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This needs a stretch. (Feel free to remove when satisfied of completion.) Needed: *Objects is incomplete. *Miscellaneous is incomplete. |
The Haunted Showboat is the second episode of the second season of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and the eighteenth overall.
Premise[]
With the help of Josie and the Pussycats, the gang try to fix up a run down showboat, so it can open for business. But their efforts are hindered by the ghosts of Captain Scavenger and Injun Joe.
Synopsis[]
The episode begins with the gang lost on the road in Mark Twain country and on their way to a Mark Twain festival. Shaggy is the chief navigator and has taken them on another endless shortcut.
While driving, the gang hear a spooky groan, and the Mystery Machine gets stuck after falling through a rotten boardwalk board. Stuck in front of an abandoned Showboat called the Dixie Queen, the gang decide to go aboard to take cover from an incoming storm. While boarding the showboat, the gang hear an evil cackle and run into the gang from Josie and the Pussycats who are running off the ship.
The gang recognize Josie and the Pussycats, who explain they had a show booked on the haunted boat they are now on. They also meet Captain Cannaby and first mate Johnny Briggs. Captain Cannaby explains he hired Josie so the Dixie Queen can make its triumphant return to the Mississippi. Captain Cannaby hears some loose chains rattling and explains it’s Injun Joe, who is a villain from Tom Sawyer. Injun Joe was an escaped convict who dragged a chain from his wrist.
Scooby and the gang then run into the ghost which terrifies them. They also see another Ghost called the ghost of Captain Scavenger, who demands they leave the boat. The gang decide to turn in for the night and put Scooby and Shaggy on guard duty. The cowardly duo instantly run into the ghosts but are knocked out by a bottle of sleeping gas. Alexandra from Josie and the Pussycats suspects it can’t be a real ghost as they wouldn’t need sleeping gas to knock someone out.
Captain Cannaby then swings by and explains the boat is haunted as someone stole his life savings from his safe. Johnny Briggs is missing, and a note is left behind telling them to leave or else they’ll never see Johnny again.
Captain Cannaby tells them to leave while he goes to talk to the Sheriff. They then meet Lance Goodwin who wants to buy the Showboat to turn it into a gambling boat. Lance is very suspicious as he mentions that he knows Johnny is missing. While Captain Cannaby is off to get the sheriff, the gang decide to fix up the boat. Lots of weird hijinks occur like chains getting in the engine equipment and the sprinklers going off. Despite all the chaos, the two gangs get the boat looking like brand new.
Lance Goodwin shows up once more tells the gang that he just bought the mortgage payments for the boat. If they don’t pay up in 3 days, the boat will be his. Josie explains after their benefit concert, they’ll have more than enough money to pay off the boat.
Freddy and the girls set up some traps and end up catching Captain Cannaby. The Captain explains the sheriff wasn’t in but is impressed with the fixed-up boat. The gang try to explain that it was probably Johnny who stole the money and ran off but the Captain won’t hear of it. After running into the ghosts once more, the gangs huddle and put another plan into action. The gang’s plan fails as there are hidden microphones that reveal what’s going on. The two gangs also find the stolen money but are trapped in a net. Fortunately, Scooby and Shaggy are off on their own, so they are available to rescue them.
The net is placed on a barge, and the gang are taken off the showboat. Thinking fast, Josie tosses money into the water so that she can leave a trail.
Shaggy and Scooby pick up on the money trail quickly and follow it to a hidden cave, where the others are placed in a sunken pit.
Shaggy lowers the cargo net so everyone can climb out of the pit and get into a final chase with Injun Joe and Captain Scavenger.
Eventually, the ghosts are captured after falling into the water.
Lance Goodwin shows up and introduces himself as a US Treasury agent. Captain Scavenger is Captain Cannaby, who has a second disguise, and is Jack Canna, a notorious counterfeiter. His partner was a fake Injun Joe. Johnny shows up and says he inherited the boat, and unbeknownst to him, Captain Cannaby was just using the boat to counterfeit money. When he got wise, he was thrown in the brig.
