Scooby-Doo Specials

''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera Productions. This Saturday-morning cartoon series featured teenagers Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and their talking Great Dane named Scooby-Doo, who solve mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps.CD liner notes: Saturday Mornings: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 1995 MCA Records and its successor Warner Bros. Animation have produced numerous follow-up and spin-off animated series and several related works, including television specials and made-for-TV movies, a line of direct-to-video films, and two Warner Bros.-produced theatrical feature films. Some versions of ''Scooby-Doo'' feature variations on the show's.

''Scooby-Doo'' was originally broadcast on CBS from 1969 to 1976, when it moved to ABC. ABC aired various versions of ''Scooby-Doo'' until canceling it in 1985, and presented a spin-off featuring the characters as children called ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' from 1988 until 1991. Two ''Scooby-Doo'' reboots aired as part of Kids' WB on The WB and its successor The CW from 2002 until 2008. Further reboots were produced for Cartoon Network beginning in 2010 and continuing through 2018. Repeats of the various ''Scooby-Doo'' series are frequently broadcast on Cartoon Network's sister channel Boomerang in the United States and other countries. The current ''Scooby-Doo'' series, ''Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?'', premiered on June 27, 2019, as an original series on Boomerang's streaming service and later HBO Max.

In 2013, ''TV Guide'' ranked ''Scooby-Doo'' the fifth-greatest TV cartoon of all time.

Development

In 1968, parent-run organizations, particularly Action for Children's Television (ACT), began protesting what they perceived as excessive violence in Saturday-morning cartoons. Most of these shows were Hanna-Barbera action cartoons such as ''Space Ghost'', ''The Herculoids'', and ''Birdman and the Galaxy Trio'', and virtually all of them were canceled by 1969 because of pressure from the parent groups. Members of these watch groups served as advisers to Hanna-Barbera and other animation studios to ensure that new programs would be safe for children.

Fred Silverman, executive for daytime programming at CBS, was then looking for a show that would both revitalize his Saturday-morning line and please the watch groups. The result was ''The Archie Show'' from Filmation, based on 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). Eager to build upon this success, Silverman contacted producers William Hanna and Joseph Barbera about creating another show based on a teenage rock group, this time featuring teens who solved mysteries between gigs. Silverman envisioned the show as a cross between the popular ''I Love a Mystery'' radio serials of the 1940s and either the Archie characters or the popular early 1960s television series ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis''.

After attempting to develop his own version of the show, called ''House of Mystery'', Barbera, who developed and sold Hanna-Barbera shows while Hanna produced them, passed the task along to storywriters Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, as well as artist/character designer Iwao Takamoto. Their treatment, based in part on ''The Archie Show'', was titled ''Mysteries Five'' and featured five teenagers: Geoff, Mike, Kelly, Linda, and Linda's brother W.W., along with their bongo-playing dog, Too Much, who collectively formed the band Mysteries Five. 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 one. When the former was chosen, Ruby and Spears wrote Too Much as a Great Dane but revised the dog character to a large sheepdog (similar to the Archies' sheepdog, Hot Dog) just before their presentation to Silverman, as Ruby feared the character would be too similar to the comic strip character Marmaduke. Silverman rejected their initial pitch, and after consulting with Barbera on next steps, got Barbera's permission to go ahead with Too Much being a Great Dane instead of a sheepdog.Shostak, Stu (February 5, 2012).
Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
. ''Stu's Show.'' Retrieved March 18, 2013.Ruby and Spears (2002).

During the design phase, lead character designer Takamoto consulted a studio colleague who was 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.

Ruby and Spears' second pass at the show used ''Dobie Gillis'' as the template for the teenagers rather than ''Archie''. The treatment retained the dog Too Much, while reducing the number of teenagers to four, removing the Mike character and retaining Geoff, Kelly, Linda, and W.W. As their personalities were modified, so were the characters' names: Geoff became "Ronnie"—later renamed "Fred" (at Silverman's behest), Kelly became "Daphne", Linda " Velma", and W.W. "Shaggy". The teens were now based on four teenage characters from ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'': Dobie Gillis, Thalia Menninger, Zelda Gilroy and Maynard G. Krebs, respectively.

