"Too Many Dummies" was a very good episode on first watch and stuck in my mind for quite some while afterwards. Especially the villain, all the action in the motel and the truly creepy atmosphere, not to mention the chance to see inspirational ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer (one of 'America's Got Talent's' best winners) again. There are plenty of episodes of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who' that impressed on first watch, and was every bit as good and in some cases even better on rewatch.
One of those episodes to fit under the even better category of 'Scooby Doo and Guess Who's' episodes is "Too Many Dummies". It is not a perfect entry and falls a little short of greatness, but the good things far outweigh the not so good and the best aspects are absolutely outstanding. For me, "Too Many Dummies" is one of the better episodes of the first season, who was mostly solid but with some bumps, and certainly one of the season's and show's creepiest. So definitely recommended highly.
Did feel that Jeff Dunham was too under-utilised and his material doesn't show him at his best.
Also felt that the Scooby being mistaken for a dummy running gag got old quite fast and was only mildly amusing to begin with.
However, everything else is very good to outstanding. The animation has a lot of atmosphere, rich colour and even richer attention to detail. The music is dynamic and groovy, also loved the modern spin on the iconic classic theme tune for 'Scooby Doo Where are You', although it is too short. A vast majority of the voice acting is very good (excepting Kate Miccucci being too abrasive as Velma), with Matthew Lillard nailing it as Shaggy.
While feeling that Dunham was under-utilised, Darci Lynne is an absolute charmer and has great comic timing. The ventriloquism is as ever ingenious, with the dummies also being very funny and put to great use later on. There are plenty of funny moments, especially with Shaggy and Scooby's roles in the climax. The episode though is even better with the creepiness, and calling "Too Many Dummies" creepy is an understatement. The motel scenes' atmosphere is worthy of classic dark and suspenseful horror, and the mother and son characters are every bit as unsettling as Crazy Karl. Who is even to a 30 year old pretty terrifying, especially the voice and the way he operates. One of the spookiest moments being when Shaggy and Scooby are alone and the lights go out, that was horror film vibes there.
Furthermore, the writing is a lot of fun and didn't feel forced, the jokes goofy but funny and not groan inducing. The mystery is full of energy and elevated to a greater level by the atmosphere and how good the villain is. The climax is very cleverly staged and imaginative. Was not expecting the culprit's identity at all and how it was all done was a stroke of genius and enough to make the jaw drop.
In summary, very good. 8/10.