The criminals were using the cave to print up the money, and the Showboat to distribute it.
With another mystery solved, the Showboat sails again and Josie performs her benefit show.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- Josie and the Pussycats (only appearance)
- Alexander Cabot III (only appearance)
- Alan (only appearance)
- Alexandra Cabot (only appearance)
- Sebastian (only appearance)
- Johnny Briggs (only appearance)
- Lance Goodwin (only appearance)
Villains:
- Ghost of Captain Scavenger (only appearance)(Jack Canna's disguise)
- Captain Cannaby (only appearance)(Jack Canna's disguise)
- Jack Canna (only appearance)
- Ghost of Injun Joe (only appearance)(Jack Canna's partner's disguise)
- Jack Canna's partner (only appearance)(no lines)
Other characters:
- Tom Sawyer (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Missouri
- Mississippi River
- Dixie Queen
- Tom Sawyer's cavern
Objects[]
Vehicles[]
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/Reason |
|---|---|
| Captain Cannaby | He was in denial that there are ghosts on his ship. |
| Johnny Briggs | He knew the combination of the robbed safe. |
| Lance Goodwin | He wanted to buy the Dixie Queen. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/Reason |
|---|---|
| Jack Canna as Captain Cannaby and the Ghost of Captain Scavenger His partner as the Ghost of Injun Joe |
To cover up a counterfeiting operation. |
Cast[]
Full credits[]
The following credits are how they are seen on-screen (or as close as possible).
- Produced and directed by: William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
- Story: Jack Mendelsohn, Tom Dagenais, Norman Maurer, Larz Bourne, Woody Kling, Sid Morse
- Story direction: Jean Blanchard, Bob Dranko, Jay Sarbry, Ron Campbell, Vev Risto, Howard Swift, Ernie Terrazas
- Associate producers: Alex Lovy, Zoran Janjic
- Voices: Nicole Jaffe, Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Heather North, Franklin Welker
- Voices: Sherry Alberoni, Mike Bell, Joe Besser, Benjamin Crothers, Jerry Dexter, Robert Do Qui, Richard Elkins, Jamie Farr, Stu Gilliam, Arlene Golon, Mark Hamill, Bob Hastings, Jackie Joseph, Phil Luther, Julia McWhirter, Alan Oppenheimer, Barbara Pariot, John Stephenson, Janet Waldo, Jonathan Walmsley, Johnny Williams
- Musical director: Hoyt Curtin
- Musical direction: Paul DeKorte
- Animation director: Peter Luschwitz
- Production design: Iwao Takamoto
- Production co-ordinator: Kirsten Hansen
- Animation checking: Narelle Nixon, Louise Luschwitz, Carmel Lennon, Jolanta Pillich, Kay Self
- Layout: Milton Fredlund, Chebby Badham, Andrea Bresciani, Sebastian Hurpia, Stephen Lumley, David Skinner
- Animation: Stuart Barry, Susan Bleak, John Boersema, Andrea Bresciani, John Burge, Gairden Cooke, Chris Cuddington, Warwick Gilbert, Don MacKinnon, Paul McAdam, Gus McLaren, Romek Pachucki, Yvonne Pearsall, Kevin Roper, Laurie Sharpe, Robbert Smit, Gerald Wylie
- Backgrounds: Richard Zaloudek, Milan Zahorsky, Sue Speer
- Technical supervisor: Jerry Smith
- Ink & paint supervisor: Zora Bubica
- Xerography: Olga Zahorsky
- Supervising film editor: Peter Addison
- Film editors: Peter Jennings, Graham Whelan, Catherine MacKenzie, Ian Spruce
- Negative cutting: Adina Film Services
- Camera: Jerry Smith, John Cumming, Carol Laird, Peter Huiswaard, Kieran Mulgrew
- A Hanna-Barbera Production
- © 1973 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.