The revised show was re-pitched to Silverman, who liked the material but, disliking the title ''Mysteries Five'', decided to call the show ''Who's S-S-Scared?'' Silverman presented ''Who's S-S-Scared?'' to the CBS executives as the centerpiece for the upcoming 1969–70 season's Saturday-morning cartoon block. CBS president Frank Stanton felt that the presentation artwork was too scary 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 had Ruby, Spears, and the Hanna-Barbera staff revise the treatments and presentation materials to tone down the show and better reflect its comedy elements. The rock band element was dropped, and more attention was focused upon Shaggy and Too Much. According to Ruby and Spears, Silverman was inspired by Frank Sinatra's scat "doo-be-doo-be-doo" at the end of his recording of "Strangers in the Night" on a red-eye flight to one of the development meetings, and decided to rename the dog "Scooby-Doo" and retitled the show ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' The revised show was re-presented to CBS executives, who approved it for production.

History

Original television series run

CBS years (1969–76)

=''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!''

=
The first episode of ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' "What a Night for a Knight" debuted on the CBS network Saturday, September 13, 1969, at 10:30 AM Eastern Time. The original voice cast featured Don Messick as Scooby-Doo, Casey Kasem as Shaggy, Frank Welker as Fred, actress Nicole Jaffe as Velma, and Indira Stefanianna as Daphne. Scooby's speech patterns closely resembled an earlier cartoon dog, Astro from ''The Jetsons'' (1962–63), also voiced by Messick. Seventeen episodes of ''Scooby-Doo Where Are You!'' were produced in 1969–70. The series theme song was written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh, and performed by Larry Marks.

Each of these episodes features Scooby and the four teenage members of Mystery, Inc.—Fred, Shaggy, Daphne and Velma—arriving at a location in the Mystery Machine, a van painted with psychedelic colors and flower power imagery. Encountering a purportedly supernatural monster terrorizing the local populace, such as a ghost, they decide to investigate. The kids split up to look for clues and suspects, while being chased at turns by the monster. Eventually, the kids come to realize the paranormal activity is actually an elaborate hoax, and—often with the help of a Rube Goldberg-like trap designed by Fred—they capture the creature suit-wearing villain and unmask him or her. Revealed as a flesh and blood crook who used the costume to cover up their crimes, the villain is arrested and taken to jail, often with the catchphrase "if it weren't for those pesky/meddling kids".

Scheduled opposite another teenage mystery-solving show, ABC's ''The Hardy Boys'', ''Scooby-Doo'' became a ratings success, with Nielsen ratings reporting that as many as 65% of Saturday-morning audiences were tuned in to CBS when ''Scooby-Doo'' was being broadcast. The show was renewed for a second season in 1970, for which eight episodes were produced. Seven of the second-season episodes featured chase sequences set to bubblegum pop songs recorded by Austin Roberts, who also re-recorded the theme song for this season. With Stefanianna Christopherson having married and retired from voice acting, Heather North assumed the role of Daphne, and she continued to voice the character until 1997.

The TV influences of ''I Love a Mystery'' and ''Dobie Gillis'' were apparent in the first episode. Of the similarities between the ''Scooby-Doo'' teens and the ''Dobie Gillis'' teens, the similarities between Shaggy and Maynard are the most noticeable; both characters share the same beatnik-style goatee, similar hairstyles, and demeanors. The core premise of ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' was also similar to Enid Blyton's '' Famous Five'' books. Both series featured four youths with a dog, and the Famous Five stories often revolved around a mystery which invariably turned out not to be supernaturally based, but simply a ruse to disguise the villain's true intent.

The role of each character was strongly defined in the series: Fred is the leader and the determined detective, Velma is the intelligent analyst, Daphne is danger-prone, Shaggy is a coward more motivated by hunger than any desire to solve mysteries, and Scooby is similar to Shaggy, save for a Bob Hope-inspired tendency towards temporary bravery. Later versions of the show made slight changes to the characters' established roles, such as showing the Daphne in 1990s and 2000s ''Scooby-Doo'' productions as knowing many forms of karate and having the ability to defend herself, and reducing her tendency towards being kidnapped.

''Scooby-Doo'' itself influenced many other Saturday-morning cartoons of the 1970s. During that decade, Hanna-Barbera and its rivals produced several animated programs also featuring teenage detectives solving mysteries with a pet or mascot of some sort, including ''Josie and the Pussycats'' (1970–71), ''The Funky Phantom'' (1971–72), ''The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan'' (1972–73), ''Speed Buggy'' (1973–74), ''Goober and the Ghost Chasers'' (1973–74), ''Jabberjaw'' (1976–78), and ''Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels'' (1977–80).

