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'''Scooby-Doo ''' is a long-running American animated series produced for Saturday morning television in several different versions from 1969 to the present. The original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', was created for Hanna-Barbera Productions by writers Joe Ruby & Ken Spears and character designer Iwao Takamoto. Hanna-Barbera produced numerous spin-offs and related works until being absorbed in 1997 into Warner Bros., which has handled production since then. Though the format of the show and the cast (and ages) of characters have varied significantly over the years, the most familiar versions of the show feature a talking dog named Scooby-Doo and four teenagers: Fred "Freddie" Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Norville "Shaggy" Rogers.
These five characters (officially collectively known as "Mystery, Inc.", but never referred to as such in the original series) drive around the world in a van called the "Mystery Machine", and solve mysteries typically involving tales of ghosts and other supernatural forces. At the end of each episode, the supernatural forces turn out to have a rational explanation, typically criminal plots involving costumes and special effects intended to frighten or distract. Later versions of ''Scooby-Doo'' featured different variations on the show's supernatural theme, and include characters such as Scooby's cousin Scooby-Dum and nephew Scrappy-Doo in addition to or instead of some of the original characters.
''Scooby-Doo'' was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1976, when it moved to ABC. ABC aired the show until canceling it in 1986, and presented a spin-off, ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', from 1988 until 1991. A new ''Scooby-Doo'' series, ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', aired on the WB Network during the Kids' WB programming block from 2002 until 2005. The current ''Scooby-Doo'' series, ''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!'', airs Saturday mornings on The CW network. Repeats of the original series, as well as second-run episodes of ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', are broadcast frequently on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the United States and other countries.
Production history
Creation and development
In 1968, a number of parent-run organizations, most notably Action for Children's Television (ACT), began vocally protesting what they perceived as an excessive amount of gratuitous violence in Saturday morning cartoons during the mid-to-late 1960s.[1]. Most of these shows were Hanna-Barbera action cartoons such as ''Space Ghost'' and ''The Herculoids'', and virtually all of them were canceled by 1969 because of pressure from the parent groups. Members of these watchgroups served as advisers to Hanna-Barbera and other animation studios to ensure that their new programs would be safe for children.
Fred Silverman, executive in charge of children's programming for the CBS network at the time, was looking for a show that would revitalize his Saturday morning line-up and please the watchgroups at the same time. The result was ''The Archie Show'', based upon Bob Montana's teenage humor comic book ''Archie''. Also successful were the musical numbers The Archies performed during each program (one of which, "Sugar, Sugar", was the most successful ''Billboard'' number-one hit of 1969). Silverman was eager to expand upon this success, and contacted producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera about possibly creating another show based around a teenage rock group, but with an extra element: the kids would solve mysteries in between their gigs. Silverman envisioned the show as a cross between the popular ''I Love a Mystery'' radio serials of the 1940s and the popular early 1960s TV show ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis''.[2]
Hanna and Barbera passed this task along to two of their head storymen, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, and artist/character designer Iwao Takamoto. Their original concept of the show bore the title ''Mysteries Five'', and featured five teens (Geoff, Mike, Kelly, Linda, and Linda's brother "W.W.") and their dog, Too Much, who were all in a band called "The Mysteries Five" (even the dog; he played the bongos). When "The Mysteries Five" were not performing at gigs, they were out solving spooky mysteries involving ghosts, zombies, and other supernatural creatures. Ruby and Spears were unable to decide whether Too Much would be a large cowardly dog or a small feisty dog. When the former was chosen, the options became a large goofy Great Dane or a big shaggy sheepdog. After consulting with Barbera on the issue, Too Much was finally set as a Great Dane, primarily to avoid a direct correlation to The Archies (who had a sheepdog, Hot Dog, in their band). Ruby and Spears feared the Great Dane would be too similar to the comic strip character Marmaduke, but Barbera assured them it would not be a problem.[3]
Takamoto consulted a studio colleague who happened to be a breeder of Great Danes. After learning the characteristics of a prize-winning Great Dane from her, Takamoto proceeded to break most of the rules and designed Too Much with overly bowed legs, a double chin, and a sloped back, among other abnormalities.[4][5]
By the time the show was ready for presentation by Silverman, a few more things had changed: Geoff and Mike were merged into one character called "Ronnie" (later renamed "Fred", at Silverman's behest),[6] Kelly was renamed to "Daphne", Linda was now called "Velma", and Shaggy (formerly "W.W.") was no longer her brother. Also, Silverman – not being very fond of the name ''Mysteries Five'' – had rechristened the show ''Who's S-S-Scared?'' Using storyboards, presentation boards, and a short completed animation sequence, Silverman presented ''Who's S-S-Scared?'' to the CBS executives as the centerpiece for the upcoming 1969–1970 season's Saturday morning cartoon block. The executives felt that the presentation artwork was far too frightening for young viewers and, thinking the show would be the same, decided to pass on it.
Now without a centerpiece for the upcoming season's programming, Silverman turned to Ruby and Spears, who reworked the show to make it more comedic and less frightening. They dropped the rock band element, and began to focus more attention on Shaggy and Too Much. According to Ruby and Spears, Silverman was inspired by the ad-lib "doo-be-doo-be-doo" he heard at the end of Frank Sinatra's interpretation of Bert Kaempfert's song "Strangers in the Night" on the way out to one of their meetings, and decided to rename the dog "Scooby-Doo" and re-rechristen the show ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' The revised show was re-presented to CBS executives, who approved it for production.
