Many of you know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge.
But few know the true mystery behind the night that changed his life.
The year is 1843, London.
And the date is December 24th,
Christmas Eve.
All sorted, my beauties.
GHOSTLY VOICE: Scrooge.
(BELL TOLLS)
Who's there? That you, Cratchit?
Scrooge.
(LOUD FOOTSTEPS)
'Tis I, Jacob Marley, your late business partner,
returned from the great beyond with a message.
You shall be visited by three...
(TUTTING) What? You don't knock?
I know we were partners and you've been dead these past seven years,
but there's still such a thing as manners!
Manners? I'm a ghost, we don't knock.
We just appear, we show up!
Oh, you show up unannounced, do you?
They don't teach you to give fair warning in the afterlife?
No, they do, which is why I'm here to give you this warning.
(OMINOUSLY) You shall be visited by three ghosts.
Oh, so, there's three more of you coming?
Will they have the decency to let me know before they arrive?
That's what I'm trying to do.
Well, get on with it then.
(OMINOUSLY) You shall be visited by three ghosts...
Yes, we've covered that already. And?
And they will attempt to save you from your miserly ways.
Oh, so I'm miserly now.
We're going to add name-calling to the list of unpleasantries.
Allow me to recap.
You show up at my office unannounced, you're bringing three uninvited guests
and you've resorted to petty insults.
Pray tell, what intrusive act should I be expecting next? Mmm?
(SIGHS)
Apparently, you don't say goodbye before you leave either.
(EXCLAIMING)
Ah!
So, you intend to frighten me then?
-I'll add that to the list. -(EXCLAIMS)
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
(GROWLS)
(TIRES SCREECHING)
SCOOBY DOO: Scooby-Dooby-Doo!
Ah, Christmas in England.
Isn't our modern age incredible?
It's like I fell asleep on a ship in New York
and woke up in London.
Ah, you did.
You bashed your head on the cabin door on the way in
and you got knocked out. The voyage took a month.
Ah, that explains the contusion.
I'm just excited to be here for the New Science and Reason symposium.
My whole life, I've dreamt of speaking at this event.
It's my chance to exchange weighty theories with the greatest minds of our age.
Tweed as far as the eye can see.
Well, what excites me about London is the spirit of mystery.
Imagine how exciting the mystery-solving is here.
In America, nine times out of 10, the solution is a raccoon did it.
Raccoons.
Before we do anything, we need to exchange our money for British currency.
Oh. I think this is the place.
(SHIVERING)
Hi. Excuse me, uh, mister...
Cratchit, Bob Cratchit, at your service with great resentment.
What can I do for you good people,
who are keeping me from my six hungry children on Christmas Eve?
-You have six children? -Ah, yes.
Well, there's Tiny Tim, he's my youngest.
Massive Tim, Fairly Large Tim.
The twins, Medium Tim and also Medium Tim.
-And Greg. -Greg?
Of course. You can't have six children all named Tim.
Uh, we just need to exchange our currency.
Certainly. We're the only place open.
Welcome to my endless nightmare.
But only Mr. Scrooge handles the cash.
He's right up those stairs.
Hello?
SCROOGE: I'm not here, foul specters!
Mr. Scrooge?
Ah!
I must have fooled them with my protective money cocoon.
Oh, sorry. I thought you were the ghosts I was warned about.
BOTH: (GASPING) Ghosts?
There are no such thing as ghosts.
Right! I knew he was trying to trick me.
Who was?
The ghost!
(GASPS) Do you feel that?
It's the spirit of mystery.
Mr. Scrooge, have you noticed any
raccoons in the area?
Fred, knock it off.
Uh, listen. We just came by to exchange our currency.
But I can see you're crazy...
Busy! Crazy busy.
Nonsense. The more money one has, the bigger the money cocoon
to cower in.
There. Your money minus a 30% transaction fee.
Good night.
Mr. Scrooge, we can help you.
We've solved lots of mysteries back home.
Con artists! You won't get a quid.
Oh, we don't charge for mystery solving.
Besides, it's Christmas.
Christmas? Bah, humbug!
Uh, what does "Bah, humbug" mean?
I don't know. It just popped out.
SCROOGE: Why do you have to come into my house?
We need to look for clues.
Nice place, though not very festive.
