Scooby and the gang star in this original animated Halloween movie.

The best, original Scooby-Doo animated movie seen for some years, Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King is genuinely imaginative, fun, and full of surprises--particularly in its vocal casting. Besides the usual group--Casey Kasem still going strong as the voice of Shaggy (since 1969), Frank Welker as both Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc.'s leader, Fred, Mindy Cohn as Velma and Grey DeLisle as Daphne--Goblin King features Wallace Shawn, Lauren Bacall, Tim Curry and Wayne Knight in substantial roles. The lively story finds the Mystery Inc. gang enjoying a Halloween night at a carnival, where a hack magician (Knight) steals the power of a fairy on unauthorized leave from the spirit world. Faced with a threat to Fred, Velma, and Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby enter that parallel dimension overrun by elves, headless horsemen, witches, a talking pumpkin, etc. Their mission is to get to the Goblin King (Curry), who can stop the magician’s feverish quest for more and more power. The story is endlessly colorful and sharp, more of a fable than the average Scooby-Doo cartoon as Shaggy and Scooby, unlikely heroes, wander through a wonderland of ghouls for an answer. --Tom Keogh