''Scooby-Doo'' television series
The CBS years
Shaggy and Scooby-Doo register fear after being confronted by a typical ''Scooby-Doo'' villain, a ghost from outer space. From ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' season one, episode fourteen ("Spooky Space Kook", December 20 1969).
''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' made its CBS network debut on Saturday, September 13 1969 with its first episode, "What a Night for a Knight". The original voice cast featured Don Messick as Scooby-Doo, Casey Kasem as Shaggy, Frank Welker as Fred, Nicole Jaffe as Velma, and Stefanianna Christopherson as Daphne.[7] Seventeen episodes of ''Scooby-Doo'' were produced in 1969. The series' eponymous theme song was written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh, and performed by Larry Marks.
The influences of ''I Love a Mystery'' and ''Dobie Gillis'' were especially apparent in these early episodes; Mark Evanier, who would write ''Scooby-Doo'' teleplays and comic book scripts in the 1970s and 1980s, identified each of the four teenagers with their corresponding ''Dobie Gillis'' character: "Fred was based on Dobie, Velma on Zelda, Daphne on Thalia and Shaggy on Maynard."[8] The similarities between Shaggy and Maynard are the most noticeable; both characters share the same beatnik-style goatee, similar hairstyles, and demeanours. The roles of each character are strongly defined in the series: Fred is the leader and the determined detective, Velma is the intelligent analyst, Daphne is danger-prone and vain, and Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are cowardly types more motivated by hunger than any desire to solve mysteries. Later versions of the show would make slight changes to the characters' established roles, most notably in the character of Daphne, shown in 1990s and 2000s ''Scooby-Doo'' productions as knowing many forms of karate and being able to defend herself.
The plot of each ''Scooby-Doo'' episode followed a formula that would serve as a template for many of the later incarnations of the series. At the beginning of the episode, the Mystery, Inc. gang bump into some type of evil ghost or monster, which they learn has been terrorizing the local populace. The teens offer to help solve the mystery behind the creature, but while looking for clues and suspects, the gang (and in particular Shaggy and Scooby) run into the monster, who always gives chase. However, after analyzing the clues they have found, the gang determines that this monster is simply a mere mortal in disguise. They capture the monster, often with the use of a Rube Goldberg-type contraption built by Fred, and bring him to the police. Upon learning the villain's true identity, the fiendish plot is fully explained, and the apprehended criminal would utter the famous catchphrase, or a variation thereof: "And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"
''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' was a major ratings success for CBS, and they renewed it for a second season in 1970. The eight 1970 episodes of ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' differed slightly from the first-season episodes in their uses of more slapstick humor, ''Archie Show''-like "chase songs" during climactic sequences, Heather North performing the voice of Daphne in place of Christopherson, and a re-recorded version of the theme song sung by Austin Roberts. Both seasons contained a laugh track, which was the standard practice for U.S. cartoon series during the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1972, after 25 half-hour episodes, the program was doubled to a full hour and called ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'', each episode of which featured a different guest star helping the gang solve mysteries. Among the most notable of these guest stars were the Harlem Globetrotters, the Three Stooges, Don Knotts, Sonny & Cher and Batman & Robin, each of whom appeared at least twice on the show. Hanna-Barbera musical director Hoyt Curtin composed a new theme song for this series, and Curtin's theme would remain in use for much of ''Scooby-Doo's'' original broadcast run. After two seasons and 24 episodes of the ''New Movies'' format from 1972 to 1974, the show went to reruns of the original series until ''Scooby'' moved to ABC in 1976.
The ''Scooby'' clones
Every episode of the original ''Scooby-Doo'' format contains a penultimate scene in which the kids unmask the ghost-of-the-week to reveal a real person in a costume. From ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' season two, episode one ("Nowhere to Hyde", September 12 1970).
Having established a successful formula, Hanna-Barbera then proceeded to repeat it many times over.[9] By the time ''Scooby-Doo'' had its first format change in 1972, Hanna-Barbera had produced three other teenager-based shows that were very similar to ''Scooby'' in concept and execution: ''Josie and the Pussycats'' (1970), which resurrected the idea of the rock band to the teenage-crime-fighter formula; ''The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show'' (1971), which re-imagined the toddlers from ''The Flintstones'' as high school students; and the most blatant ''Scooby'' clone, ''The Funky Phantom'' (also 1971), which featured three teens, a real ghost and his ghostly cat solving spooky mysteries.
Later cartoons such as ''The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan'' (1972); ''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'', ''Speed Buggy'', ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids'', and ''Inch High, Private Eye'' (all 1973); ''Clue Club'' and'' Jabberjaw'' (both 1976); ''Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels'' (1977); ''Buford and the Galloping Ghost'' (1978); and the ''Pebbles, Dino, and Bamm-Bamm'' segments of ''The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980)'' would all involve groups of teenagers solving mysteries or fighting crime in the same vein as ''Scooby-Doo'', usually with the help of a wacky animal, ghost, etc. For example, ''Speed Buggy'' featured three teens and a talking dune buggy in the role of "Scooby", while ''Jabberjaw'' used four teens and a talking shark in a futuristic underwater environment. Some of these shows even used the same voice actors and score cues. Even outside studios got in on the act: when Joe Ruby and Ken Spears left H-B in 1977 and started Ruby-Spears Productions, their first cartoon was ''Fangface,'' yet another mystery-solving ''Scooby'' clone.
