The Ghost and Molly McGee: A Duo Character of the Times (Right Now)

I think this is kind of a turning point in the Disney Watch. So much I've done has lead up to this point. 

I've watched Darkwing Duck, learning that Megavolt was actually Elmo Sputterspark, an alum from Drake Mallard's high school.

I've watched Quack Pack, finding out about Donald's new neighbors who were secretly military grade robots on the run.

I've watched Brandy and Mr. Whiskers, and saw the animals of the Amazon Rainforest hilariously mistake Mr. Whiskers for a fashion icon.

I've watched Phineas and Ferb, and witnessed Candace lament her height as she wasn't tall enough to model, and then became 50 feet tall to remedy this.

I've watched Big Hero 6: The Series, sitting through Fred try to snatch a comic from a preteen in order to save the day.

I've watched various straight to video Disney movies which were entertaining in their own right, but did not hold a candle to the originals.

And as I watched The Ghost and Molly McGee, I thought... yeah this is something that was made by the folks who made all that stuff.

Bill Motz and Bob Roth, the creators of this show go way back in the Disney timeline, so I was kind of expecting this to be more of something putting all the pieces together, and really it was more just me nodding my head and going "Yeah. This is a show."

The Ghost and Molly McGee brings to mind, not just the shows I've mentioned, but other shows as well, particularly The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy & Jimmy Two Shoes. Grim Adventures has the similarity of being about a cranky undead creature with a job of varying plot importance forced to hang out with some kids. Jimmy Two Shoes has the similarity of monsters trying to make the city much more miserable while dealing with an optimistic kid. Hell, it even reminds me of Whose Line is it Anyway, with the theme being reminiscent of the Satan and the Schoolgirl bit.

Now I don't think a show being too similar to other shows makes it worse or anything. I really enjoy shows like Billy and Mandy and Jimmy Two Shoes, and I'd be happy to see more shows like those. I just don't think The Ghost and Molly McGee works as well as those two, and the reason it doesn't is because it's a show being released in 2022.

I haven't talked quite as much about recent Disney Cartoons, but if you recall discussions about Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure and Amphibia, these are both incredibly lore heavy shows. Sure they have their episodic stories, but there's essentially an overarching plot to them both. The Ghost and Molly McGee is not different, as Scratch (the titular ghost) has to keep the city he haunts miserable, less he ends up in the Flow of Failed Phantoms. Like sure it's a conflict that keeps people on their toes throughout season 1, but does it really need to be there? It feels like something holding back the show in order to keep it relevant with modern cartoon fans. The thing is we've seen this before, and it's been done a lot better as an episodic format. We don't really need conflict past "They are funny supernatural creatures with jobs to spread misery." We all understand that.

Despite all that, there's definitely a sort of adaptability you can see through this show. It could be anything, but it kind of comes at the cost of not bringing anything new to the table, and the old things it brings have been done better both by supernatural episodic cartoons like The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and by story focused cartoons like Amphibia.

There is one thing this show has going for it though, and that's that it's funny. Unlike the last two shows which I described as hit or miss, Ghost and Molly McGee is almost all hits. You have a lot of good jokes in every episode, especially from Scratch and Molly's best friend Libby. The two of them becoming friends I think started to make episodes a lot more fun. "Festival of Lights," the Hanukkah special of the series, has some really great moments from the both of them including an intense dreidel game and the gang listing miracles that happened to them this year. Honestly, the shortform hour-by-hour style of the episode kept my attention so much, I kind of wish the rest of the show was just like that. It'd probably be to the show's benefit!

Really, I'd honestly watch a show about Libby and Scratch rather than Molly and Scratch, or even just a show about Libby. Or maybe I'd put Libby in a better show where she could shine through more properly. If it wasn't evident, I do think Libby is the funniest and best character on this show.

I doubt the show will go into the more silly and macabre side like its predecessors, but even if it doesn't, I can always just watch Jimmy Two Shoes again.

Overall Rating for The Ghost and Molly McGee: B Tier

Guess I gotta post that thing again.