Don Messick and Janet Waldo in To Switch A Witch (1978)

Bob Holt

Allan Melvin

Casey Kasem

A witch burned at the stake in 1779 suddenly appears in Salem, Massachusetts, USA.

To Switch A Witch

Salem witch haunting

&quot;To Switch a Witch&quot; was one of the few &apos;The Scooby Doo Show&apos; episodes seen quite a long time after most episodes. Some episodes of the show were childhood favourites, others (due to either not being completely sold on the premises for some strange reason or due to not being aired a lot) were seen in my teenage years. The franchise was very successful with any episodes revolving around witches, proven with &apos;Scooby Doo Where are You&apos;s&apos; &quot;Which Witch is Which&quot; and &apos;The Scooby Doo Show&apos;s&apos; &quot;The Ozark Witch Switch&quot;.

Something proven again with &quot;To Switch a Witch&quot;. Once one gets past trying to figure out what century the townspeople living in and the anarchronisms, it is a great episode that turned out to be one of my personal favourites of the show. It is also for me one of the few great episodes of the inconsistent Season 3, which did improve in a couple of areas like the animation but some of the stories and villains didn&apos;t work very well. Luckily, both of those work very well here in &quot;To Switch a Witch&quot;.

Part of me would have liked more background on the perpetrator. The big revelation is surprising but does come slightly out of nowhere, especially for anybody not familiar with the meaning of the (clever) incriminating clue (and there will be those where that will apply, it took me more than one viewing on my first few watches in my teenage years to connect).

Also felt that there is a crucial relationship at the end, am going to try not to spoil, that could have been elaborated upon more as that came a bit out of the blue as well.

Having said all of that, &quot;To Switch a Witch&quot; is great. It is one of the finest examples of Season 3 to show how more advanced the animation quality in the show became in its last season from where it started. This is evident in the very spooky opening scene, though cemetaries are creepy anyway, and the character animation on the witch herself. Her entrance is quite something. The music is not stock or repetitive and like its loyalty to the original&apos;s music style while having its own flavour too and showing musical progression. Shaggy and Scooby are delightful, Salem is a very intriguingly and often darkly depicted town and the witch is a very memorable villain, not just the creepy look but the perpetrator&apos;s motive stands out amongst all the other motives of the show.

Writing is intriguing and also entertaining, silly at times but never gratingly so (the silliness is part of the franchise&apos;s charm to me). The story is compelling throughout, with some neat touches such as Shaggy and Scooby&apos;s first encounter with the witch that fondly reminds one of similar scenes in &quot;Mine Your Own Business&quot; and &quot;Never Ape an Ape Man&quot;, the dunking (the cruel torture method used to determine the defendant&apos;s innocence or guilt) and the Halloween costumes. Was also surprised at how dark some of it was at times, showing the dark side of human nature such as with the character of the squire. Not to mention the motive, almost as cruel as the motive in &quot;Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats&quot;. The voice acting is good, Janet Waldo gives some of her best voice acting of her appearances on the show (which to me varied) and Casey Kasem and Don Messick will never stop being the definitive voices for Shaggy and Scooby.

In conclusion, great and one of Season 3&apos;s best. 9/10.

"To Switch a Witch" was one of the few 'The Scooby Doo Show' episodes seen quite a long time after most episodes. Some episodes of the show were childhood favourites, others (due to either not being completely sold on the premises for some strange reason or due to not being aired a lot) were seen in my teenage years. The franchise was very successful with any episodes revolving around witches, proven with 'Scooby Doo Where are You's' "Which Witch is Which" and 'The Scooby Doo Show's' "The Ozark Witch Switch".

Something proven again with "To Switch a Witch". Once one gets past trying to figure out what century the townspeople living in and the anarchronisms, it is a great episode that turned out to be one of my personal favourites of the show. It is also for me one of the few great episodes of the inconsistent Season 3, which did improve in a couple of areas like the animation but some of the stories and villains didn't work very well. Luckily, both of those work very well here in "To Switch a Witch".

Part of me would have liked more background on the perpetrator. The big revelation is surprising but does come slightly out of nowhere, especially for anybody not familiar with the meaning of the (clever) incriminating clue (and there will be those where that will apply, it took me more than one viewing on my first few watches in my teenage years to connect).

Also felt that there is a crucial relationship at the end, am going to try not to spoil, that could have been elaborated upon more as that came a bit out of the blue as well.

Having said all of that, "To Switch a Witch" is great. It is one of the finest examples of Season 3 to show how more advanced the animation quality in the show became in its last season from where it started. This is evident in the very spooky opening scene, though cemetaries are creepy anyway, and the character animation on the witch herself. Her entrance is quite something. The music is not stock or repetitive and like its loyalty to the original's music style while having its own flavour too and showing musical progression. Shaggy and Scooby are delightful, Salem is a very intriguingly and often darkly depicted town and the witch is a very memorable villain, not just the creepy look but the perpetrator's motive stands out amongst all the other motives of the show.

Writing is intriguing and also entertaining, silly at times but never gratingly so (the silliness is part of the franchise's charm to me). The story is compelling throughout, with some neat touches such as Shaggy and Scooby's first encounter with the witch that fondly reminds one of similar scenes in "Mine Your Own Business" and "Never Ape an Ape Man", the dunking (the cruel torture method used to determine the defendant's innocence or guilt) and the Halloween costumes. Was also surprised at how dark some of it was at times, showing the dark side of human nature such as with the character of the squire. Not to mention the motive, almost as cruel as the motive in "Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats". The voice acting is good, Janet Waldo gives some of her best voice acting of her appearances on the show (which to me varied) and Casey Kasem and Don Messick will never stop being the definitive voices for Shaggy and Scooby.

In conclusion, great and one of Season 3's best. 9/10.

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