Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)

You won't be disappointed!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Parental Warning: This film contains scenes of Scrappy-Doo.It should be rated XXX just for that, shouldn't it? But, honestly, this was one of the "easing off of Scrappy" films, so, like in the Werewolf one, he isn't nearly as annoying as he is in his involvement with the rest of the franchise.Really the bad taste that comes in your mouth is the premise. Shaggy and Scooby go to an all girls school to become gym teachers.First, that sounds like a teenage sex comedy. Second,how on earth did Shaggey get a job as a PE teacher? What does that say about the school that hired him? Gym teachers like him are the reason that American Education has taken a nose dive and we have a problem with obesity in this country.Anyway, all jokes aside, it's still a girls school, but the girls are Ghouls and their parents come...hilarity ensues...despite the premise.It's actually not that bad and has better moments than the reluctant Werewolf, which is in the same era of Scooby Movies and really oddly made all things considered.Ghoul School feels better, it looks better, and it has better laughs...despite Scrappy's involvement.

It is not perfect and it is not the best Scooby Doo movie, in my opinion that's Witch's Ghost, but Ghoul's School is I think better than people say it is. I admit I hated this movie when I first saw it as I thought it was corny and lame and the fact that I was going through a Scrappy-hating phase probably didn't help either. I watched it again, and like with Reluctant Werewolf which I also hated at first, I am glad I gave it a chance.It has its flaws mind. The pacing is draggy in spots, Scrappy while not as contemptible as he can be is still rather annoying and I really could have done without Scrappy's rap, then again I have a dislike of rap in general so maybe I'm biased.That said, the animation is not too bad really, there are some lush backgrounds and a majority of the characters are well drawn. The incidental music is decent, and the jokes, script and puns are funny, perhaps corny in parts but the original show wasn't always sophisticated humour either and that worked. The story is a departure from usual Scooby Doo fare but it does hold interest, and has a lot of entertaining parts especially the party with the ghoul girls' parents, the match between the girls and the boys and any scene with the villainess of the piece Revolta.And I liked the characters, Scrappy you either love or hate, but Scooby and Shaggy are delightful as always and their antics are just as wildly funny as before. The pet dragon is a very nice addition, and almost makes the movie, and I liked the ghoul girls too, Sebella is my favourite as she is quite beautiful and has this seductive element to her. Revolta who looks as awful as she sounds is an intriguing villainess, her motives aren't exactly original, but she does have some great lines, a sinister presence and a chilling voice. Finally the voice acting is well done, especially Don Messick and Casey Kasem who never fail to bring a smile to my face as Scooby and Shaggy.So overall, it isn't brilliant, but it's better than people give credit for. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This film is very cool. However, this movie was actually aired as part of the "Hanna-Barbera Superstar" 1987-1989 TV series which featured TV movies starring various Hanna-Barbera characters (a notable example is "The Good, The Bad, and the Huckleberry Hound") and "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School" is one of them! It isn't like "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island" or "What's New Scooby-Doo," but it is more like the 70s and 80s TV series. It is quite entertaining, despite some of the lame jokes and puns. But the only main problem with this film is that SCRAPPY-DOO is in it! However, he is not that annoying in this film. The ghoul girls are also neat, from Sibella (the daughter of Count Dracula; her catchphrase is "Fangtastic") to Winnie the Werewolf (her father looks a lot like the Van Heisling werewolf!) Plus, since this was made after the "13 Ghosts" series, Shaggy wears a red shirt and blue pants and he has a red Mystery Machine, and Fred, Velma and Daphne are not in it. But I find that a bit OK. Plus, the evil witch Revolta is AWESOME!!! Overall, I recommend it to those who like Scooby-Doo, but not to the anti-Scrappy people!

Eesh! What is this supposed to be? Shaggy and Scooby's solo outings usually make for good movies. But Ghoul School comes nowhere near the surprisingly good Boo Brothers or Reluctant Werewolf and is so far behind modern Scooby Doo animation. It really is the cheapest, shoddiest Scooby effort I've ever seen.There isn't even a mystery, thus explaining the lack of the Mystery Machine (an ugly red van is the replacement). So why on earth they bothered to make this a Scooby Doo movie is puzzling if they weren't deliberately exploiting a popular character. It's just all wrong! Shaggy gets a job in an all-girl (actually Ghoul) school teaching Phys. Ed. I'm sorry but when did Shaggy become a qualified Gym Teacher? There's some pointless story involving a volleyball competition with a Military School next door that isn't good enough to distract from the bore and then after that some old hag called Revolta turns up and turns them all into zombies. Uh...yeah. Shaggy obviously saves the day but by this point I had dozed off. It bored me to sleep!The 1.33:1 full frame picture shows how cruddy the animation is and the sound is plain old mono. Aside from the usual 'how to draw' extras this DVD also features a trailer that cheekily uses lots of footage of modern Scooby animation and mixes it with Ghoul School to make it look new. I wasn't fooled.Don't buy this. Rent it for the kids if there is really nothing else.