"Menace of the Manticore" sounded great from the outset. The Scooby Doo franchise has always done really well with amusement park/carnival settings, with 'Scooby Doo Where are You's' "Foul Play in Funland" being a classic. The choice of villain was interesting, the franchise has often done really well with mythological villains (including minotaurs twice in the Scrappy Doo years) but not many, if any, previous ones were from Persian mythology. The manticore is a unique choice for the franchise.
'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.
'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.