During the 1970s, the imitating programs successfully coexisted alongside ''Scooby'' on Saturday mornings. Most of the mystery-solving Hanna-Barbera shows made before 1975 were featured on CBS, and when Fred Silverman moved from CBS to ABC in 1975, the mystery-solving shows, including ''Scooby-Doo'', followed him.
The ABC years
On ABC, the show went through almost yearly format changes. For their 1976–1977 season, new episodes of Scooby-Doo were joined with a new Hanna-Barbera show, ''Dynomutt, Dog Wonder'', to create ''The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour''. (It became ''The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show'' when a bonus ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' rerun was added to it in November 1976.) This hour-long package show later evolved into the longer programming blocks ''Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics'' (1977–1978) and ''Scooby's All-Stars'' (1978–1979).
New ''Scooby'' episodes, in the original ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' format, were produced for each of these three seasons. Four of these episodes featured Scooby's dim-witted country cousin Scooby-Dum as a semi-regular character. The ''Scooby-Doo'' episodes produced during these three seasons were later packaged together for syndication as ''The Scooby-Doo Show'', under which title they continue to air. For the ''Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics'' and ''Scooby's All-Stars'' programming blocks, ''Scooby-Doo'' was packaged alongside ''Laff-A-Lympics'', a new Hanna-Barbera cartoon featuring many of its characters in parodies of Olympic sporting events. Scooby-Doo appeared on the show as the team captain of the "Scooby Doobies" team, with Shaggy and Scooby-Dum among his teammates.
In 1979, Scooby's tiny nephew Scrappy-Doo was added to both the series and the billing, in an attempt to boost Scooby-Doo's slipping ratings. The 1979–1980 episodes, aired under the title ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'', succeeded in regenerating interest in the show, and as a result the entire show was overhauled in 1980 to focus more upon Scrappy-Doo. Fred, Daphne, and Velma were dropped from the series, and the new ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' format was now comprised of three seven-minute comedic adventures starring Scooby, Scrappy, and Shaggy instead of one half-hour mystery. This version of ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' aired as part of ''The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show'' from 1980 to 1982, and as part of ''The Scooby-Doo/Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour'' from 1982 to 1983. Most of the supernatural villains in the seven-minute ''Scooby and Scrappy'' cartoons, who in previous ''Scooby'' series had been revealed to be human criminals in costume, were now "real" within the context of the series.
Daphne returned to the cast for ''The All-New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' in 1983, which comprised two 11-minute episodes in a format reminiscent of the original ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' mysteries. This version of the show lasted for two seasons, with the second season airing under the title ''The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries'' and featuring semi-regular appearances from Fred and Velma.
1985 saw the debut of ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', which featured Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, and new characters Flim-Flam and Vincent Van Ghoul (based upon and voiced by Vincent Price) traveling the globe to capture "thirteen of the most terrifying ghosts and ghouls on the face of the earth." The final first-run episode of ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' aired in March 1986, and no new ''Scooby'' series aired on the network for the next two years. Reruns of previous ''Scooby'' episodes, however, continued to air, both as part of the ''Scooby-Doo Mystery Funhouse'' package and under the ''New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' banner.
Hanna-Barbera reincarnated the original ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' cast as junior high school students for ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', which debuted on ABC in 1988. ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' was an irreverent, zany re-imagining of the series, heavily inspired by the classic cartoons of Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, and eschewed the quasi-reality of the original ''Scooby'' series for a more ''Looney Tunes''-like style. The retooled show was a success, and lasted until 1991.
Reruns and revival
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, in a scene from ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?''
Reruns of the show have been in syndication since the mid-1980s, and have also been shown on cable television networks such as TBS Superstation (until 1989) and USA Network (as part of the USA Cartoon Express from 1990 to 1994). In 1993, ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', having just recently ended its network run on ABC, began reruns on the Cartoon Network; the other versions of ''Scooby-Doo'' joined it the following year and became exclusive to Turner networks such as the Cartoon Network, TBS Superstation, and TNT. Canadian network Teletoon began airing ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' in 1997, with the other ''Scooby'' series soon following. When TBS and TNT ended their broadcasts of H-B cartoons in 1998, ''Scooby-Doo'' became the exclusive property of both Cartoon Network and sister station Boomerang.
In 2002, following the successes of the Cartoon Network reruns and four late-1990s direct-to-video ''Scooby-Doo'' releases, the original version of the gang was updated for the 21st century for ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', which aired on Kids' WB from 2002 until 2005, with second-run episodes also appearing on Cartoon Network. Unlike previous ''Scooby'' series, the show was produced at Warner Bros. Animation, which had absorbed Hanna-Barbera in 2001. The show returned to the familiar format of the original series for the first time since 1978, with modern-day technology and culture added to the mix to give the series a more contemporary feel, along with new, digitally-recorded sound effects and music. With Don Messick having died in 1997, Frank Welker took over as Scooby's voice actor, while continuing to provide the voice of Fred as well, and Casey Kasem returned as Shaggy. Grey DeLisle provided the voice of Daphne (she first took the role on ''Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase'', replacing Mary Kay Bergman, who committed suicide shortly before the release of ''Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders'') and former ''Facts of Life'' star Mindy Cohn voiced Velma.
