Line #91 WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheCurseOfThe13thGhost


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/curse_of_the_13th_ghost_dvd_cover.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} A secret has returned from the past!]]]]
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4	''Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost'' is the 29th movie in the ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' [[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooDirectToVideoFilmSeries direct-to-DVD movie lineup]] released on February 5, 2019, and serves as a continuation of ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo''. After one of their investigations results in the harassment of an innocent man, Mystery Incorporated is forced into retirement. While selling their inventory at a garage sale, a crystal orb belonging to Shaggy and Scooby is found in their belongings — and Vincent Van Ghoul has been trying to contact them for the last several months! He urges the Gang to come to the Himalayas to deal with a threat that has gone unresolved for a long time — the thirteenth ghost of the Cursed Chest of Demons.
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6	[[https://youtu.be/jTKbXWGjSe0 Here is the trailer.]]
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9	!! Tropes Associated with the Movie:
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11	* TenMinuteRetirement: The Gang retire from solving mysteries after accusing an innocent man and getting a lecture from law enforcement, but get pulled into action again due to a garage sale customer finding Vincent Van Ghoul's crystal ball.
12	* AdaptationExpansion: An extended history of the chest of demons is given here. [[spoiler: They were caught the first time apparently by King Solomon. They were then discovered by Vincent Van Ghoul and Mortifer in his tomb and were accidentally released. Vincent and Mortifer captured all 13 again and Vincent put it into the temple in the Himalayas until Scooby and Shaggy opened it once again.]]
13	** [[spoiler: The 13th ghost Asmodeus is revealed to be an ancestor of Vincent Van Ghoul himself that turned bad and became a demon. Both this and the above providing motivations for Vincent's help in the original series that weren't ever shared before.]]
14	* AgeLift: Flim-Flam has returned to the series and has aged up. He lampshades his older appearance by stating he was long overdue for a growth spurt.
15	* ArchEnemy: Both Vincent and Asmodeus have a history of being related to one another with Vincent being ashamed of his ancestor. [[spoiler: Though Mortifer ends up becoming this when his ScoobyDooHoax is revealed.]]
16	* ArtEvolution:
17	** Daphne's and Shaggy's eyes are colored purple and blue, respectively.
18	** The Chest of Demons has been redesigned, with the face on it now being smaller, rounder and less angular.
19	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: The police officer not only forbids Mystery Inc. from investigating any more cases, but he also forbids Fred from ''driving the Mystery Machine'' anymore. The van is legally Fred's property (or at least his parents' property), and there's nothing criminal about a 17-year-old with a driver's license making ''routine'' use of his own vehicle for errands and so forth, so the cop was seriously exceeding his authority there. [[spoiler: ''WesternAnimation/HappyHalloweenScoobyDoo'' later justifies it with the reveal that he's actually an impostor and an old enemy of the gang, seeking revenge on them for thwarting an earlier scheme and trying to keep them from meddling in his current one.]]
20	* AudienceSurrogate: Fred and Velma were absent from ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'', so the other characters have to fill them in on the events of the show. In effect, this makes them representative of viewers of the film who aren't familiar with ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo''.
21	* BigBad: Asmodeus, the king of demons and the titular 13th ghost. Returning him to the Chest of Demons is the main focus of the plot.
22	%%* BigDamnKiss: Daphne kisses Flim Flam on the lips at the end, as a way to thank him for saving her in the first 13 Ghosts episode.
23	* BigRedDevil: The 13th, and final, ghost of the Cursed Chest of Demons, {{Asmodeus}}, has horns, is red, and has wings.
24	* BroadStrokes: Hanna-Barbera continuity strikes again in this film pretty hard. The events of ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' took place but some changes were made as such saying that the gang are still close to being teenagers[[note]]The police officer mentions that they're almost 18, Daphne says "that summer you and Velma were at camp" to Fred. The wording implies that ''at least one summer'' has passed since then and, when talking to Vincent, Shaggy mentions that he mailed the box back to him "when school started", implying that they're ''out'' of school, but it was recent enough to be remembered.[[/note]], and that Fred and Velma were away at camp. Velma retains her absolute skepticism of ghosts which interestingly enough given this is the second film in a row with a ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'' reference which was revealed to have been given a similar BroadStrokes Retcon in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooReturnToZombieIsland''.
25	* CerebusRetcon:
26	** Shaggy and Scooby's CowardlyLion nature gets this. At one point Shaggy lampshades how he and Scooby are terrified of every monster they've encountered despite it always being a crook in a costume or a hoax: They've ''met'' actual ghosts, so of course the two are gonna be scared of encountering '''real''' monsters.
27	** Plus, in ''The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'', Shaggy and the dogs frequently encounter actual monsters and aliens when not with the rest of the gang.