You must save a fortune on
things that make people happy?
Ms. Blackwhite! Ms. Blackwhite!
-Yes, Mr. Scrooge. -Ah!
I'm going to go lie down until Dr. Buggly arrives.
We have, uh... What's that word? Means people in your house that you want to leave?
-Guests? -Yes, guests.
We have those. Go in the dining room
and straighten up, would you?
-(SCREAMS) -(BONES CRACKING)
How's this?
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Good evening. Dr. Buggly.
I was just sitting down with the family for Christmas dinner.
What's wrong with old Scrooge this time?
His late ex-business partner told him the Ghosts of Christmas Past,
Present and Yet to Come will visit him in order to change his miserly ways.
Oh, well... Wait. Who are you people and where did you come from?
Oh, we're here for the symposium.
We just came over from America.
Mmm.
Well, I see you're well-traveled.
Belgium, Latvia, Indonesia.
Perhaps you've all brought with you a touch of that Belgi-latvian-donesian
brain fever that's going around,
and Mr. Scrooge has contracted it.
I should go up and have a look at him. (SLURPS)
Okay, gang, let's search for clues.
Light it up.
(RATTLING)
Mmm.
SHAGGY: Can't get it.
Mmm. Mmm.
(SNEEZES)
ALL: Oh, man!
(ALL SCREAM)
Should I wave a stick at it and make hissing sounds?
(HISSES)
(ALL SCREAMING)
(GASPS)
-Mmm? -FRED: Velma Dinkley?
-Yes. Hmm? -GIRL: Yes.
-(GASPS) Ah! -Velma.
I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.
Look at you as you once were.
So full of potential.
Gifted with a mind that could help all humanity.
A mind that could solve the world's problems.
I forgot how close I'd been to solving the toilet paper conundrum.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
FREDDY: Velma, it's Freddy Jones from down the street.
I wanna talk to you.
Someone wants to talk to me?
Hi, Velma. This is Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby.
Your mother seems really excited you have visitors.
(MUNCHING)
Yeah. She even offered to pay us in cookies if we got you out of the house.
We're easily bought.
I'm putting together a team to solve mysteries.
We need you.
You need me?
Someone stole a Christmas pie cooling on Mrs. Moony's window sill.
BOTH: Hey!
The thief left these strange markings.
I think it might be some kind of code used by a...
Those are scratches made by a raccoon trying to climb up to the window sill.
Raccoons!
See? I knew you were the perfect person to join our gang.
Come on, let's go.
You turned your back on your true purpose for the spirit of mystery.
All of your ideas and inventions were eventually discovered by others.
Your destiny was destroyed!
My destiny is wherever I end up.
How can it be destroyed? I'm not there yet.
Don't get technical with me, missy.
Your past haunts you, frightens you, I know,
because I'm your past!
(SCREAMS)
Bip, bip, bop.
Dr. Buggly?
What happened?
Ms. Blackwhite found you standing here muttering something about toilet paper.
Like, what's toilet paper?
Sounds confusing.
The Ghost of Christmas Past took me back to when I was little.
To when we first met.
Right!
Dr. Buggly, I'll leave you to help this poor deluded soul.
Are you okay, Velma?
Yes, it was just so...
strange being back there.
I...
I'd forgotten how much I...
How driven I was to...
Nothing. That couldn't have been real.
In my medical opinion, there's nothing wrong with any of you
a nice warm cup of mercury wouldn't fix. Huh?
Yes, thank you, Doctor. I'll take it from here.
We'll call you when the telephone is invented.
(SCROOGE SCREAMS)
-Help, quick! -What happened?
The Ghost of Christmas Past showed me how I let greed chase away my true love!
I'm feeling something,
uh, where I don't feel good about my choices.
-Regret? -Yes, regret!
(SCREAMS)
It seems like these ghosts are trying to do good in the world
by showing Scrooge the spirit of Christmas.
Whoever heard of ghosts doing good?
We need to find out what they're after.
Shaggy, Scooby, Daphne, you stay here.
Velma and I will go back to Scrooge's office.
The spirit of mystery calls.
Uh, Velma, are you coming?
Oh, right.
The spirit of mystery is calling, after all.
Hmm.
Hmm?
Look. These are letters from Bob Cratchit
begging Scrooge to help pay for a doctor
to see Tiny Tim.