=''The New Scooby-Doo Movies''

=
In the fall of 1972, new one-hour episodes under the title ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' were created; each episode featuring a real or fictitious guest star helping the gang solve mysteries, including characters from other Hanna-Barbera series such as ''Harlem Globetrotters'', ''Josie and the Pussycats'' and ''Speed Buggy'', the comic book characters Batman and Robin (later adapted into their own Hanna-Barbera series, ''Super Friends'', a year later), and celebrities such as Sandy Duncan, The Addams Family, Cass Elliot, Phyllis Diller, Don Knotts and The Three Stooges. Hanna-Barbera musical director Hoyt Curtin composed a new theme song for this series, and Curtin's theme remained 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 1973, CBS began airing reruns of the original ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' series until its option on the series expired in 1976.

ABC years (1976–91)

=''The Scooby-Doo Show'' and ''Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics''

=
Now president of ABC, Fred Silverman made a deal with Hanna-Barbera to bring new episodes of ''Scooby-Doo'' to the ABC Saturday-morning lineup, where the show went through almost yearly lineup changes. For their 1976–77 season, 16 new episodes of Scooby-Doo were joined with a new Hanna-Barbera show, ''Dynomutt, Dog Wonder'', to create ''The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour'' (the show became ''The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show'' when a bonus ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' rerun was added to the package in November 1976). Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, now working for Silverman as supervisors of the ABC Saturday-morning programs, returned the program to its original ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' format, with the addition of Scooby's dim-witted country cousin Scooby-Dum, voiced by Daws Butler, as a recurring character. The voice cast was held over from ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' save for Nicole Jaffe, who retired from acting in 1973. Pat Stevens took over her role as the voice of Velma.

Then Joe Ruby and Ken Spears left again to start their own studio in 1977 as competition for Hanna-Barbera. They would remain away from the rest of the 1980s.

For the 1977–78 season, ''The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show'' became the two-hour programming block ''Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics'' (1977–78) with the addition of ''Laff-a-Lympics'' and ''Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels''. In addition to eight new episodes of ''Scooby-Doo'' and reruns of the 1969 show, Scooby-Doo also appeared during the ''All-Star'' block's ''Laff-a-Lympics'' series, which featured 45 Hanna-Barbera characters competing in ''Battle of the Network Stars''-esque parodies of Olympic sporting events. Scooby was seen as the team captain of the ''Laff-a-Lympics'' "Scooby-Doobies" team, which also featured Shaggy and Scooby-Dum among its members.

''Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics'' was retitled ''Scooby's All Stars'' for the 1978–79 season, reduced to 90 minutes when ''Dynomutt'' was spun off into its own half-hour and the 1969 reruns were dropped. ''Scooby's All-Stars'' continued broadcasting reruns of ''Scooby-Doo'' from 1976 and 1977, while new episodes of ''Scooby-Doo'' aired during a separate half-hour under the ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' banner. After nine weeks, the separate ''Where Are You!'' broadcast was cancelled, and the remainder of the 16 new 1978 episodes debuted during the ''Scooby's All-Stars'' block. The 40 total ''Scooby-Doo'' episodes produced from 1976 to 1978 were later packaged together for syndication as ''The Scooby-Doo Show'', under which title they continue to air.

=''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo''

=
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 attempting to convince the network to move Scooby out of Saturday morning and into a prime-time series, and featured spoofs of then-current television series and films such as ''Happy Days'', '' Superman: The Movie'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' and ''Charlie's Angels''.

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 1979–80 episodes, aired under the new title '' Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' as an independent half-hour show, succeeded in regenerating interest in the show. Lennie Weinrib voiced Scrappy in the 1979–80 episodes, with Don Messick assuming the role thereafter. Marla Frumkin replaced Pat Stevens as the voice of Velma mid-season.

=''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' shorts

=
As a result of ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' success, the entire show was overhauled in 1980 to focus more upon Scrappy-Doo. At this time, Scooby-Doo started to walk and run anthropomorphically on two feet more often, rather than on four like a normal dog as he did previously. Fred, Daphne, and Velma were dropped from the series, and the new ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' format now consisted of three seven-minute comedic adventures starring Scooby, Scrappy, and Shaggy instead of one half-hour mystery. 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.