28	* ChekhovsGag: Fred tries to cheer Velma on by spelling her name. We later find out that this is because he went to cheerleading camp.
29	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Bogel and Weerd are the only ghosts from the original series to not be seen or referenced in this movie.
30	* ContinuityNod:
31	** Velma is firm in her belief that ghosts and the supernatural aren't real, which has become a core character trait since ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooFrankencreepy''.
32	** The set up that Scooby nearly had a nervous breakdown from the events of 13 Ghosts is actually a followup to the original show given two episodes "Ship of Ghouls" and "It's A Wonderful Scoob" have him going through trauma over the experience.
33	** The new added backstory of Vincent having captured the ghosts before now adds new meaning to the words of Nekara and Rankor in the original series. Nekara had mentioned she and Vincent used to date and Rankor tried to turn Vincent Van Ghoul to stone for revenge. Both of these being tied to when he put them in the chest for the second time.
34	** When Daphne sees the case of Lotsa Luck Joy Juice, she pulls Flim Flam into a SmoochOfVictory. He did use it, after all, to save her from a bout of lycanthropy.
35	** Daphne has a framed photo of her and the gang catching the Moat Monster from ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland''.
36	* ContinuityPorn: Various props from the Gang's many investigations appear at the garage sale. From ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'' we see the Black Knight costume, the Space Kook costume, The Ape Man costume, The Indian Witch Doctor mask, The Werewolf (from Who's Afraid of a Big Bad Werewolf) mask and the Ghost Clown mask. From ''WesternAnimation/TheNewScoobyDooMovies'' there is one of the Shark Men costumes. From ''WesternAnimation/ChillOutScoobyDoo'' is the Yeti mask. Even before the crystal ball from ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo'' is revealed Vincent's hand of glory esque stand for his is also visible on the table.
37	%%** There's debate on other sites if we should count masks here to both ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooProject'' and ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheSamuraiSword''. If we gain consensus anybody can add them to the above list.
38	%%* ContinuitySnarl: ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMoonMonsterMadness'' showed that Daphne not only didn't have a license, but drove pretty poorly while making the attempt to learn. Here, Daphne can drive to the point of being a BadassDriver as if it is nothing. It is possible she did get better between movies, however.
39	* CoolCar: Daphne brings the red van back in style and boy can it do some neat tricks.
40	** The monstrous car that shoots green flames also is pretty cool. [[spoiler: This is revealed to be Mortifer's ride, which means it's not a ghost but is not clear if it's remote controlled or a AI kind of invention, an evil WesternAnimation/SpeedBuggy if you will.]]
41	* CrazyPrepared: Daphne and her van. Fred can't help but feel jealous.
42	* {{Determinator}}: Fred never gives up and Daphne sees this as why he's TheLeader of the gang. In the DarkestHour, he gives a huge RousingSpeech that motivates the group
43	* DrivingStick: The red van is depicted with a manual transmission in this movie, and Fred, like in some [[WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo other]] [[WesternAnimation/BeCoolScoobyDoo incarnations]], is incapable of operating it and lets Daphne drive. He eventually figures it out with Velma's help near the end.
44	* EvilLaugh: Vincent still has one and he's one of the good guys.
45	* EvilRedeemedInACan: Asomad van Ghoul had spent so long imprisoned in the Chest of Demons that he reformed, and disippated peacefully after aiding Vincent van Ghoul, his descendant, keep the Chest out of evil hands.
46	* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Mortifer Quinch appeared to have perished after he and Vincent put Asmodeus back into the Chest of Demons, but it's eventually revealed that he actually used an illusion of his demise to throw off Vincent when he's unmasked as impersonating Asmodeus to get the Chest of Demons.]]
47	* FlatEarthAtheist: Velma spends the entire film refusing to believe in ghosts and such. [[spoiler:She seems to subverted it by the final act but since it was revealed to be Mortifer instead of Asmodeus, she states she's back to this. Arguably subverted by the end when Velma was too nervous to open the real Chest of Demons when Fred wonders if she's wrong.]]
48	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Albeit retroactively applied; Asmodeus's face is the basis of the demonic face on the Cursed Chest of Demons itself.
49	** Shaggy jokes that a painting of Vincent doesn't look a thing like him. [[spoiler: It's not him, it's his ancestor.]]
50	** At first Daphne gives the red van a highly technical designation and during the first chase its systems are demonstrated. Later, before Flim-Flam's identity is confirmed, he refers to it the same way and is familiar with those systems.
51	** When Velma asks if Flim-Flam ever sold one of his Chest of Demons coolers, he states only one. [[spoiler:Turns out Shaggy was the one who bought it and the chest the gang and Mortifer was fighting over was that cooler.]]
52	* FullyAbsorbedFinale: This movie was billed as a finale of ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', but wrapped into the DTV movie series. However that may not be exactly the case by the end scenes...