- a hanna-barbera production
Notes/Trivia[]
- This episode marks the final animated appearance of Josie and the Pussycats to date. While Josie and the Pussycats' 1970 animated series ended on January 2, 1971, they continued on in Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space in 1972, which lasted in reruns until January 26, 1974. Early production art for Hanna-Barbera's 1977 "all-star" Battle of the Networks spoof, Laff-a-Lympics, featured Alexandra, Sebastian, Alexander, and Melody, among other Hanna-Barbera characters, as members of the Scooby Doobies team, but legal problems with Archie Comics prevented their inclusion in the final program.
- Despite being well known for musical numbers on their own series, Josie and the Pussycats do not perform any songs, though they do appear playing their instruments in their cat costumes at the very end of the episode, nor does this episode include chase music.
- The group talks as though the events in Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer tales actually happened.
- This episode shares its title with a Nancy Drew book that has a similar plot.
- This episode along with the next episode are the only episodes in Season 2 to have a red title card.
Miscellaneous[]
- "Zoinks" count: 1.
- "Jinkies" count: 1.
- Traps: Ghost trap
Cultural references[]
- When Shaggy is having trouble understanding the map at the beginning of the episode, he says it is "Greek to him", paraphrasing a line from the William Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar.
- Daphne states that they are in "Mark Twain country." In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the title character lives in the town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, which is fictional, but based on Mark Twain's own hometown of Hannibal, Missouri.
- Alexander calls himself "Alexander the Great."
- When Shaggy and Scooby dive into the brig, Shaggy shouts 'Geronimo' while Scooby shouts 'Sitting Bull.' Sitting Bull was the leader of the Sioux Indians who defeated George Armstrong Custer during the Battle of Little Big Horn.
- When the rest of the gang and the Pussycats enter the secret cavern, Melody says, "Hey, he forgot to say...open Sesame Street." Sesame Street was one of the most popular children's shows at the time, by that time entering its fifth season.
Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches[]
- Although their shadows are seen, Shaggy and Scooby are missing from the title card. However, the flashlight projects onto Josie and the Pussycats as if they both were there.
- After Shaggy says, "I'll take the 'no ghosts,'" Alexandra's voice comes out of Alexander's mouth when he says, "Me three," and when he screams while running down and back up the gangplank.
- When the gang are going back to the Dixie Queen on the log, Velma is missing.
- When the ghosts fall overboard at the end of the episode, Alexander's voice comes out of Alexandra's mouth.
- Valerie suffers animation mistakes throughout the episode:
- Her pink sleeves turn purple as her dress four times.
- Her feet turn purple as her shoes two times.
- Her shoes turn black in one scene.
- Her skin turns white in one scene.
- She loses the light pink bottom of her outfit in one scene.
- Josie loses her lipstick several times throughout the episode.
- When the Pussycats ran across Injun Joe, Josie's shoes and Melody's shoes swap colors briefly.
- When the ghosts fell overboard at the end, Josie's shirt turns the same dark blue as her skirt.
- The shot of the captain and Joe after they fall into the river and before they're unmasked shows Joe's head colored beige instead of brown, even though he's brown in all other shots afterwards, leaving it a mystery if the man dressed up as Joe is an actual Native American who only covered himself with white paint while pretending to be a ghost, or a white man wearing not only white paint, but also a mask and bodysuit resembling a Native American.
- The Blu-ray release of this episode has significant timing issues during the opening sequence. Warner has corrected this issue on iTunes but has not announced any plans for a disc replacement program.
Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs/oddities[]
- The episode goes between referring to Injun Joe as a real person from in-universe history, to something in a book Mark Twain wrote. Injun Joe would have to be from real history for his ghost to be a credible threat.
- How the Josie and the Pussycats cast are inexplicably back on Earth raises questions, but this episode could've been set before the spin-off.
Home media[]
The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection DVD set released by Warner Home Video on June 4, 2019.- The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The (Almost) Complete Collection Blu-ray set released by Warner Home Video on June 4, 2019.
- The Best of The New Scooby-Doo Movies: The Lost Episodes DVD released by Warner Home Video on June 4, 2019.
Quotes[]
Fred: Besides, we're all stuck miles from nowhere, and if the storm hits the Dixie Queen will be a good refuge. |
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