This version of ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' first aired from 1980 to 1982 as part of ''The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show'', an hour-long program also featuring episodes of Hanna-Barbera's new '' Richie Rich'' cartoon, adapted from the Harvey Comics character. From 1982 to 1983, ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' were part of '' The Scooby-Doo/Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour'', a co-production with Ruby-Spears Productions which featured two ''Scooby and Scrappy'' shorts, a ''Scrappy and Yabba-Doo'' short featuring Scrappy-Doo and his Western deputy uncle Yabba-Doo, and ''The Puppy's New Adventures'', based on characters from a 1977 Ruby-Spears TV special.

Beginning in 1980, a half-hour of reruns from previous incarnations of ''Scooby-Doo'' were broadcast on ABC Saturday mornings in addition to first-run episodes. Airing under the titles ''Scooby-Doo Classics'', ''Scary Scooby Funnies'', ''The Best of Scooby-Doo'', and ''Scooby's Mystery Funhouse'', the rerun package remained on the air until the end of the 1986 season.McNeil, Alex (1996). ''Total Television'' (4th ed.), pg. 732. New York: Penguin Books.

=''The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show''

=
''Scooby-Doo'' was restored to a standalone half-hour in 1983 with ''The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' in 1983, which comprised two 11-minute mysteries per episode in a format reminiscent of the original ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' mysteries. Heather North returned to the voice cast as Daphne, who in this incarnation solved mysteries with Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy while working undercover as a reporter for a teen magazine.

This version of the show lasted for two seasons, with the second season airing under the title ''The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries''. The 1984–85 season episodes featured semi-regular appearances from Fred and Velma, with Frank Welker and Marla Frumkin resuming their respective roles for these episodes.

=''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo''

=
1985 saw the debut of ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'', which featured Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy, and new characters Flim-Flam (voiced by Susan Blu) and Vincent Van Ghoul (based upon and voiced by Vincent Price) traveling the globe to capture "thirteen of the most terrifying ghosts upon the face of the earth." The final first-run episode of ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' aired in December 1985, and after its reruns were removed from the ABC lineup the following March, no new ''Scooby'' series aired on the network for the next two years.

=''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo''

=
Hanna-Barbera reincarnated the original ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' cast as elementary school students (a common trope in 1980s children's TV) for a new series titled ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', which debuted on ABC in 1988. ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' was an irreverent re-imagining of the series, heavily inspired by the classic cartoons of Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, and eschewed the realistic aesthetic of the original ''Scooby'' series for a more ''Looney Tunes''-like style, including an episode where Scooby-Doo's parents show up and reveal his real name to be "Scoobert". At the same time, the series returned to its original formula in that the group unmasked human villains in costume, as opposed to the supernatural monsters of the early to mid-1980s. The series also established "Coolsville" as the name of the gang's hometown; this setting was retained for several of the later ''Scooby'' productions. The retooled show was a success, remaining in production for four seasons and on ABC's lineup until 1991.

''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'' was developed and produced by Tom Ruegger, who had been the head story editor on ''Scooby-Doo'' since 1983. Following the first season of ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', Ruegger and much of his unit defected from Hanna-Barbera to Warner Bros. Animation to develop '' Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures'' and later ''Animaniacs'', ''Pinky and the Brain'', and ''Freakazoid!''.

Reruns and reboots (1987–present)

Television films, reruns, and direct-to-video films (1987–present)

From 1987 to 1988, Hanna-Barbera Productions produced ''Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10'', a series of syndicated television films 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 films: ''Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers'' (1987), ''Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School'' (1988), and ''Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf'' (1988). These three films took their tone from the early-1980s ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' entries, and featured the characters encountering actual monsters and ghosts rather than masqueraded people. Scooby-Doo and Shaggy later appeared as the narrators of the television film ''Arabian Nights'', originally broadcast by TBS in 1994, Don Messick's final outing as the original voice of Scooby-Doo.

Reruns of ''Scooby-Doo'' have been in syndication since 1980, 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. With Turner Broadcasting purchasing Hanna-Barbera in 1991, in 1994 the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise became exclusive to the Turner networks: 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.