Hmm. Well, he has no problem paying for his own health.
These are all medical bills.
It seems Scrooge is a bit of a hypochondriac.
Just recently he's been seen for the heebie jeebies, menopause,
and "What if my lips fell off for no reason?"
So, maybe Scrooge isn't the nicest, sanest person in the world,
but he's not doing anything illegal.
Maybe this isn't the best use of my, our time,
what with the symposium starting soon.
Fred, have you ever wanted more out of life than just solving mysteries?
I don't understand the question.
What if I, uh, we could contribute even more to the world
than just solving mysteries?
I don't follow.
Is solving mysteries all there is?
Hmm. Sounds like a mystery!
Argh!
(DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)
(MIMICS FRED) "Sounds like a mystery."
-(SCREAMS) -Present, my lady.
Um, sorry. I don't have a present for you.
No, but I have your present for you.
(GASPS)
I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. I will show you now.
The New Science and Reason symposium.
Great! I made it!
Uh, not so much, no.
Very well. The next speaker is Velma Dinkley.
-Is Velma Dinkley here? -Yes! I'm right here!
No, you're not here. That's the point.
-Ms. Dinkley? Ms. Dinkley! -No! I'm here!
Hello? Right here!
He cannot hear you, Velma.
You've been so caught up in solving a mystery
that you've missed the symposium.
No, this isn't real.
My friends would never let me miss the symposium.
Really? Is that what you think your friends are concerned with?
Let me show you where their priorities are.
BOTH: Merry Christmas!
They decorated Scrooge's house?
What is all this?
I'm trying to keep the ghosts away by making them think
you're suddenly filled with Christmas spirit.
We even made a Christmas feast!
Best plan ever in the history of plans.
I vote Daphne leader!
They don't seem too concerned about you missing the symposium.
Why are you doing this to me?
Aren't you supposed to be messing with Scrooge's life?
(GROANS) I've already visited old Scrooge.
While you're wasting time putting garbage up all over my house,
the Ghost of Christmas Present showed me how much suffering my greed is causing,
and I'm feeling slightly...
Oh! What's the word when you're responsible for some sort of wrong-doing?
Guilty. You're feeling guilty.
You know, people tell you you should feel this way
when you've done something deceitful or dishonest.
Guilty. (SLOWLY) Guilty.
They can't hear you.
Huh! Well, perhaps those ghosts have a point.
You did rip us off on our currency exchange.
-I'm back. Hey, what's going on? -Fred's back.
The woman at the decoration store
said this coin wasn't even British money.
Young lady, I've never seen that coin in my life.
The 30% transaction fee was when I ripped you off.
-FRED: Hmm. -(VELMA READING)
Sounds familiar. I wonder what country it's from.
Well, Fred will get to the bottom of this. It's obviously a clue.
Guys, we're dealing with ghosts here.
We have better things to do than investigate the origin of some coin.
But Fred, that was a clue!
See? They need you more than you need them.
Their spirit of mystery is holding you back from your true potential.
(STAMMERS) That's not true.
-Oh, it's true. It will be your undoing! -(SCREAMS)
Velma, there you are. Where have you been?
I, uh, I was with the Ghost of Christmas Present, and he was...
-Ghost? -Present?
Yes! We were right here!
Velma, are you sure you're okay?
We haven't seen anybody.
I'm telling you, he was here! He showed me the symposium.
Like, did he, did he look like that?
Yes, he actually looked exactly like that.
(GASPS) That's him!
-(ROARS) -Run!
(YELLING)
(GHOST ROARING)
-(PUCKERING) -(ROARS)
(ALL GASP)
-(ROARS) -(VELMA GRUNTING)
(GROANING)
Way to go, Velma. Useful as always.
Yeah, useful all right.
Find your clues, save you from ghosts.
Velma, what's gotten into you?
I'm supposed to be at the symposium.
But Velma, what about the spirit of mystery?
(EXCLAIMS) Who cares about the spirit of mystery?
(ALL GASP)
We care. Don't we?
Bah, humbug! I need some time to think.
-(SIGHS) -What's wrong, dear?
Nothing. I just suddenly realized I'm wasting my whole life.
That's the spirit.
Let me fix you some tea.
(SIGHS) I keep letting those ghosts get to me.
