"The Ghost of the Bad Humor Man" is a recipe for greatness if one is a fan of both Scooby Doo and ice-cream. Speaking as one of those people. It is another episode that there is still a bit of fondness for because of it being one of my first 'The Scooby Doo Show' episodes, so nostalgia plays a little part in this. Its main appeal though is the ice cream factory setting, a first at the time for Scooby Doo. Will admit though that it took me a long time to figure out the episode title's meaning, but maybe that's just me.
Liked a good deal "The Ghost of the Bad Humor Man" as a kid, while not loving it. Did prefer other villains in the show while loving the setting. My feelings are the same now pretty much, the setting is great and made great use of, there are some lovely character moments and a solid enough mystery. Was never entirely enthralled by the final solution though and am a bit mixed regarding the ghosts now (the show did have better villains before and since).
Am going to get the flaws out of the way first. And this is all subjective and personal opinion, to some they may be nit-picky. The ending always has felt a little rushed, though did like the neat twist regarding the true identity of one character, and the criminals caught too easily with there not being much of a trap this time. A few inconsistencies too, especially when seeing one of the ghosts eavestropping when the gang are talking to the perpetrator (animation error?), something that bothered me even as a 7 year old.
Regarding the ghosts, my opinion of them are mixed to positive. Their cries are spooky, they look cool and creepy and did like that they looked like the giggling ghosts from the 'Scooby Doo Where Are You' episode "A Night of Fright is No Delight" except not green (maybe intended to be a nod?), but at the same time they don't have much to do. Vanilla Phantom especially, who is very underused and doesn't really do much whenever he does appear, Strawberry Phantom makes the biggest impression of the three.
However, the animation does capture the spookiness of the setting really well, especially early on. It does make one not want to go inside an ice cream factory at night, the franchise always did this well in its oft-visited haunted buildings story type and this is one of the more effective episodes of this type of story of the early episodes of the show. The music again has a nostalgic charm and the theme song is one of the franchise's catchiest. The ice cream setting is used to great effect throughout. The writing entertains and intrigues, some interesting clues here (i.e. the ice cream trucks) and Shaggy and Scooby always delight.
Even if it is predictable and not being crazy about the ending, the story does have a solid mystery and actually appreciated its simplicity and that the villains didn't go to over-elaborate lengths with their planning once in a while. There are some nice little moments, the most memorable being Shaggy in the freezer and the milking room scene. The gang are on good form, Shaggy and Scooby delight as always. The voice acting is very good, with the best team of voices for the gang being solid as ever.
Overall, very nice episode. 8/10
Liked a good deal "The Ghost of the Bad Humor Man" as a kid, while not loving it. Did prefer other villains in the show while loving the setting. My feelings are the same now pretty much, the setting is great and made great use of, there are some lovely character moments and a solid enough mystery. Was never entirely enthralled by the final solution though and am a bit mixed regarding the ghosts now (the show did have better villains before and since).
Am going to get the flaws out of the way first. And this is all subjective and personal opinion, to some they may be nit-picky. The ending always has felt a little rushed, though did like the neat twist regarding the true identity of one character, and the criminals caught too easily with there not being much of a trap this time. A few inconsistencies too, especially when seeing one of the ghosts eavestropping when the gang are talking to the perpetrator (animation error?), something that bothered me even as a 7 year old.
Regarding the ghosts, my opinion of them are mixed to positive. Their cries are spooky, they look cool and creepy and did like that they looked like the giggling ghosts from the 'Scooby Doo Where Are You' episode "A Night of Fright is No Delight" except not green (maybe intended to be a nod?), but at the same time they don't have much to do. Vanilla Phantom especially, who is very underused and doesn't really do much whenever he does appear, Strawberry Phantom makes the biggest impression of the three.
However, the animation does capture the spookiness of the setting really well, especially early on. It does make one not want to go inside an ice cream factory at night, the franchise always did this well in its oft-visited haunted buildings story type and this is one of the more effective episodes of this type of story of the early episodes of the show. The music again has a nostalgic charm and the theme song is one of the franchise's catchiest. The ice cream setting is used to great effect throughout. The writing entertains and intrigues, some interesting clues here (i.e. the ice cream trucks) and Shaggy and Scooby always delight.
Even if it is predictable and not being crazy about the ending, the story does have a solid mystery and actually appreciated its simplicity and that the villains didn't go to over-elaborate lengths with their planning once in a while. There are some nice little moments, the most memorable being Shaggy in the freezer and the milking room scene. The gang are on good form, Shaggy and Scooby delight as always. The voice acting is very good, with the best team of voices for the gang being solid as ever.
Overall, very nice episode. 8/10