After three seasons, ''What's New, Scooby-Doo'' was replaced in September 2006 with ''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!'', a major revamping of the series which debuted on The CW's Kids' WB Saturday morning programming block. The premise centers around Shaggy inheriting money and a mansion from an uncle, an inventor who has gone into hiding from villains trying to steal his secret invention. The villains, led by "Dr. Phibes" (based primarily upon Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers series), then use different schemes to try to get the invention from Shaggy and Scooby, who handle the plots alone. Fred, Daphne, and Velma are normally absent, but do make appearances at times to help. The characters were redesigned and the art style revised for the new series.
Television specials, telefilms, and direct-to-video features
The direct-to-video film ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island'' marked the first time the original quintet of ''Scooby'' characters had appeared together in their original forms since 1984.
The ''Scooby-Doo'' characters first appeared outside of their regular Saturday morning format in ''Scooby Goes Hollywood'', an hour-long ABC television special aired in prime time on December 13 1979. The special revolved around Shaggy and Scooby's attempts to have the network move Scooby out of Saturday morning and into a prime-time series, and featured spoofs of then-current TV shows and films such as ''Happy Days'', ''Superman'', ''Laverne & Shirley'', and ''Charlie's Angels''.
From 1986 to 1988, Hanna-Barbera Productions produced ''Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'', a series of syndicated telefilms featuring their most popular characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, and The Jetsons. Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo, and Shaggy starred in three of these movies: ''Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers'' (1987), ''Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf'' (1988), and ''Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School'' (1988). In addition, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy appeared as the narrators of the made-for-TV movie ''Arabian Nights'', originally broadcast by TBS in 1994 and later released on video as ''Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights''.
Starting in 1998, Warner Bros. Animation and Hanna-Barbera (by then a subsidiary of Warner Bros.), began producing one new ''Scooby-Doo'' direct-to-video movie a year. These movies featured a slightly older version of the original five-character cast from the ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' days, and disregards the later Scrappy-Doo years as non-canonical. The movies include ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island'' (1998), ''Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost'' (1999), ''Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders'' (2000), and ''Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase'' (2001). Also in 2001, the Cartoon Network produced ''Night of the Living Doo'', a half-hour parody of the ''New Scooby-Doo Movies'' format featuring "special guest stars" David Cross, Gary Coleman, Mark Hamill and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
The success of the direct-to-video movies led to Scooby's return to Saturday morning, ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', and Hanna-Barbera based later entries in this series of ''Scooby'' movies on it rather than the previous editions. The series continued with ''Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire'' (2003), ''Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico'' (2003), ''Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster'' (2004), ''Aloha, Scooby-Doo!'' (2005), ''Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?'' (2005), ''Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!'' (2006), and ''Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!'' (2007).
A number of these ''Scooby-Doo'' telefilms and direct-to-video features, as well as many of the early-1980s shows featuring Scrappy-Doo, feature the gang encountering actual supernatural beings. In ''Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School'' (1988), Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy sign up as gym teachers for Miss Grimwood's school for girls, only to find it is actually a school for ghouls, where the trio end up teaching the daughters of Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Werewolf, The Mummy, and the stereotypical ghost monster (Phantasma the Phantom). ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island'' (1998) featured the original 1969 gang, reunited after years of being apart, battling voodoo-worshiping cat creatures in the Louisiana bayou. ''Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost'' featured an author (Tim Curry) returning to his home with the gang, to find out that an event is being haunted by the author's dead grandmother; who was an actual witch. The later ''What's New, Scooby-Doo''-based entries in the direct-to-video series returned to the original formula, and are basically extended episodes of the ''What's New, Scooby-Doo'' series.
Live-action Warner Bros. feature films
A feature-length live-action film version of ''Scooby-Doo'' was released by Warner Bros. in 2002. The cast included Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Scooby-Doo was created on-screen by computer-generated special effects. ''Scooby-Doo'' was a successful release, with a domestic box office gross of over $130 million.[10] However, the film was not well reviewed: film critic Roger Ebert, who stated that he had never seen the original television series, gave ''Scooby-Doo'' one star (on a scale of zero to four), saying: "I feel no sympathy with any of the characters, I am unable to generate the slightest interest in the plot, and I laughed not a single time."[11] A sequel, '', followed in March 2004, and earned $84 million at the U.S. box office.[12]
Warner Bros.' 2002 live-action ''Scooby-Doo'' feature film was a box office success, and resulted in a sequel two years later.
The 2002 film version departed considerably from the standard ''Scooby-Doo'' formula in that the paranormal is real and the skepticism of the original series is ridiculed. Various elements of that formula are parodied in both movies. While the first film had generally original characters as the villains (except for one villain revealed as a surprise plot twist), the second film featured several of the monsters from the television series, including the Black Knight, the 10,000 Volt Ghost, the Pterodactyl Ghost, the Miner 49er, and Chickenstein.