With ''Scooby-Doo's'' restored popularity in reruns on Cartoon Network,Shostak, Stu (December 3, 2014).
Interview with Jerry Beck
. ''Stu's Show.'' Retrieved October 7, 2014. Jerry Beck and host Stu Shostak discuss the early history of Cartoon Network and the Turner-run version of Hanna-Barbera when discussing the career for former CN executive Stu Snyder. Warner Bros. Animation and Hanna-Barbera (by then a subsidiary of Warner Bros. following the merger of Time Warner and Turner Entertainment in 1996) began producing one new ''Scooby-Doo'' direct-to-video film a year, beginning in 1998. These films featured a slightly older version of the original five-character cast from the ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' days. The first four DTV entries were ''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). Frank Welker was the only original voice cast member to return for these productions. Don Messick had died in 1997 and Casey Kasem, a strict vegetarian, relinquished the role of Shaggy after having to provide the voice for a 1995 Burger King commercial. Therefore, Scott Innes took over as both Scooby-Doo and Shaggy (Billy West voiced Shaggy in ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island''). B.J. Ward took over as Velma, and Mary Kay Bergman voiced Daphne until her death in November 1999, and was replaced by Grey DeLisle.

These first four direct-to-video films differed from the original series format by placing the characters in plots with a darker tone and pitting them against actual supernatural forces. ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island'', featured the original 1969 gang, reunited after years of being apart, fighting voodoo-worshiping cat creatures in the Louisiana bayou. ''Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost'' featured an author (voice of Tim Curry) returning to his Massachusetts hometown with the gang, to find out that an event is being haunted by the author's dead ancestor Sarah, who was an actual witch. ''The Witch's Ghost'' introduced a goth rock band known as The Hex Girls, who became recurring characters in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise.

''Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase'' was the final production made by the Hanna-Barbera studio, which was absorbed into parent company Warner Bros. Animation following William Hanna's death in 2001. Warner Animation continued production of the direct-to-video series while also producing new ''Scooby-Doo'' series for television.

The direct-to-video productions continued to be produced concurrently with at least one entry per year. Two of these entries, ''Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire'' and ''Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico'' (both 2003) were produced in a retro-style reminiscent of the original series, and featured Heather North and Nicole Jaffe as the voices of Daphne and Velma, respectively. Later entries produced between 2004 and 2009 were done in the style of ''What's New, Scooby-Doo'', using that show's voice cast. Entries from 2010 on use the original 1969 designs and feature Matthew Lillard as the voice of Shaggy, the character Lillard portrayed in the live-action theatrical ''Scooby-Doo'' films. Two ''Scooby-Doo!'' movies were released in 2016, named ''Lego Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood'' and '' Scooby-Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon''.

=Live-action films

=
A feature-length live-action film version of ''Scooby-Doo'' was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 14, 2002. Directed by Raja Gosnell, the film starred Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred, Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy, and Linda Cardellini as Velma. Scooby-Doo, voiced by Neil Fanning, was created on-screen by computer-generated special effects. ''Scooby-Doo'' was a financially successful release, with a domestic box office gross of over US$130 million.

A sequel, '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'', followed in March 2004 with the same cast and director. ''Scooby-Doo 2'' earned US$84 (€55.98) million at the U.S. box office. A third film was planned, but later scrapped following Warner Bros.' disappointment at the returns from ''Scooby-Doo 2''.

In addition, a live-action television film, ''Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins'', was released on DVD and simultaneously aired on Cartoon Network on September 13, 2009, the 40th anniversary of the series' debut. The film starred Nick Palatas as Shaggy, Robbie Amell as Fred, Kate Melton as Daphne, Hayley Kiyoko as Velma, and Frank Welker as the voice of Scooby-Doo. A second live-action TV movie, ''Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster'', retained the same cast and aired on October 16, 2010, and a direct-to-video spin-off '' Daphne & Velma'' in 2018. ''The Mystery Begins'' and ''Curse of the Lake Monster'' serve as prequels, taking place before the events of the 2002 film while ''Daphne and Velma'' serves as a spin-off.