I'm not on the wrong path.
Even if I was, what's the worst that could happen?
(GASPS)
Here to show me my future if I don't change my ways?
-Where are we? -(SIGHS)
-1903. Why? -(SIGHS)
What are you saying?
Do you mean my friends are...
Over here, gang!
Fred!
Zoinks!
Like, hurry up, Scooby-Doo.
I'm 455 dog years old.
I'd like to think you're that many years young.
Wow. I can't believe it. After all this time, we're still at it!
-(GROWLS) -(GASPS)
-Always the bait. -If it ain't broke...
(GROWLS)
-A-ha! We trapped him! -Good work, gang.
Now, let's see who the monster really is.
ALL: (GASPING) Velma!
No, no. It's not true. It can't be!
Yes, it's true. I could've changed the world,
but there never was time for my dreams!
I wasted my life solving mysteries.
Too many people got credit for things I invented.
I had the idea for the airplane 20 years ago,
and I would've destroyed
the Wright Brothers' precious plane
if it wasn't for you
meddling really old people.
No! Make it stop, please!
It's not too late! I can still change!
I can still change...
Ah! Ah! How did I... Wha... What?
I can still change. I can still...change?
I'll never solve a mystery again.
I'll never solve...
(CLOCK CHIMES)
Oh, no! Scrooge!
I just hope I'm not too late!
(CLOCK CHIMES)
-(SNORING) -(DOOR CREAKS)
Another word for the future is surprise!
(GROWLING)
(GRUNTS)
Well, Mr. Future Ghost,
bet you didn't see that coming.
Well, I have to admit, you didn't do that horrible a job
for someone silly enough not to charge for your services.
Uh, thanks, Mr. Scrooge.
Now let's see who that ghost really is.
ALL: Dr. Buggly!
-But Buggly, why? -Let me explain.
Buggly knew the only thing Scrooge would spend his money on was his health.
He took advantage of Scrooge's fears for years
by diagnosing him with a bunch of nonsensical illnesses.
When Buggly found a letter from Bob Cratchit
asking for help with Tiny Tim's illness,
he saw a way to expand his patient list
by getting Scrooge to spend his money on other people's illnesses.
He just had to convince Scrooge to care about
the well-being of people like the Cratchits as much as he did his own.
So, Dr. Buggly dressed as ghosts
and confronted Scrooge with moments from his past, present and future
that would scare him into changing his miserly ways,
a tactic he would also use on me.
When Buggly saw me, the most studious of the gang,
as the biggest threat to his plan,
he showed me images of my life that would convince me
I was wasting my great potential by solving mysteries.
And it almost worked.
But I figured out what Scrooge had yet to.
We were being hypnotized.
The gold coin Scrooge gave us was inscribed "Gubmuh Hab."
Then I remembered in Latvia,
I saw a show by a local hypnotist named Gubmuh Hab.
Buggly recognized my luggage stickers,
which suggests he also traveled to Latvia
where he would've learned the secrets of hypnotism.
Left standing in front of the mirror in Scrooge's office,
I realized Buggly was able to hypnotize both Scrooge and me
by catching our eye with the reflection of the coin.
And as we became transfixed by the coin,
the engraved words became embedded in our subconscious,
but in reverse!
Gubmuh Hab spelled backwards is Bah Humbug.
And that, ladies and gentlemen,
is how the science of mystery deduction works.
Or as my friends would call it, the spirit of mystery.
(CROWD APPLAUDS)
-Nice work, Velma. -Thanks, Fred.
If it wasn't for you guys,
I may have never had the nerve to leave my room in the first place.
There's no reason I can't be me and part of the gang.
-I can have it all! -Me too!
I can continue being greedy and nothing bad will happen. Hooray!
-But Scrooge is terrible! -(LAUGHING TRIUMPHANTLY)
I was going to make him kind and generous.
Who cares if I also got rich?
If you kids hadn't meddled, he'd be doing good in the world!
(CROWD MURMURING)
Wonderful work, kids. You've doomed us all.
-(LAUGHING TRIUMPHANTLY) -(CROWD BOOING)
And that is the real story of Ebenezer Scrooge,
and the meddling kids who prevented him from changing his life.
The end.
(GROWLING)
FRED: (ECHOING) Raccoons...