Expectations were a little more mixed for "The Legend of Alice May" compared to the previous 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' episodes, prior to my first watch of it when it first aired. The mystery sounded really fascinating, but this reviewer can be a little iffy watching television when the main characters' (or a main character's) personal lives is prominently focused upon. And it did sound this could be executed cheesily and soppily on paper, but was very pleasantly surprised on first watch.
That pleasant surprise stayed with me on subsequent rewatches too. "The Legend of Alice May" had one jarring flaw, but otherwise was a great episode. And one of the best of a very solid first half to a very solid first season, of the best Scooby Doo show since 'The Scooby Doo Show'. It is every bit as enormously compelling as remembered and the personal life aspect is done much more tastefully than it sounds. Most definitely an episode to be given a chance without prejudice.
Once again, the animation is great with a lot of rich colour, more meticulous attention to detail than most Scooby Doo incarnations and great atmosphere. Really liked the clever and seamless mix of the older look and the more up to date look, which does not jar at all. The music is atmospheric and catchy with a theme tune that fits the darker, more mysterious tone of the show beautifully. The writing is smart and thought provoking while not taking itself too seriously, with some nice humour from Shaggy and Scooby.
Furthermore, the mystery is fun and atmospheric with a reveal that is easy to understand without being too obvious. The personal life aspect is not near as as soppy or as cheesy as it sounds on paper when it comes to the personal lives of the Mystery Inc, which was mostly done in a cute and amusing way. The Mr E mystery stuff has so much promise and is really gripping, the equivalent of reading a book and finding how much of a page turner it is.
Loved the Vincent Van Ghoul appearance, with Maurice La Marche being a worthy successor to Vincent Price (not as brilliant but manages to be faithful to him while not being too much of an imitation). The creeper cameo was creepy. The gang's chemistry is faithful and endears and the voice acting is great from all.
It does have one drawback, Velma. It's six episodes in and she still doesn't work, really do not like this bossy side to her and it doesn't suit her.
All in all, great and the first properly great episode of the show. This is coming from someone who really likes the previous five episodes too. 9/10.
