Tim Curry’s Iconic Villain Moment from ‘Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost’ Goes Viral Again

Tim Curry built a remarkable career portraying characters so theatrically wicked that audiences couldn’t help but adore them. This week, fans are revisiting one of his most delightfully unhinged performances following his passing. Long before streaming made every animated role instantly rewatchable, Curry had already established a devoted following among ‘Scooby-Doo’ enthusiasts.

This devotion centers on ‘Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost,’ the beloved 1999 direct-to-video film where Curry voiced Ben Ravencroft, a charming horror novelist who turns out to be a warlock descended from an accused witch named Sarah. The character remains one of the franchise’s most memorable villains, largely due to the sheer joy Curry seemed to derive from the role.

This enthusiasm reportedly extended beyond the film itself. Fans have been sharing that Curry considered the incantation scene where Ben summons Sarah’s ghost to be his single favorite line delivery of his entire career, a claim that has circulated widely alongside clips of the moment.

It’s the kind of gloriously over-the-top performance that made Curry a defining voice in animated villainy for decades. Watching him fully embrace the character’s transformation from friendly author to gleeful warlock perfectly captures what made his voice work so distinctive—a blend of charisma and menace that few performers could replicate convincingly.

Ben Ravencroft wasn’t an isolated example. Curry returned to the ‘Scooby-Doo’ franchise years later to voice the Goblin King in 2008’s ‘Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King,’ further solidifying his status as one of the series’ most iconic recurring guest villains.

Fans online have quickly pointed out that the betrayal of Ben Ravencroft remains etched in the memories of anyone who grew up watching the film. Curry’s performance made the character’s turn feel genuinely surprising and delightfully theatrical rather than predictable. This kind of lasting impact from a direct-to-video animated movie highlights just how effective his voice acting truly was.

Curry’s animated résumé extended far beyond ‘Scooby-Doo,’ encompassing roles from Hexxus in ‘FernGully: The Last Rainforest’ to Nigel Thornberry in ‘The Wild Thornberrys’ and Chancellor Palpatine in ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ following Ian Abercrombie’s death in 2013. Across these roles, Curry brought a signature combination of precision, theatricality, and unmistakable relish for wickedness, making even his most cartoonish villains feel genuinely compelling.

His voice acting career continued well past his 2012 stroke, which left him wheelchair-bound but didn’t stop him from working behind the microphone for years afterward. This resilience only adds to why fans have eagerly revisited his catalog of performances this week, searching for clips and moments that showcase exactly why his voice became so recognizable across multiple generations of animated projects.

For a performer whose career spanned everything from ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ to Stephen King’s ‘It,’ it is significant that a relatively small role in a ‘Scooby-Doo’ movie has become one of the moments fans are celebrating most following his death. Curry’s ability to make even his silliest villains feel larger than life is the kind of legacy that continues to draw new audiences back to his work.

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