53	* TheGhost: The flashback sequences curiously leave out Scrappy-Doo, though he is still mentioned by Flim Flam.
54	* GreaterScopeVillain: Asmodeus is retroactively this for ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', being the last of the demons and their king who remained at large while the others were more active in dealing with Mystery Inc. [[spoiler:Of course if Velma's lie is right, Asmodeus already repented and instead watched over Vincent instead of causing trouble.]]
55	* IChooseToStay: Flim Flam rejects the offer to join Vincent and Mystery Inc on a transatlantic flight, stating that he is going to spread the tale of Asmodeus.
56	* InconsistentSpelling: There is debate on the name of the 12th ghost from "Horror-scope Scoob". The DVD of the original series named him Simbooloo. (We know the DVD was accurate on Reflector Specter's name as it was nowhere in the actual episode). This movie and the Scooby Doo encyclopedia have gone with Zimbulu.
57	* JerkassBall: Velma's insisting that ghosts aren't real and that her friends are being foolish for believing in them makes her come off as more smug and condescending than usual.
58	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Fred and Velma are completely confused about Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne having apparently gone up against demons, which reflects well on people who would likely be unaware of the period where Fred and Velma were OutOfFocus.
59	* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Because Scooby suffered a breakdown from experiencing ''real'' ghosts, Daphne and Shaggy decided to never speak of their time hunting down the 13 ghosts ever again. Unfortunately, the 13th ghost's attack made them go back on that.
60	* TheLoad: Part of the reason for Fred's discomfort throughout the film is he worries that with Daphne being the leader, he's worthless.
61	* LockAndLoadMontage: Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby go through one. Whereas Daphne dons more adventurous gear, Shaggy and Scooby are decked out in an assortment of sports equipment.
62	-->'''Velma:''' What are you two wearing?
63	-->'''Shaggy:''' Not nearly enough!
64	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Fred and Velma had no clue about Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne's adventures in ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo''.
65	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: This movie plays with this trope quite a bit. Velma who is regularly the skeptic takes a hardline cynic approach to this movie trying to find a logic explanation on everything, however none of the other characters seem to as agreeing.
66	** [[spoiler: In the end when Mortifer is captured, Vincent sees what he thinks is a cloud formation of his ancestor. Velma offers an explanation that maybe after all his time in the chest of demons he learned the error of his ways and now can rest in peace with his name redeemed. Shaggy however just thinks it was a cloud of dust. However after this Flim Flam questions Velma and she admits she doesn't believe it and just made that up. Making it unclear if the 13 ghost is really redeemed or still at large.]]
67	** [[spoiler: There's also the fact what looks to be Asmodeus appears not after his imposter is unmasked nor captured, but after an avalanche stops his chase. The gang had worried the car would cause an avalanche but the appearance right after it may imply Asmodeus did it himself. Further raising the question if he's redeemed and moved on or if he was keeping his distance to avoid going back in the chest.]]
68	** The final scene plays with this trope, twists it, turns it, inverts it, subverts it, and kicks it until it runs screaming, as it features [[spoiler:Velma rattling off a long list of "rational" explanations for not just the most recent adventure but ''all'' of Scooby-Doo, Shag, and Daph's time with Vincent... all of which are extremely flimsy (for instance, she states that the entirety of the ''13 Ghosts'' series was a high-altitude hallucination, even though only the first episode was in the Himalayas) and none of which the rest of the gang buy. The impression is less that there ''is'' an actual in-universe mystery, but that Velma desperately wants there to ''be'' one so she doesn't have to admit "magic" ''is'' likely the correct answer]].
69	* MissedTheCall: The 13th Ghost has been a problem for the past several months and Van Ghoul has been trying to contact Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne ever since, but their crystal orb got buried in their stuff when they thought the job was done and they forgot about it until a customer finds it at the garage sale.
70	* MythologyGag: Enough for its own [[MythologyGag/ScoobyDooAndTheCurseOfThe13thGhost page]].
71	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Mortifer Quinch's voice is a clear Peter Lorre impression. Of course this isn't the first time Nolan North has voiced a character with a Peter Lorre voice.
72	* NotAMask: After capturing Farmer Morgan at the start, the gang attempts to unmask him, only to find he's not wearing a mask.
73	-->'''Shaggy:''' Looks like this ghost went a little heavy with the spirit gum! ''(laughs with Scooby)''
74	* OhCrap:
75	** Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne's reactions when a customer finds Vincent Van Ghoul's crystal orb in their inventory, bringing back memories of the Cursed Chest of Demons. And it turns out that Van Ghoul has been trying to call them for the past several months because ''the thirteenth Ghost is still out there.''
76	** A hilarious one is when Fred realizes that Shaggy is the one piloting the jet they're currently riding in. He just quietly walks back to his seat and puts on his seatbelt.
