That's Snow Ghost

There are better episodes of 'Scooby Doo Where are You' than "That's Snow Ghost", but even when 'Scooby Doo Where are You' was not at its best it still delivered. That's the case with "That's Snow Ghost".

Admittedly, while it is not one of my favourites of the show and that was the case when younger as well, there is a soft spot for "That's Snow Ghost", being one of my first ("What a Knight for a Knight" was what introduced me to the show). Definite plus points to the episode go to the beautifully drawn and atmosphere-filled wintry setting and the very cool-looking and to a child quite frightening Snow Ghost.

Likewise with the vintage Scooby Doo dialogue and the gags and nice individual scenes. Especially the quite tense scene with the log, Shaggy as a ghost, the hilarious but logic-defying scene with the ice and the pursuit before it and the intriguing scene with Mr. Chi. The mystery is nicely paced and beautifully told, if not quite as atmospheric as other episodes before and after. The gang are still great characters and still gel so well together, and who cannot help resist the timelessly charming and fun relationship between Shaggy and Scooby.

Don Messick, Casey Kasem and Frank Welker stand out of the voice acting as always, Messick and Kasem are without equal as Scooby and Shaggy and one cannot believe that it's been nearly 50 years and Welker's still voicing Fred with no signs of fatigue or inconsistency. The rest of the voice acting is very good, though Hal Smith is slightly too over-the-top as Mr. Greenway, that laugh was overkill somewhat.

The animation is lively, atmospheric, lushly coloured and nicely drawn as always. The music adds to the impact the atmosphere creates, and it is very difficult to resist the classic theme song, along with the opening credits where it is so fun spotting and recognising the villains, that is one of the most iconic in animation.

Only real complaints really with "That's Snow Ghost", along with Smith's voice acting not being to my taste, was a slightly rushed and somewhat too convenient final trap and the painful over-obviousness of the perpetrator's real identity (one of about five in the show where the person in question goes right to the top of the list immediately when introduced).

Issues aside, "That's Snow Ghost" is still a winner of an episode. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Scooby Doo, Where Are You!

S1E17: That's Snow Ghost (1970)

Scooby and the gang investigate a mysterious snow creature who has the ability to turn people into ghosts. Before long Scooby is going face to face with the creature. This seventeenth and final episode in season one turns out to be a winner even though it certainly doesn't rank among the best. I think this one here benefits mostly from the great villain. The look at the tall creature is certainly quite memorable as are the scenes of it flying through the air. The snow locations actually make for a couple great laughs including one where Scooby and Shaggy get turned into ice cubes. The sequence with Velma about to be cut in half at the saw mill is another highlight. The one thing lacking here is the actual mystery as things are pretty simple to figure out. With that said, fans of the show will certainly enjoy seeing this one as there are enough laughs to make it worth sitting through.

Episode: B