The ''Scooby'' influence
Critical reaction and awards
While a successful series during its three separate tenures on Saturday morning, ''Scooby-Doo'' won no awards for artistic merit during its original series runs. The series has received only two Emmy nominations in its four-decade history: a 1989 Daytime Emmy nomination for ''A Pup Named Scooby Doo'', and a 2003 Daytime Emmy nomination for What's New, Scooby-Doo's Mindy Cohn in the "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program" category.[13] Like many Hanna-Barbera shows, ''Scooby-Doo'' was criticized for poor production values and formulaic storytelling. In 2002, Jamie Malanowski of ''The New York Times'' commented that "[''Scooby-Doo's''] mysteries are not very mysterious, and the humor is hardly humorous. As for the animation -- well, the drawings on your refrigerator may give it competition."[14] Even proponents of the series often comment negatively about the formula inherent in most ''Scooby'' episodes.[15] Science advocate Carl Sagan, however, favorably compared the formula to that of most television dealing with paranormal themes, and considered that an adult analogue to ''Scooby-Doo'' would be a great public service.[16]
Nevertheless, ''Scooby-Doo'' has maintained a significant fan base, which has grown steadily since the 1990s due to the show's popularity among both young children and nostalgic adults who grew up with the series.[17] The show's mix of the comedy-adventure and horror genres is often noted as the reason for its widespread success. Elias, Justine (Feb. 24, 2002). "Scooby-Doo Forever: The Curious Cachet of a Cowardly Dog." ''The New York Times''. Excerpt: "Both the [Cartoon Network] and children's TV critics point to ''Scooby's'' mix of thrills, gas and reassurance as the key to its longevity." As Fred Silverman and the Hanna-Barbera staff had planned when they first began producing the series, ''Scooby-Doo's'' ghosts, monsters, and spooky locales tend more towards humor than horror, making them easily accessible to younger children. "Overall, [''Scooby-Doo'' is] just not a show that is going to overstimulate kids' emotions and tensions," offered American Center for Children and Media executive director David Kleeman in a 2002 interview. "It creates just enough fun to make it fun without getting them worried or giving them nightmares." Many teenage and young adult audiences enjoy ''Scooby-Doo'' because of presumed subversive themes which involve theories of drug use and sexuality.Burke and Burke, p 106.[18]
In recent years, ''Scooby-Doo'' has received recognition for its popularity by placing in a number of "top cartoon" or "top cartoon character" polls. The August 3, 2002 issue of ''TV Guide'' featured its list of the "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time", in which Scooby-Doo placed twenty-second[19] Scooby also ranked thirteenth in Animal Planet's list of the "50 Greatest TV Animals".[20] ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' ranked forty-ninth in the UK network Channel 4's 2005 list of the "100 Greatest Cartoons of All Time".[21] For one year from 2004 to 2005, ''Scooby-Doo'' held the Guinness World Record for having the most episodes of any animated television series ever produced, a record previously held by and later returned to ''The Simpsons''. ''Scooby-Doo'' was published as holding this record in the 2006 edition of the ''Guinness Book of Records''.[22]
Subsequent television shows and films often make reference to ''Scooby-Doo'', for example ''Wayne's World'' and the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', in which Buffy and her monster-slaying friends refer to themselves as the "Scooby Gang" or "Scoobies," a knowing reference to ''Scooby-Doo''. (Coincidentally, Sarah Michelle Gellar, who played Buffy, later played Daphne in the live-action movies). Even ''South Park'' paid homage to Scooby-Doo in an episode entitled "KoЯn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery". The Kevin Smith film ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' included a scene where Jay and Silent Bob are picked up in the Mystery Machine while hitchhiking and both they and Mystery, Inc. get "high" off of "dooby snacks". A plethora of other media properties have referenced or parodied ''Scooby-Doo'', among them the ''TV Funhouse'' segment of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' , the online comic ''Sluggy Freelance'', the FOX animated series ''Family Guy'' and ''The Simpsons'', and the Cartoon Network programs ''Johnny Bravo'', ''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'', ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' and ''The Venture Bros.''
Assumed "adult themes"
As with many Saturday morning cartoons, ''Scooby-Doo'' is often proposed by sectors of the public to have hidden subtexts, in this case involving sex and drug use. Such assumptions often find their way into ''Scooby-Doo'' parodies done by comedians, musicians, and film/television producers.
Drug use is the most prominent of these charges, in particular because of Shaggy's beatnik origins. He and Scooby-Doo are shown to have voracious appetites, which has been interpreted as being evidence of a case of "the munchies" resulting from marijuana use. It is also believed that Shaggy and Scooby Doo's perpetual state of paranoia during mystery investigations, in contrast to the calm demeanor displayed by the other lead characters, is due to marijuana use. Some parodies go on to propose that the "Scooby Snacks" present in many episodes contain drugs instead of typical dog treat ingredients.Larsen, Dana (Jan. 8, 2003). "Celebrity stoners." ''Cannabis Culture Magazine''. Retrieved from http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2606.html on August 11, 2006. The most direct references to the ''Scooby-Doo'' drug use theory were produced by Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network themselves. The first live action ''Scooby-Doo'' film makes several joking references to Shaggy and Scooby's purported drug use and even has Shaggy fall in love with a girl named "Mary Jane" (a common slang term for marijuana) and an early scene of smoke coming out of a vent in the roof of the van (but then showing it's just steam from their cooking), while an episode of the Adult Swim cartoon ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' finds Shaggy and Scooby-Doo arrested for possession of marijuana.
