The Ghost and Molly McGee

Did You Know?

• The series joined the Chibi Tiny Tales series shortly after its premiere.
• Part of the Broken Karaoke series that was started by Big City Greens.
• An extended play album of some songs from the series was released on October 1, 2021.

Synopsis

In the Human Realm, 13-year-old Irish-Thai American optimist Molly McGee moves to Brighton and finds her new house occupied by a grumpy ghost named Scratch. He curses her, but the spell backfires, binding him to her. Over time, Scratch opens up to Molly, and they go on adventures together. In the second season, Scratch becomes Chairman of the Ghost Council, and a ghost-hunting family, the Chens, moves in across the street.

Characters

Molly McGee (voiced by Ashly Burch) is an optimistic 13-year-old Irish-Thai American girl who aims to "enhappify" the world. Her father Pete (voiced by Jordan Klepper) is an Irish urban planner and former ice skater. Her mother Sharon (voiced by Sumalee Montano) is Thai and works gigs from an app called Gig-Pig, dreaming of becoming an artist. Grandma Nin Suksai (also voiced by Sumalee Montano) is Sharon's mother. Darryl McGee (voiced by Michaela Dietz) is Molly's mischievous younger brother who owns a pet tarantula named Heidi Hairylegs. Molly later befriends a human classmate named Libby, who learns about Scratch in the episode "Scratch the Surface". She has a crush on Ollie, a boy from a ghost-hunting family, and helps him trust ghosts in "Frightmares on Main Street". In the Season 1 finale, Molly discovers she can separate her spirit as a wraith. The curse binding her to Scratch is broken in "Home is Where the Haunt Is", but they remain friends. In "A Period Piece", Molly wears mascara as part of an attempt to appear more adult.

Production

Co-creators Bill Motz and Bob Roth first conceived the series in 2007 under the title The Curse of Piper McGee, about a girl moving to Transylvania and cursed by a vampiric ghoul. That version was pitched to Nickelodeon, which passed. After completing Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, the duo signed an overall deal with Disney and re-pitched the series as The Curse of Molly McGee, receiving a positive response. Disney Channel greenlit the series on July 23, 2019, to be produced by Disney Television Animation, with Motz, Roth, and Steve Loter as executive producers. Ashly Burch and Dana Snyder joined the lead roles on September 24, 2020, when the series was retitled The Ghost and Molly McGee. Motz released a playlist of inspirational songs throughout 2020 and part of 2021. On January 14, 2024, Motz revealed that Disney ended the show due to low ratings on Disney+, despite ordering ten season three scripts; an additional episode was granted for a proper send-off. Eighteen scripts and outlines for the cancelled season three were posted online to the Internet Archive sixteen days later.

Reception

Critics enjoyed the show, praising the central duo. A reviewer from Stuff highlighted how the optimistic Molly and pessimistic Scratch form an unlikely bond that helps them grow, calling the series funny, charming, and a joy. Common Sense Media gave it four stars, labeling it a funny ghost-girl buddy story with mild spooky moments. They noted Molly is a great role model and that while younger kids might be scared by ghost transformations, older children won't. The reviewer compared it to Monsters, Inc., calling it a charming, sweetly spooky animated series with some cartoon violence.