"Monumental Disaster" is the first segment of the eighth episode of the first season of The Ghost and Molly McGee, and the fifteenth episode overall.
Synopsis
When Molly meets Brighton’s legendary founder, Ezekiel Tugbottom, she realizes he’s not the hero history made him out to be.
Plot
Brighton was supposedly founded by the adventurous Ezekiel Tugbottom who was so heroic that he befriended a bear and fought a tornado. The Mayor is set to unveil a statue in his honor, much to Molly's delight. Scratch does not understand why he is so great and believes that everything about him sounds phony. After the unveiling, Ezekiel, or "Tug" to his friends, arrives in spectral form to admire his likeness. Molly is excited to meet her hero and praises him. However, Scratch reveals that he knows him from the ghost realm. Everyone calls him Tug the Tornado, not because of heroism, but because he's a blowhard who always talks about himself. Molly thinks he is jealous and they spend the day with him.
All throughout Brighton, Ezekiel reveals his vain side by declaring that many of the streets, statues and emblems be designed or named after him, putting off Molly. Things come to a head when a building catches fire and Ezekiel's only concern was a painting of himself that he saves while Molly calls the fire department. Finally taking Scratch's advice, he and Molly go to the library, but can only find positive information on Ezekiel. That is until Libby arrives and reveals the hidden archives. In turns out that Ezekiel's sister, Sally Tugbottom, was the true hero of Brighton and that he used his connections at Tugbottom Publishing to make himself look like the hero.
As Molly protests the statue, Ezekiel arrives and transforms into a giant tornado, blowing Scratch away. Ezekiel chases Molly, but in his haste destroys his own statue. Scratch returns with the spectral Sally, as well as a bear, to stop her brother; telling him that he only wanted the fame and not actually be heroic.
The ghost of Ezekiel's sister Sally, the true hero.
The Mayor orders a new statue of Sally Tugbottom, based on Molly's suggestion and Sally drags Ezekiel back to the ghost realm. Libby congratulates Molly on revealing the truth to everyone, but adds that she is aware of supernatural forces affecting the town and plans to expose those too. Molly and Scratch decide not to worry about it though.
Cast
Main article: Monumental Disaster and Talent Show/Credits
- Ashly Burch as Molly McGee
- Dana Snyder as Scratch, Tugbottom Record Narrator, Todd
- Lara Jill Miller as Libby Stein-Torres
- Chris Diamantopolous as Ezekiel Tugbottom
- Patton Oswalt as Mayor
- Kerri Kenny-Silver as Sally Tugbottom
- Jane Lynch as Mrs. Roop
- Jenifer Lewis as Patty
Additional voices
- Michaela Dietz as Fire Building Woman
Non-speaking cameos
Song
Titles in other languages
| Language | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Spanish (Latin America)
|
Desastre monumental | Monumental Disaster | |
 Spanish
|
Un desastre monumental | A Monumental Disaster | |
 Japanese
|
街のヒーロー ? | City Hero? |
Trivia
- Mrs. Roop's wife, Pam, is shown for the first time though she made an earlier appearance in "Mazel Tov, Libby!".
- This episode and "Talent Show" foreshadow the events of "Scratch the Surface".
- This episode shows Scratch transition from Molly's perspective to everyone else's perspective (blue and solid when visible, slightly clear when invisible).
- The plot of the episode is similar to The Simpsons episode "Lisa the Iconoclast", which revolves around a character (Lisa/Molly) discovering the cold, hard truth about the town's founder (Jebediah Springfield/Ezekiel Tugbuttom), who was said to be heroic.
- However, while Lisa learns the truth about Springfield's founder but decides to keep it hidden, Molly successfully reveals the truth about Ezekiel to Brighton.
- The plot is also similar to the Gravity Falls episode "Irrational Treasure", which involves the characters (Dipper and Mabel/Molly) learning that the town's founder (Nathaniel Northwest/Ezekiel Tugbuttom) was a fraud so they set out to expose the truth and they discover who the real town founder is (Quentin Trembley/Sally Tugbuttom).
- Coincidently, The Ghost and Molly McGee & Gravity Falls are both Disney Channel shows produced by Disney Television Animation.
Videos
Errors
- Jordan Klepper and Michaela Dietz are credited for voicing Pete and Darryl here despite neither of them speaking.
- Molly's calculations about Brighton are off, implying that Brighton took place in 2032 as she said "for the last 160 years" despite the fact that the show takes place in the present day. Bill Motz confirmed that this is a timeline error.
- On Disney+, the thumbnail for this episode and "The Turnip Twist" are swapped.
Allusions
- Pecos Bill - Ezekiel wrangling a tornado is a reference to the legend of Pecos Bill.
- Lilo & Stitch and Casper the Friendly Ghost - At one point, Ezekiel refers to Scratch as Stitch, referencing one of the title characters of the Disney franchise Lilo & Stitch. Mere seconds before that, Ezekiel had also misremembered Scratch's name as Stretch, which refers to the name of another ghost altogether, namely one of the three uncles that make up the Ghostly Trio of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
- The Beverly Hillbillies - The song "The Ballad of Ezekiel Tugbottom" is similar to the opening theme of the 1960s' sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies.
- Captain Underpants - In one scene, Molly flips the pages of a book that have Ezekiel and a bear playing back-and-forth in a style similar to the Flip-O-Ramas from the Captain Underpants books.