Have often heard 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' cited one of the worst Scooby Doo incarnations. Personally don't agree and never have, 'Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue' will always be the worst. 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' has its problems, it is uneven and started off a lot more strongly than it finished, but it tried and mostly succeeded in doing something different from the norm for the franchise and is probably the most underrated incarnation. Of all the shows to feature Scrappy, it's to me the best.
"To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before" was a very solid beginning for the show. It does exactly what a first episode for a show should do, setting things up and introducing the chess pieces, and does it extremely well. Even making it clear how the whole premise came to be, who was responsible for putting the demons in the chest in the first place and how the whole dilemma started. As far as the thirteen episodes of 'The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo' go, "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before" is one of the best.
As one can probably tell already, "To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before" has more good things than it has bad. The animation is beautifully drawn, full of life and atmosphere. The European-like village has a very haunting atmosphere, the geographical discontinuity of it not looking like a village in the Himalayas didn't bother me that much. The mountain scenery also looks great. Loved the music as well, with it also being the episode that features heavily the music of the earlier incarnations the most. The title song, a parody of "To All the Girls I've Loved Before", is catchy and features in a memorable scene.
Can't fault most of the voice acting, though Howard Morris as Bogol has never been my cup of tea and Susan Blu could have taken a lot more opportunities throughout the show to calm her voice down. Casey Kasem and Don Messick will always be the definitive voice actors for Shaggy and Scooby and Heather North is my personal favourite of Daphne's voice actors (she was for some time the longest serving). Best of all though is Vincent Price, typically dignified and macabre, in a masterstroke of casting in a role practically made for him. To me, he made the show and Vincent Van Ghoul was a brilliant character in every way.
Much of the writing is fine too, with the endearing goofiness of Shaggy and Scooby, 'The Raven'-inspired voice over with Vincent, the intrigue surrounding the chest and Bogol and Weerd's constant miscommunication. Also loved its self-awareness and societal commentary, such as the game show spoof. The story is a lot of fun and sets things up very well, with plenty of lovely touches like its creepiness and the portrayal of the townspeople. Not to mention the cool plane.
For all those great things, there are a couple of things that didn't work for me. It's only the first episode, and Flim Flam already grates due to all the conman traits being present in his character and exaggerated to overdone effect. Especially the arrogance and over-zealousness, the sales patter is not that clever.
Bogol and Weerd do make one of their most crucial appearances with being the reason for the major event happening, but they are nearly as grating as Flim Flam, especially Bogol with his chuckling while speaking-like voice, and overused.
Overall, very solid and promising start to an underrated show. 8/10.