=Animated film

=

As of 2013, Warner Bros. Pictures was developing a fully animated Scooby-Doo feature film with Atlas Entertainment. Charles Roven and Richard Suckle, who produced the first two live-action films, were producing the animated film, and Matt Lieberman was writing the film. In 2014, Warner Bros. was restarting the film series with Randall Green writing a new movie. As of 2015, Warner Bros. had Tony Cervone directing an animated film, with Allison Abbate as producer and Dan Povenmire as executive producer. Originally planned for a September 21, 2018 release, it was later pushed back to May 15, 2020, with Dax Shepard co-directing and co-writing. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Frank Welker will be reprising his voice role as Scooby, and that he will be joined by Will Forte and Gina Rodriguez voicing Shaggy and Velma, while Tracy Morgan will be voicing Captain Caveman, from the Hanna-Barbera series ''Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels'' and Deadline reported that Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried will voice Fred and Daphne. In addition, Ken Jeong will be voicing Dynomutt, Dog Wonder from Hanna-Barbera series of the same name and Kiersey Clemons will voice Dee Dee Sykes, a character from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels. Dick Dastardly, from Hanna-Barbera's ''Wacky Races'', will be the film's main antagonist, voiced by Jason Isaacs. In March 2020, the film's theatrical release was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 22, 2020, Warner Bros. announced that due to movie theater closures the theatrical release for ''Scoob!'' had been cancelled, with the film released instead on Premium Video On Demand in the United States and Canada on May 15, 2020, the original date of release. In July 2020, Warner Bros. confirmed the film would still play in theaters in select countries with relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. The film subsequently received a secondary theatrical release in the United States beginning on May 21, 2021, in selected markets.

Kids' WB years (2002–08)

=''What's New, Scooby-Doo?''

=
In 2002, following the successes of the Cartoon Network reruns, the direct to video franchise, and the first feature film, ''Scooby-Doo'' returned to Saturday morning for the first time in a decade with ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', which aired on Kids' WB from 2002 until 2006. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the show follows the format of the original series but places it in the 21st century, featuring a heavy promotion of modern technology (computers, DVD, the Internet, cell phones) and culture.

Beginning with this series, Frank Welker took over as Scooby's voice actor, while continuing to provide the voice of Fred as well. Casey Kasem returned as Shaggy, on the condition that the character be depicted as a vegetarian like Kasem himself. Grey DeLisle continued to voice Daphne, and former '' Facts of Life'' star Mindy Cohn voiced Velma. The series was produced by Chuck Sheetz, who had worked on ''The Simpsons''.

=''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!''

=
In September 2006 a new show entitled, ''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!'', debuted on The CW's Kids' WB Saturday-morning programming block. In the new premise, Shaggy inherits 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, and named after Vincent Price's character from ''The Abominable Dr. Phibes''), 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. Scott Menville voiced Shaggy in the series, with Casey Kasem appearing as the voice of Shaggy's Uncle Albert. ''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!'' ran for two seasons on The CW.

Cartoon Network and Boomerang years (2010–present)

=''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated''

=

The next ''Scooby'' series, ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'', premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, 2010. The first ''Scooby'' series produced for cable television, ''Mystery Incorporated'' is a reboot of the franchise, re-establishing the characters' relationships, personalities, and locations, and expanding their world to feature their parents, high school, and neighbors. The series also borrowed pieces from many parts of ''Scooby-Doo's'' long history, as well as characters and elements of other Hanna-Barbera shows to form its back story and the bases of some of its episodes. Matthew Lillard was brought over from the live-action theatrical series as the new voice of Shaggy, while Welker, Cohn, and DeLisle continued in their respective roles. Patrick Warburton, Linda Cardellini, Lewis Black, Vivica A. Fox, Gary Cole, Udo Kier, Tim Matheson, Tia Carrere, and Kate Higgins were added as new semi-regular cast members. Casey Kasem appeared in a recurring role as Shaggy's father, one of his last roles before retiring due to declining health.

The series, while still following the basic mystery-solving format of its predecessors, was broadcast as a 52-chapter animated televised novel and included elements similar to live-action mystery/adventure shows such as ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Lost.'' An overarching mystery surrounding the gang's hometown of Crystal Cove, California became the series' main story arc, with pieces to the mystery unfolding episode by episode. Also featured were romantic entanglements and interpersonal conflict between the lead characters. The series ran for 52 episodes over two seasons, with a three-part finale airing across April 4 and 5, 2013—exactly three years from the debut.

=''Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!''

=

On March 10, 2014, Cartoon Network announced several new series based on classic cartoons, including a new Scooby-Doo animated series titled ''Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!''. The show features the gang "living it up" the summer after the gang's senior year of high school. Along the way, they run into monsters and mayhem.Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
. ''www.bcdb.com'', March 13, 2014 The series premiered October 5, 2015 on Cartoon Network and concluded on March 18, 2018.

=''Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?''

