Menace of the Manticore
- Episode aired May 8, 2011
- 23m
Mayor Jones reluctantly enlists Fred and the gang to investigate when a temple he purchases online for the town's theme park is haunted by a vicious manticore.Mayor Jones reluctantly enlists Fred and the gang to investigate when a temple he purchases online for the town's theme park is haunted by a vicious manticore.Mayor Jones reluctantly enlists Fred and the gang to investigate when a temple he purchases online for the town's theme park is haunted by a vicious manticore.
- Scooby-Doo
- (voice)
- …
- Velma Dinkley
- (voice)
- Daphne Blake
- (voice)
- (as Grey DeLisle)
- Shaggy Rogers
- (voice)
- Mr. E
- (voice)
- Angel Dynamite
- (voice)
- Winslow Fleach
- (voice)
- …
- Brenda
- (voice)
- Dylan
- (voice)
- …
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLinda Cardellini, who provided the voice for Hot Dog Water, Velma's science fair rival, also portrayed Velma in Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), which were also Matthew Lillard's first outings as Shaggy. She reprised the role of Velma in a few episodes of Robot Chicken (2001) some years later.
- Quotes
Angel Dynamite: The Mystery, Inc. kids have found a piece of the Planispheric Disk.
Mr. E: So now we know where two of the pieces are. Good work, Angel.
Angel Dynamite: Just remember, I'm working with you, not for you, E. I'm worried about those kids.
Mr. E: Why?
Angel Dynamite: Pericles is loose, and that nutso parrot might go after the piece, which puts them in danger, and us, if the former members of our club get wind of it.
Mr. E: Don't worry little Angel. The other two won't move a muscle as long as Fred Jones is alive.
'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' had yet to have a bad episode and "Menace of the Manticore" is the complete opposite of bad. Actually found it another excellent outing, that expertly shows off how good the franchise has been at this type of setting, has a villain that stands out from the rest of the show's villains and the Crystal Cove mystery continues to progress and surprise. Is it one of the best 'Mystery Incorporated' episodes? Not quite. One of the better ones of Season 1? Yes.
There is actually nothing much wrong with the episode, though there could have been a little more of the Crystal Cove/Mr E story perhaps.
Can find nothing to fault the animation for, which has lost none of its mysterious atmosphere and rich attention to detail and colour. The character design of the manticore is particularly well done. The music is still suitably eerie while also having the right amount of energy. The theme tune is memorable. All the characters are strongly written and the gang have great individual personalities that have developed very well and continue to grow. This includes one of Fred's funniest appearances for example. Velma bothered me in a lot of the previous episodes but she was fine here until her slightly too know it all attitude in the denouement.
Furthermore, the manticore is cool looking and genuinely creepy and the identity and motive of the perpetrator were not easily foreseeable. The writing is funny, smart and thought provoking, shining particularly in the hilarious food jokes. The story is always absorbing and isn't simple or tries to do too much, while not forgetting who it's aiming at. The carnival setting is eerie and nostalgic and the opening scene is one of the scariest openings of the show up to this point.
Overall, excellent. 9/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 27, 2023
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime23 minutes