Spooky Buddies

Spooky Buddies is a 2011 Canadian-American supernatural comedy film that is part of the Disney Buddies franchise, a series often referred to as the Air Bud and Air Buddies franchise. For the fifth installment in the Air Buddies series, the plot follows the team as they have a Halloween adventure in Fernfield to stop the evil Warwick the Warlock and save the town. The film was directed by Robert Vince, produced by Anna McRoberts, and released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, DVD, and as a film download on September 20, 2011.

Plot
In 1937, Sheriff Jim and others from the town of Fernfield set off to the manor of Warwick the Warlock, who has kidnapped five puppies so he can sacrifice them to the Halloween Hound, an evil hellhound who can open a portal to ghosts but only if he has the souls of five puppies of the same blood. One of the puppies, Pip, belongs to a young boy named Joseph. As the mob prepares to storm the manor, the hound turns Pip's siblings to stone, but Pip escapes. Warwick chases him and grabs him just as the mob enters. The Warlock manages to escape just as dawn approaches. Thus, when the hound tries to kill Pip, he fails. Pip then turns to stone and becomes a ghost. Jim and Deputy Tracker surround Warwick, but he jumps in the mirror and escapes. Joseph takes Pip's stone body while his father takes Warwick's spellbook. The Sheriff takes Warwick's staff and announces to the townspeople that he would board up Warwick's house to prevent anything else from happening.

75 years later, the Buddies are on a school trip to Warwick's manor with their owners, Alice, Billy, Pete, Sam and Bartleby. When the class go to the graveyard to see Deputy Tracker's memorial stone, Billy finds himself scared of the gravedigger Mr. Johnson. He hears the legend which says that if someone says "Halloween Hound" three times in front of Warwick's mirror, it will result in the release of Halloween Hound. B-Dawg, who is a "scaredy cat", tries to overcome his fear by entering the condemned manor and saying "Halloween Hound" three times in front of the mirror. The ghostly Pip tries to warn the Buddies, but B-Dawg becomes terrified of him and accidentally completes the reciting. B-Dawg's owner, Billy, hasn't come up with his history project and decides to do it on the Halloween Hound. With the help of Sheriff Dan, Billy borrows Warwick's evidence file and staff. Billy goes trick-or-treating as Warwick the Warlock while B-Dawg is made to wear a bunny outfit. Billy meets up with his friends and the Buddies and they go trick-or-treating.

Two punks, Rodney and Skip, who had scared the class earlier on during the trip, go explore the manor. They witness the return of Warwick and the Halloween Hound, who step out of the mirror. Warwick, thinking that Rodney and Skip released them, turns them into rats after accusing them of stealing his staff. Warwick learns from his owl assistant, Hoot, that his staff is in the hands of Billy. Warwick immediately sets off to search for his staff and spell book. As he is searching the streets, he believes that the town is already taken over as everyone is dressed up for Halloween. He sends the Halloween Hound to find the Buddies, who ask for help from a sorceress dog named Zelda. It is here that Pip explains he is not trying to hurt them, but to warn them that the Halloween Hound is coming. After using a spell to return Pip to his body, the Hound finds them and turns Sniffer and Zelda to stone. The kids are then spotted by Warwick and hide in the Halloween party, where the warlock regains his staff. They are rescued by Mr. Johnson (who is actually Pip's owner).

Warwick takes the pups hostage in his manor and tells their owners that if the book isn't returned, he will kill them. The Buddies have a daring escape from the Warlock. After escaping, they run from the Hound, who has turned Pip back to stone and opened the portal, releasing the evil spirits from the mirror. The spirits then take control over all the residents of Fernfield. Meanwhile, Hoot decides to stop by helping the Buddies and leave but is also turned to stone by the Hound. Following the groups' arrival to his manor, Warwick steals his book back and shoots his staff at Mr. Johnson.

The Buddies hide in the kitchen where Budderball starts devouring pickled eyeballs. The Halloween Hound finds them and B-Dawg comes up with a plan. Just when the Halloween Hound is about to suck out Budderball's soul, B-Dawg signals Budderball, who farts out a gas that repels the magic, causing the Halloween Hound to have his own soul sucked out. The kids and Mr. Johnson find Warwick paralyzed after opening his spellbook, which is revealed to be the Bible and Billy takes Warwick's staff. He reads the spell that returns Warwick and the evil spirits to the mirror while changing the petrified and brainwashed victims back to normal. Mr. Johnson destroys the staff and the mirror to prevent Warwick from coming back.

Mr. Johnson is reunited with Pip as well while the kids are reunited with the Buddies. The kids bid goodbye to Mr. Johnson, who has located the owners of Pip's brothers and sisters and travels around America to return them. The Buddies bid farewell to Pip, who thanks them for helping him defeat Warwick. The film ends with the kids waving goodbye to Mr. Johnson as he drives off with the caravan and the puppies.

Cast

 * Harland Williams as Warwick the Warlock
 * Rance Howard as Mr. Joseph Johnson
 * Pat Finn as Mr. Carroll / Frankendude
 * Jennifer Elise Cox as Mrs. Carroll
 * Michael Teigen as Deputy Dan
 * Elisa Donovan as Janice, Billy's mother
 * Sierra McCormick as Alice
 * Skyler Gisondo as Billy
 * Sage Ryan as Pete
 * Jake Johnson as Sam
 * Hardy Gatlin as Skip
 * Tucker Albrizzi as Bartleby
 * Max Charles as young Joseph
 * Dylan Sprayberry as Rodney

Voice cast

 * G. Hannelius as Rosebud
 * Skyler Gisondo as B-Dawg
 * Charles Henry Wyson as Buddha
 * Nico Ghisi as Budderball
 * Ty Panitz as Mudbud
 * Frankie Jonas as Pip, a Beagle puppy
 * Debra Jo Rupp as Zelda, a Chinese Crested Dog
 * Diedrich Bader as Halloween Hound, an English Mastiff
 * Ryan Stiles as Hoot, a Eurasian eagle owl
 * Tim Conway as Deputy Sniffer

Home media
Spooky Buddies was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and as a film download on September 20, 2011. The physical release was produced in two different packages: a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and a 1-disc DVD. The film download was produced in both standard and high definition. All versions of the release include an interview by Leo Howard of Disney Channel's Leo Little's Big Show with the character "Rosebud" and a music video for the song "Monster Mash".