Also discussed and parodied are the presumed sexual activities going on among the ''Scooby-Doo'' characters. While working on the original series, Joe Ruby and Ken Spears often wrote their "straight men", Fred and Daphne, out of the episode so that they could focus on their "comedians": Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma. As a result, Fred and Daphne are missing from a significant amount of the action in most episodes, leading to assumptions that the two are off having sex instead of finding clues. Like the drug use, this assumed theme has also been self-parodied, with the "Bravo Dooby Doo" episode of ''Johnny Bravo'', and both live-action and direct-to-video ''Scooby-Doo'' features making light of Fred and Daphne's presumed sexual relationship.
Another debated topic of the series centers around whether or not the tomboyish Velma is a lesbian. (Indeed, the character was based on the ''Dobie Gillis'' character Zelda, played by Sheila Kuehl – who later revealed her homosexuality.) The character has a considerable fan base among real-life lesbians, who see her as one of their own. The idea of Velma as a lesbian is parodied in the 2001 motion picture ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'', the "¡Viva los Muertos!" episode of ''The Venture Bros.'' (which featured a caricature of radical feminist and would-be Andy Warhol assassin Valerie Solanas as the Velma character), as well as both ''Scooby-Doo'' live-action films. Many, but not all, of the lesbian-themed gags from the first ''Scooby-Doo'' film, which center around a hinted crush Velma has on Daphne in the film, were excised from the final release print to secure a PG rating.
A 1968 Chevrolet Sportvan 108, painted to look like the Mystery Machine from ''Scooby-Doo''. A number of ''Scooby'' fans have decorated vans in this fashion.
Merchandising
The first ''Scooby-Doo''-related merchandise came in the form of ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' comic books by Gold Key Comics, which initially contained adaptations of episodes of the cartoon show when publication began in December 1969. The book soon moved to all-original stories, and continued publication until December 1974. Charlton published ''Scooby'' comics, many drawn by Bill Williams, from February 1975 to October 1975. Since then, ''Scooby-Doo'' comics have been published by Marvel Comics (written by Mark Evanier and drawn by Dan Spiegle), Archie Comics (reprints of the Charlton stories), and DC Comics, who continue to publish a monthly ''Scooby-Doo'' series.
Other early ''Scooby-Doo'' merchandise included a 1973 Milton Bradley board game, decorated lunch boxes, iron-on transfers, coloring books, story books, records, underwear, and other such goods.[23] When Scrappy-Doo was introduced to the series in 1979, he, Scooby, and Shaggy became the sole foci of much of the merchandising, including a 1983 Milton-Bradley ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' board game. The first ''Scooby-Doo'' video game appeared in arcades in 1986, and has been followed by a number of games for both home consoles and personal computers. ''Scooby-Doo'' multivitamins also debuted at this time, and have been manufactured by Bayer since 2001.
''Scooby-Doo'' merchandising tapered off during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but increased after the series' revival on Cartoon Network in 1995. Today, all manner of ''Scooby-Doo''-branded products are available for purchase, including ''Scooby-Doo'' breakfast cereal, plush toys, action figures, car decorations, and much more. Real "Scooby Snacks" dog treats are produced by Del Monte Pet Products. Hasbro has created a number of ''Scooby'' board games, including a ''Scooby''-themed edition of the popular mystery board game ''Clue''.
From 1990 to 2002, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo appeared as characters in the ''Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida.[24] The ride was replaced in the early 2000s with a ''Jimmy Neutron'' attraction, and ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' instead became an attraction at several properties operated by Paramount Parks. Shaggy and Scooby-Doo are costumed characters at Universal Studios Florida, and can be seen driving the Mystery Machine around the park.
