The gang gets lost on their way to a Tom Sawyer festival and come across a riverboat that’s being plagued by hauntings before the planned reopening. Josie and the Pussycats are performing for the re-opening and team up with Mystery Inc. to solve the case.
Tropes:
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Captain Cannaby is introduced as a jovial, nostalgic man who has sunk his life savings into restoring the Dixie Queen for respectful reasons. He also acts concerned about the gang's safety, thanks them for all of their help, and seems very reluctant to believe that his friend and first mate Johnny is the culprit while fretting over his safety when Johnny disappears. It's all an act, as Cannaby's the culprit, while Johnny is the one who really wants to restore the ship (a dream Cannaby is sabotaging to keep people away from his counterfeiting operation).
- Cats Are Mean: Alexandra's cat Sebastian spends a lot of time pranking Scooby.
- Crash-Into Hello: The Pussycats are introduced when they plow into the gang while running away from the ghosts.
- Expy Coexistence: Alan is a buffer Fred, while Alexander both looks and sounds like Shaggy.
- Is This Thing On?: The gang and the Pussycats pretend to abandon the riverboat, but hide in the cargo hold to set a trap for the crooks. They discuss their plan, only to realize that the boat's speaker tube is off the hook right next to them and broadcast their conversation through the riverboat.
- Money to Burn: The counterfeit money ends up being used as tinder for the steamboat's smokestack in the final scene.
- Pungeon Master: Most of Melody's dialogue is cheesy puns (e.g. when Alexander jumps up in fright and grabs the ceiling fan, Melody asks if he's giving an autograph to one of their fans).
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Shaggy, Scooby, Alexander, Alexandra, and Sebastian all want to flee at various points, but always either get talked out of it or fail in a slapstick way.
- Trail Of Breadcrumbs: Everyone except Shaggy and Scooby gets captured by the villains and taken away in a boat. Josie tosses counterfeit dollar bills from the villains' stash into the water to provide a trail for Shaggy and Scooby to follow.
