Not since “The Witch’s Ghost” has there been a “Scooby Doo” adventure so deeply rooted in Halloween that it qualifies as automatic viewing for the holiday. While it is a change in pace for the Mystery Inc. crew, it’s a fun adventure in to the magic and supernatural element, along with some pretty stellar animation, and a pretty awesome surprise ending that I admittedly didn’t see coming.
Scooby, Shaggy and the gang visit and theme park and during a magic show, the pair of pals accidentally anger a washed up magician known as the Amazing Krudsky. Anxious for revenge, and for actual magic, he kidnaps the Princess Fairy Willow, and steals her powers. Hungry for more power, he raises his own Goblin army, and wants to dethrone the all mighty Goblin King, the ruler of all magic and darkness in Halloween Land. Now, Shaggy and Scooby have to venture through Halloween Land through peril, hoping to stop Krudsky before he turns over the Willow to the Goblin King, and grabs all the power of Hallowen for himself.
“The Goblin King” is a fairly quick moving but very fun Scooby Doo adventure that celebrates everything that’s fun about Halloween. Surprisingly, the characters Freddy, Daphne, and Velma have little to do, as they spend only a portion of the movie on screen. Velma even passes out, contributing absolutely nothing while the movie revolves mainly around Shaggy and Scooby. Thankfully their adventure through Halloween Land is a ton of fun, as the landscape and monsters are very vividly imagined. There’s a great confrontation with a werewolf, a pair of wacky goblin soldiers, and a friendly Jack O Lantern who helps the pair on their journey.
Jay Leno is especially fun as Jack O’ Lantern, the sentient pumpkin escaping the clutches of the headless horseman, and he’s a great hero and ally through the very end. “The Goblin King” along with being a great Halloween treat also garners a stellar cast, including Hayden Panetierre, Wallace Shawn, Wayne Knight, Tim Curry, and Lauren Bacall, respectively. If you’re in the market for a genuinely fun, and spooky Halloween adventure, “Scooby Doo and the Goblin King” will definitely cure the craving.