Fred and Velma were phased out of existence and replaced by not only Scrappy Doo, but this stupid kid named Flim Flam who I hated even worse, Anyway, on to the present. I was originally planning on buying the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo on DVD to have along with this movie. I watched the two episodes added as extras before the movie and I got the gravest disappointment ever. WHY??? Because the writer(s) of this movie apparently hated Fred to the point of completing ruining his character. He is NOT the Fred Jones classic fans like me have all known and loved. Fred has been reduced to an incompetent dufus who is literally muscled out of the leadership role by Daphne who also takes over as the driver of the new Mystery Machine because Fred can't drive a stick shift. And it is later revealed that Fred's absence from the 13 Ghosts series is because he was at CHEERLEADING CAMP?!! Seriously?!!!! And of course, after Daphne becomes the new leader, Fred becomes whiny and needy, questioning what his role is in the gang. I kept waiting for Fred to redeem himself in this movie, and all I got was more and more nauseas!! All the other characters were fine. But Fred was forever ruined. I believe it all started when Freddie was dumbed down in A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which was fine for that show, But starting with Zombie Island and everything that's followed, Fred has been slightly dumbed down, but was still a leader. And in Mystery Incorporated, Fred's niche was specializing in traps, I would have bought that reason for his absence, but becoming a cheerleader and cheering Daphne on as a new leader was the killing blow., I couldn't have cared less if Scrappy was not included. And Fred and Velma had little interaction with Vincent Van Ghoul. The ending was a huge disappointment to fans of the 13 Ghosts series since the final ghost is merely a man in a mask.
Finally, if you love the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo series or Flim Flam or Vincent Van Ghoul, of if you're a fan of Scooby Doo himself or Shaggy, Velma or the modernized Daphne, yes, it's a good movie, but if you're a fan of Fred Jones, this movie is absolute garbage!! Give me the classic Scooby Doo Where Are You over the 13 Ghosts series and this craptastic movie any day of the week!!!! Thankfully, I'm not the only one who feels this way. Read the RIP FRED JONES 1969-2019 review to see a similar but shorter review.