77	** Flim Flam looks in horror when Velma mentions 13 Ghosts.
78	* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Velma and Fred don't realize that they've been talking with Flim Flam until the final act.
79	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: [[spoiler: While Vincent as an actual warlock who helped recapture the demons out of his taking the situation seriously, Mortifer a stage magician only really saw the chest of demons as an insanely rare artifact he could get rich off by selling.]]
80	* PowerNullifier: Vincent Van Ghoul is unable to perform magic when near Asmodeus. This is never really explained in-universe but one could suspect the baggage of this ghost being related to him as well as remembering the last round with Asmodeus that lead to Vincent believing his best friend died are causing Vincent some magical PTSD.
81	** If you want to throw Velma's skepticism a bone, maybe Vincent never could do magic. This film loves its ambiguity.
82	* RefusalOfTheSecondCall: Shaggy and Scooby really don't want to go back and deal with their real ghost problem, but they're forced to anyway.
83	* ReluctantRetiree: Mystery Incorporated is forced into one after one of their investigations leads into them accusing an innocent man, causing the sheriff to give a heads-up on how future screw-ups could lead to pressed charges or jailtime, as well as administer an ultimatum for the gang to stop investigating. Shaggy and Scooby welcome it, but once they find Van Ghoul's crystal orb again, though, [[TenMinuteRetirement this doesn't last]].
84	* TheResenter: Very downplayed with Fred. Due to Daphne stepping up as TheLeader, he's obviously uncomfortable about it and does minor little digs at her here and there but they aren't mean spirited. [[spoiler:Of course when Daphne starts doubt herself, he does a 180 and gives her a rousing speech.]]
85	* RunningGag: Once again, misfortune befalls the Mystery Machine. In ''[[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooFrankencreepy Frankencreepy]]'', it got blown up. Now, Fred is forced to sell it.
86	** Throughout the movie, Fred keeps finding himself stuck with the roles of ''other'' Mystery Inc. members - haggling Scooby Snacks, riding shotgun, stumbling across a secret door by blind luck, getting caught in a net trap - and, usually, being ''terrible'' at them.
87	* ScoobyDooHoax: [[spoiler: The demon we follow through the movie is actually not Asmodeus King of the Demons but Vincent Van Ghoul's old partner Mortifer. He wanted the chest of demons as an artifact after all these years tried to get it. When his plans fail though, we are left with a MaybeMagicMaybeMundane situation with several different intrepretations.]]
88	* SequelHook: By the end of the film, [[spoiler:Asmodeus is still out there, albeit speculated to now be [[TheAtoner harmless]], leading to the possibility of a followup]].
89	** Fred also implies they may not have been wrong in the first place regarding the opening mystery.
90	* ShoutOut:
91	** The first glimpse of the demon Asmodeus shows him in darkness and posing with crossed arms, making him resemble Chernabog from ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}''.
92	** "Asmodeus" is the name of a demon from the series ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', which just did [[Recap/SupernaturalS13E16ScoobyNatural a crossover episode]] with ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' the previous year before this film.[[invoked]]
93	** The demonic black car without a (visible) driver that attacks the group is like ''Film/TheCar''.
94	* SkepticNoLonger: Velma admits to Flim-Flam she was happier when she ''didn't'' believe in ghosts. But she rebukes this by the end still believing none of the events she witnessed were real. Much to the amazement of everyone else present.
95	* SmoochOfVictory: Daphne pulls Flim-Flam into a full-out snog towards the end.
96	* TemptingFate: Shaggy states that he's glad that there's no more unfinished business in regards to ghosts or mysteries. And then someone wishes to buy Vincent Van Ghoul's crystal orb...
97	* TitleDrop: Unsurprisingly, Vincent Van Ghoul delivers, "WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou?"
98	* UnfinishedBusiness: What kickstarts the movie; the buyer who brings out Vincent Van Ghoul's crystal ball dig up bad memories from Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby... not helping that the 13th Ghost is still out there.
99	* WhamLine: Those familiar with ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' will be shocked with this.
100	-->'''Vincent:''' I found the 13th Ghost!
101	* WhamShot:
102	** Coupled with the line, but the OhCrap Moment with Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby and seeing Vincent Van Ghoul's face in the crystal ball!
103	** An ''older'' Flim-Flam is shown interacting with Fred and Velma.
104	* WorfHadTheFlu: Fred can't drive a stick shift here. ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMoonMonsterMadness'' revealed that the Mystery Machine is a stick shift.
105	* WouldYouDoItForAScoobySnack: Played with. Daphne tells Fred to do this with Shaggy and Scooby, but Shaggy has to tell Freddy on how to "haggle" correctly.

Context WesternAnimation / ScoobyDooAndTheCurseOfThe13thGhost