''Scooby-Doo'' filmography
TV series
| Series Number | Title | Broadcast run | Original network | # of episodes | # of seasons | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' | 1969–1972 | CBS | 25 | 2 | |
| 2 | ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' | 1972–1974 | CBS | 24 | 2 | |
| 3 | ''The Scooby-Doo Show'' 1 | 1976–1979 | ABC | 40 | 3 | |
| 4 | ''Laff-a-Lympics'' 2 | 1977–1979 | ABC | 24 | 2 | |
| 5 | ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' | 1979–1980 | ABC | 16 | 1 | |
| 6 | ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' 3 | 1980–1983 | ABC | 33 | 3 | |
| 7 | ''The All-New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' 4 | 1983–1985 | ABC | 26 | 2 | |
| 8 | ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' | 1985–1986 | ABC | 13 | 1 | |
| 9 | ''Scooby's Mystery Funhouse'' 5 | 1985–1986 | ABC | 21 | 1 | |
| 10 | ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' | 1988–1991 | ABC | 29 | 3 | |
| 11 | ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'' | 2002–2006 | Kids' WB on the WB | 42 | 3 | |
| 12 | ''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!'' | 2006–present | Kids' WB on the CW | 26 | 2 | |
'Notes:'
| ||||||
TV specials and telefilms
★ ''Scooby Goes Hollywood'' (1979, ABC)
★ ''Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers'' (1987)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School'' (1988)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf'' (1989)
★ ''Arabian Nights'' (also known as ''Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights'') (1994, TBS)
★ ''The Scooby-Doo Project'' (1999, Cartoon Network)
★ ''Night of the Living Doo'' (2001, Cartoon Network)
Direct-to-video films
★ ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island'' (1998)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost'' (1999)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders'' (2000)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase'' (2001)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire'' (2003)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico'' (2003)
★ ''Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster'' (2004)
★ ''Aloha, Scooby-Doo!'' (2005)
★ ''Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?'' (2005)
★ ''Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!'' (2006)
★ ''Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!'' (2007)
Live-action theatrical releases
★ ''Scooby-Doo'' (2002)
★ '' (2004)
Video games
★ ''Scooby Doo'', a 1986 arcade computer game published by Elite Systems (later re-released on Elite's budget label Encore) and developed by Gargoyle Games for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64. [1] [2]
★ ''Scooby Doo Mystery'', two separate games of the same title created in 1995; one for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the other for the Sega Genesis.
★ '', a 1999 mystery computer game developed by Engineering Animation, Inc. (EAI) and published by SouthPeak Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows.
★ ''Scooby Doo: Classic Creep Capers'', a 2000 console game published by THQ and released for Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color.
★ ''Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights'', a 2002 console game published by THQ.
★ '', a 2004 console game developed by A2M and published by THQ.
★ ''Scooby-Doo! Unmasked'', a 2005 console game published by THQ.
★ ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Adventures'', created in 2000 by the Learning Company is a CD-ROM for Windows. It contained 3 different versions/challenges/CD-Roms (sold separately): ''Scooby-Doo: Showdown in Ghost Town'', ''Scooby-Doo: Phantom of the Knight'', and ''Scooby-Doo: Jinx at the Sphinx''.
Voices
★ 'Scooby-Doo' ★ ★ Don Messick (1969–1997) ★ ★ Scott Innes (1998–2001) ★ ★ Neil Fanning (2002 & 2004 live-action films) ★ ★ Frank Welker (2002–present) ★ 'Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers' ★ ★ Casey Kasem (1969–1997, 2002–2005) ★ ★ Billy West (1998–1999) ★ ★ Scott Innes (2000–2001) ★ ★ Scott Menville (2006–present) ★ ★ Matthew Lillard (live actor in the 2002 & 2004 live-action films) ★ 'Fred Jones' ★ ★ Frank Welker (1969–1984; 1998–present) ★ ★ Carl Stevens (''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo,'' 1988–1991) ★ ★ Freddie Prinze, Jr. (live actor in the 2002 & 2004 live-action films) ★ 'Daphne Blake' ★ ★ Indira Stefanianna Christopherson (1969–1970) ★ ★ Heather North (Kenney) (1970–1986, 2003) ★ ★ Kellie Martin (''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo,'' 1988–1991) ★ ★ Mary Kay Bergman (1998–2000) ★ ★ Grey DeLisle (2001–present) ★ ★ Sarah Michelle Gellar (live actor in the 2002 & 2004 live-action films) | ★ 'Velma Dinkley' ★ ★ Nicole Jaffe (1969–1974, 2003) ★ ★ Pat Stevens (1976–1979) ★ ★ Marla Frumkin (1979–1980, 1984–1985) ★ ★ Christina Lange (''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo,'' 1988–1991) ★ ★ B. J. Ward (1998–2001) ★ ★ Mindy Cohn (2002–present) ★ ★ Linda Cardellini (live actor in the 2002 & 2004 live-action films) ★ 'Scrappy-Doo' ★ ★ Lennie Weinrib (1979–1980) ★ ★ Don Messick (1980–1988) ★ ★ Scott Innes (2002 live-action film) ★ 'Other regular characters' ★ ★ Daws Butler as Scooby-Dum (recurring, 1976–1978) ★ ★ Vincent Price as Vincent Van Ghoul (''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', 1985–1986) ★ ★ Susan Blu as Flim-Flam (''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', 1985–1986) ★ ★ Howard Morris as Bogel (''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', 1985–1986) ★ ★ Arte Johnson as Weerd (''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', 1985–1986) ★ ★ Scott Menville as Red Herring (''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', 1988–1991) |
See also
★ Five Colleges — for a popular campus legend about the show
Notes
1. William Richter "Action for Children's Television". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved from http://www.Museum.TV/Archives/etv/A/htmlA/actionforch/actionforch.htm on June 9, 2006.
2. Laurence Marcus & Stephen R. Hulce (October, 2000). "Scooby Doo, Where Are You". ''Television Heaven''. Retrieved from http://www.Televisionheaven.co.uk/scooby.htm on June 9, 2006.
3. Ruby and Spears.
4. Ignacio, Cynthia Quimpo (2002). "Iwao Takamoto: Scooby-Doo and Iawo, Too". ''Yolk 2.0.'', vol. 9, issue 3. Los Angeles, CA: Informasian Media Group, Inc.
