SithVamp Reviews: Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School

Welcome back to the SithVamp Halloween SpecDracular! Who’s not familiar with Scooby-Doo? He, just like Mickey Mouse, the Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry or Popeye, is one of the most famous cartoon characters ever. And since his franchise has to do with monsters, this year’s SithVamp Halloween SpecDracular will include a Scooby-Doo movie. My most favorite one: Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School!

Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School came out in 1988. The movie opens with Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy driving in the rain in a van that’s not the Mystery Machine, to the school: the Grimwood Girl School. When they get there, they meet the school’s principal, Mrs. Grimwood and her pet, a hot-tempered dragon called Matches.

Then Mrs. Grimwood introduces Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy to the students in the school: Elsa Frankenteen a Frankenstein Monster girl, Dracula’s daughter Sibella, a little werewolf called Winnie, a ghost girl named Phantasma and last but not least, a little mummy girl named Tanis. Since they’re big cowards, Shaggy and Scooby get scared and try to escape, but Mrs. Grimwood says Shaggy has a contract, so he can’t leave. Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy agree to stay and teach the girls.

After they settle down, Mrs. Grimwood and the Ghouls tell Scooby and Shaggy that they need a coach who can help them beat the rivaling military school in a volleyball game and win the trophy. Scooby and Shaggy agree to help. The next morning Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy start teaching the Ghouls. First it’s ballet-dancing. While they’re dancing, the police cadets from Calloway Military School are spying on them. Suddenly, they notice that their ball is on the Grimwood side, so they go to get it back, but Matches scares them away.

Then Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy and the Ghouls go out for jogging. That is until Shaggy and Scooby run into an apple tree, they take a bite, but the apples turn out to be rotten. Then it’s lunchtime. Scooby sees steaks, but Mrs. Grimwood feeds them to her Venus Flytraps. Scooby and Shaggy decide to look for something in the garden, but all the fruit turn out to be rotten. Shaggy says he wants pizza, so Sibella turns into a bat to get some. When she returns, Shaggy and Scooby start eating the pizza and Sibella reveals that it has spiderweb, snails and tadpole tails on it. Shaggy and Scooby pretend to like the pizza. Neither Scooby or Shaggy, nor the Ghouls notice, but they are being watched by someone else… it’s the movie’s main villain, Revolta, an evil witch, who has plans with the Ghouls…

Meanwhile, the Cadets are practicing for the volleyball match and their teacher, Col. Calloway goes to the Ghoul School to discuss the match with Mrs. Grimwood. They sit down for some tea and Col. Calloway tries to discuss the game, but he’s creeped out by such things as Sibella turning into a bat all the time, the cakes are moldy and the tea is made of toadstool. He’s also annoyed by Matches. Then Mrs. Grimwood introduces Col. Calloway to Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy. The Colonel tells Shaggy that they should get ready for the game at 2 O’Clock. Shaggy agrees and he and Scooby start training the Ghouls harder: we later see them doing Aerobics (or as Mrs. Grimwood calls it: “Scare-Obics”). Then they do more exercises and finally they go for a swim in the moat. Once again, Revolta is watching them. Then the Game begins: Grimwoods vs Calloways, which ends with the Grimwood Ghouls winning the game.

Then the Ghoul School throws its Halloween Party. Here is where Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy meet the Ghouls’ parents: Sibella’s father is indeed Dracula, Elsa’s dad is the Frankenstein Monster, Phanty’s father is a ghost, who acts like the Phantom of the Opera, and Winnie’s and Tanis’ dads are, surprise-surprise, are a werewolf and a mummy. As you can imagine, Shaggy and Scooby don’t take this too well, but the Monster parents tell them they won’t hurt them, so in the end they all enjoy the party. When the party ends, the Monster dads leave with warning Shaggy and Scooby that they must take care of their daughters, or else…

Then Revolta sends one of her Spider-Bats to the Grimwood School and brainwash Shaggy: she orders him to take the Ghouls on a road trip to the Barren Bog the next day. In the morning, Shaggy indeed takes the Ghouls, along with Scooby and Scrappy to the Barren Bog. Meanwhile, Col. Calloway also sends the Cadets to Barren Bog for some morning exercises. Unfortunately they get stuck in quicksand, but Shaggy and the Ghouls rescue them. This is when Revolta puts her plan into action: she sends her henchmen: the Grim Creeper and the Spider-Bats and they kidnap and brainwash the Ghouls one by one: first Winnie, then Phanty, then Elsa, then Tanis and finally Sibella.

Anyway, since he knows that the Monster dads will kill him if anything happens to the Ghouls, Shaggy, along with Scooby, Scrappy, Matches, go to Revolta’s castle to rescue the Ghouls. They even ask the Calloway Cadets to help, but since they’re still mad at the Grimwood Ghouls for taking their trophy, they refuse.

At Revolta’s castle, we learn what Revolta’s plan is: she wants to become become the greatest monster ever, even greater than Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf-Man and the others, that’s why she brainwashed the Ghouls, and at midnight she wants to “Revoltize” them. Let me tell you something, sister: you’re a fool if you think you can be greater than Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf-Man or the Mummy.

Anyway, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy and Matches arrive at the castle, but little do they know that the castle is full of traps: Shaggy looks into an enchanted mirror and his reflection traps him in the mirror and gets free. Soon Scooby, Scrappy and Matches notice this, so they chase Evil Reflection Shaggy back to the mirror and the real Shaggy gets free again. Sadly, Revolta and the Grim Creeper trap Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy and Matches too in a well, where a monster wants to eat them. Meanwhile back at Calloway Academy, the Cadets realize what big jerks they were, so they set off to rescue the Ghouls.

Back at Revolta’s castle, Revolta is about to “Revoltize” the Ghouls, but luckily, her plan gets foiled by Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, Matches and the Cadets. Elsa throws Revolta’s wand into the potion cauldron, but this will cause an explosion, so everyone has to flee, before the whole castle blows up. The Cadets help Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy, Matches and the Ghouls escape, but before Revolta and the Grim Creeper can escape too, their broomsticks disintegrate and they fall down and that’s the last we ever see of them.

The movie ends with Mrs. Grimwood thanking Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy for saving the Ghouls and introduces them to some new students: the daughter of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, an alien girl and the daughter of Godzilla. This, however, is too much for Shaggy and Scooby, so they flee the school along with Scrappy. The Ghouls and Matches wave them goodbye.

And that’s Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School! What do I think of it? I love it! It’s still my favorite Scooby-Doo movie.

Good things:
- I like the idea of this school for monster girls.

Bad things:
- No Fred, Daphne and Velma

Favorite character:
- Sibella
- Tanis
- Matches
- Winnie
- Elsa Frankenteen
- Phanty
- Shaggy
- Mrs. Grimwood

Least favorite character:
- Revolta

So overall, I think Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School is a great movie. I’m giving it 9 bats out of 10. See you next time on the SithVamp October SpecDracular!