'Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated' "Scarebear" (2012)
Opening thoughts: Was very impressed by Season 2 on the whole. It may not have had as many great and more episodes as Season 1, but again there were no bad episodes and it was one of those seasons that started off very solid and got better all the time. Also liked that it was darker, deeper and more mysterious, with more imaginative lore building and more of a threat, despite one crucial revelation for my tastes being revealed too early. "Scarebear" was a very impressive episode on first watch.
It still very much is over a decade later. It is not one of the best episodes of Season 2, and a slight step down from a few particularly great outings in a row, or of 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated', but "Scarebear" is still a very good representation of what makes the show so great and what it did particularly well. Only one thing jars a bit too much, but everything else is executed to a very good to outstanding standard, which was true for pretty much all of Season 2 and even of 'Mystery Incorporated'.
Good things: The animation is full of atmosphere and vibrancy, with the character design and animation on the villain being particularly noteworthy. The music has its usual energy and eeriness and have never had any issue with one of the Scooby Doo franchise's better theme tunes. The character writing and interaction is beautifully done and have really appreciated how far everybody's development has come on. With one exception, the voice acting is excellent. Frank Welker shows no signs of being long in the tooth, amazing for someone who's been voicing Fred for over half a century and his Scooby voice has grown on me, and Matthew Lillard is the best Shaggy voice actor since Casey Kasem.
"Scarebear" succeeds in many other areas too. The lore building is truly fascinating and done with a lot of imaginative atmosphere. Love how the Curse of Crystal Cove mystery is deepening and becoming more suspenseful, thanks to Mr E and Pericles becoming more of a threat (frighteningly so in Pericles' case). The Scarebear has the right amount of creepiness and when he speaks in regard to the bomb the Christopher Walken-like voice doesn't cheapen the creepiness or jar with the look. Which was great considering that normally this is the sort of Scooby Doo creature that is a lot creepier not speaking.
Liked the weirdness of the mystery, it's weird in an inventive way and doesn't become over the top or confusing, the animals were a wonderfully strange and even quite funny touch. The action is thrilling and the writing is beautifully balanced tonally.
Bad things: For me, there was only one thing really that doesn't quite work, which is Jeff Bennett's voice work for Mr E as a one off replacement for Lewis Black. Love Bennett, but to me his voice didn't fit the character and seemed too soft and subdued.
Concluding thoughts: In conclusion, very well done.
8/10.
Opening thoughts: Was very impressed by Season 2 on the whole. It may not have had as many great and more episodes as Season 1, but again there were no bad episodes and it was one of those seasons that started off very solid and got better all the time. Also liked that it was darker, deeper and more mysterious, with more imaginative lore building and more of a threat, despite one crucial revelation for my tastes being revealed too early. "Scarebear" was a very impressive episode on first watch.
It still very much is over a decade later. It is not one of the best episodes of Season 2, and a slight step down from a few particularly great outings in a row, or of 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated', but "Scarebear" is still a very good representation of what makes the show so great and what it did particularly well. Only one thing jars a bit too much, but everything else is executed to a very good to outstanding standard, which was true for pretty much all of Season 2 and even of 'Mystery Incorporated'.
Good things: The animation is full of atmosphere and vibrancy, with the character design and animation on the villain being particularly noteworthy. The music has its usual energy and eeriness and have never had any issue with one of the Scooby Doo franchise's better theme tunes. The character writing and interaction is beautifully done and have really appreciated how far everybody's development has come on. With one exception, the voice acting is excellent. Frank Welker shows no signs of being long in the tooth, amazing for someone who's been voicing Fred for over half a century and his Scooby voice has grown on me, and Matthew Lillard is the best Shaggy voice actor since Casey Kasem.
"Scarebear" succeeds in many other areas too. The lore building is truly fascinating and done with a lot of imaginative atmosphere. Love how the Curse of Crystal Cove mystery is deepening and becoming more suspenseful, thanks to Mr E and Pericles becoming more of a threat (frighteningly so in Pericles' case). The Scarebear has the right amount of creepiness and when he speaks in regard to the bomb the Christopher Walken-like voice doesn't cheapen the creepiness or jar with the look. Which was great considering that normally this is the sort of Scooby Doo creature that is a lot creepier not speaking.
Liked the weirdness of the mystery, it's weird in an inventive way and doesn't become over the top or confusing, the animals were a wonderfully strange and even quite funny touch. The action is thrilling and the writing is beautifully balanced tonally.
Bad things: For me, there was only one thing really that doesn't quite work, which is Jeff Bennett's voice work for Mr E as a one off replacement for Lewis Black. Love Bennett, but to me his voice didn't fit the character and seemed too soft and subdued.
Concluding thoughts: In conclusion, very well done.
8/10.