5. (2006). Interview with Iwao Takamoto. ''Eerie Mystery of Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt's History'' [documentary featurette from ''The Scooby-Doo/Dynomut Hour: The Complete Series'' DVD bonus features]. New York, Los Angeles, CA: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Excerpt: "The Great Dane was supposed to be the biggest dog around...and there was a woman [at the studio] who actually bred and reared Great Danes. So, she came over, and spent a solid hour describing all of the positive things that makes a prize-wining Great Dane. And I selected about five things, I think, and went in the opposite direction. For instance, a good, strong straight back, so I sloped his back. A strong chin, so I under-swung his chin...and I think straight hind legs she mentioned. So I bowed them..."
6. (2006). Interview with Ken Spears. ''Eerie Mystery of Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt's History''. Excerpt: "That character [Fred] started out...I think his name was 'Geoff'...and then he became 'Harvey'. And then all of a sudden, Fred [Silverman] came in and said [the character] was going to be 'Fred'. So, I guess he had something to do with that."
7. (2005) "Scooby Doo, Where are You!" ''IMDb.com'' Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063950/ on August 12, 2006.
8. Evanier, Mark. (July 10, 2002). Post on "News from Me" blog for ''Povonline.com''. Retrieved from http://povonline.com/2002/News060902.htm on March 27, 2006.
9. Burke and Burke, pp 110–111.
10. Chris Suellentrop. (March 26, 2004). "Hey Dog! How do you do that Voodoo That You Do So Well?". ''Slate.com''. Retrieved from http://www.Slate.com/id/2097818/ on June 9, 2006.
11. Ebert, Roger (June 14, 2002). Review of Scooby-Doo. Retrieved on December 19, 2006.
12. (January 27, 2006). "Weekend Box Office preview". ''Variety''. Retrieved from on June 9, 2006.
13. "Awards for ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?''" ''IMDb.com'' Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306274/awards on August 13, 2006.
14. Malanowski, Jamie (May 12, 2002). "One for the Scooby Cognoscenti". ''The New York Times''.
15. Burke and Burke, p 108.
16. Sagan, Carl. The Demon-Haunted World (1997). New York: Ballantine Books, p 374.
17. Berardinelli, James (June 2002). Review for ''Scooby-Doo'' [feature film]. ''James Berardinelli's Movie Reviews.'' Retrieved from http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/s/scooby-doo.html on August 13, 2006. Excerpt: "Unfortunately, there is an audience out there for Scooby-Doo. It is comprised primarily of Generation X'ers, who wax nostalgic about the "classic" cartoon series, and their children, who are too young to know any better."
18. Chambers, Bill March 2000). Review for ''Scooby Doo's Original Mysteries'' DVD. ''Film Freak Central''. Retrieved from http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/dvdreviews/scoobydoo.htm on August 13, 2006.
19. (Aug. 22, 2002). 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time". ''TV Guide''.
20. (Jun 20, 2003). "Animal Planet Picks Top 50 TV Animals". ''Scoop''. Retrieved from http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=2787&si=121 on August 13, 2006.
21. (2005). "The 100 Greatest Cartoons of All Time". ''Channel4.com''. Retrieved from http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/cartoons/results.html on August 13, 2006.
22. (25 Oct. 2004). "''Scooby-Doo'' breaks cartoon record". ''BBC News''. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3949579.stm on March 27, 2006.
23. "Scooby-Doo according ot Wingnut: Collectibles". ''Wingnuttoons.com.'' Retrieved from http://www.wingnuttoons.com/Scooby-Doo_Collection2.html on August 12, 2006. Contains an extensive illustrated list of ''Scooby-Doo''-related merchandise, from the 1970s to the present.
24. Stokes, Trey (2002). "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera". Retrieved from http://www.trudang.com/simulatr/hbsim.html on August 12, 2006. Article on the creation of the ride, written by one of its programmers.
References
★ Banks, Clive. "Scooby-Doo". Retrieved from http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/Scooby-Doo%20Intro.htm on September 4 2005.
★ Baxter, Joel (2003). ''The Complete Scooby-Doo Episode Guide''. Originally retrieved from http://www.execulink.com/~joelb/scooby/doobydoo.htm on September 3 2005. Archive of page retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20050311090933/http://www.execulink.com/~joelb/scooby/doobydoo.htm on October 23 2006.
★ Burke, Timothy and Burke, Kevin (1998). ''Saturday Morning Fever : Growing up with Cartoon Culture''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-16996-5.
★ Handy, Aaron III. "The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour Episode Guide". Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/la/aaronh3d/SDDH.html on September 4 2005.
★ "Hanna-Babera Studios" (and sub-articles). ''The Big Cartoon DataBase''. Retrieved from http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Hanna-Barbera_Studios/index.html on September 3 2005.
★ McNeil, Alex (4th ed., 1996). ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present''. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
★ Ruby, Joe and Spears, Ken (2002). "Scooby Doo...The History of a Classic". ''Rubyspears.com''. Retrieved from http://www.rubyspears.com/scooby.html on March 27, 2006.
External links
★ Official Warner Bros. site
★ Scooby-Doo at Cartoon Network
★ Full episodes of ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' free from AOL Video
★ Scooby-Doo! forum at Kid Avenue
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