=

The Scooby-Doo series ''Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?'' premiered on the Boomerang streaming service and app on June 27, 2019. It ran for two seasons, with the second half of the second season airing on HBO Max. The series features the Mystery Inc. gang teaming up with a variety of guest stars to solve mysteries. Guest stars included Halsey, Sia, Bill Nye, Mark Hamill, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ricky Gervais, Kenan Thompson, and Chris Paul. The series also includes fictional guest stars, including Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White), Batman (played by Kevin Conroy), Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Sherlock Holmes.

=''Velma''

=
On February 10, 2021, it was announced that Velma will have her own series, to be released on HBO Max. The series, '' Velma'', is set to air in 2023, and will be adult-oriented. The series is a prequel to the main franchise, taking place before the formation of Mystery Inc., and does not include Scooby-Doo himself. Unlike in the previous series and films, the main characters (and main voice cast) in ''Velma'' are multi-racial.

=''Scooby-Doo! and the Mystery Pups''

=
On May 23, 2022, it was announced that a CGI-animated adventure comedy preschool series starring Scooby-Doo and Shaggy titled ''Scooby-Doo! and the Mystery Pups'' will be released on HBO Max and Cartoonito in 2024.

''Scooby-Doo!'' direct-to-video specials

Beginning in 2012, Warner Bros. Animation began producing direct-to-video special episodes in the style of the concurrently produced films for inclusion on ''Scooby-Doo'' compilation DVD sets otherwise including episodes from previous Scooby series. These include ''Scooby-Doo! Spooky Games'', included on the July 2012 release ''Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games'', ''Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays'', from the October 2012 release ''Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Holiday Chills and Thrills'', and ''Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Scarecrow'' and ''Scooby-Doo! Mecha Mutt Menace'', from the September 2013 DVD releases ''Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Run for Your 'Rife!'' and ''Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Ruh-Roh Robot!''. On May 13, 2014, another episode, ''Scooby-Doo! Ghastly Goals'' was released on the ''Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Field of Screams'' DVD. On May 5, 2015, '' Scooby-Doo! and the Beach Beastie'', the sixth direct-to-video special, was released on the ''Scooby-Doo! 13 Spooky Tales: Surf's Up Scooby-Doo'' DVD.

The direct-to-video series' 34th installment, ''Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!'' (2022), made headlines for portraying Velma as a lesbian (by showing her "crushing big time" on a guest female character), which was in accordance with long-held fan speculation but had never previously been depicted.

Cast

* Scooby-Doo: Don Messick was the original voice of Scooby-Doo from 1969 until 1996. Hadley Kay performed the voice for the ''Johnny Bravo'' episodes "Bravo Dooby-Doo" and "'Twas the Night", as well as in commercials, in 1997. Scott Innes was the voice of Scooby-Doo from 1998 to 2002. Neil Fanning voiced Scooby-Doo in the live-action Warner Bros. theatrical films produced in 2002 and 2004. Frank Welker is the current voice of Scooby-Doo, having taken over the role from Innes in 2002, although Innes voiced the character in video game projects (including PC, DVD and board games), commercials and some toys until 2008. Dave Coulier (2005) and Seth Green (2007, 2012, 2018) voiced Scooby in the ''Robot Chicken'' parodies.
* Norville "Shaggy" Rogers: Casey Kasem was the original voice of Shaggy from 1969 until 1997. Billy West voiced Shaggy in ''Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island'' and '' Scooby-Doo: Behind the Scenes'' in 1998. Scott Innes voiced the character from 1999 to 2002 and he continued to voice Shaggy in video game projects (including PC, DVD and board games), commercials and some toys until 2009. Casey Kasem returned to the voice role in 2002 and continued as Shaggy until 2009. In 2006, Kasem continued to voice Shaggy only in the direct-to-video film series until 2009, while Scott Menville performed the voice of Shaggy in the 2006–08 CW series ''Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!''. Matthew Lillard appeared as Shaggy in the live action 2002 and 2004 theatrical films, and took over as the voice of the animated character in 2010. He also voiced Shaggy in four stop-motion parody sketches for the Adult Swim show ''Robot Chicken''. Nick Palatas appeared as Shaggy in the 2009 and 2010 live-action TV movies.
* Fred Jones: Frank Welker has always performed the voice of the animated versions of Fred since 1969, with the exception of the 1988–91 ABC series ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo'', where Carl Steven performed the voice of preteen Fred. Freddie Prinze Jr. appears as Fred in the live-action theatrical films and voiced the character in the ''Robot Chicken'' parodies. Robbie Amell played Fred in the live-action TV movies.
* Daphne Blake: Stefanianna Christopherson was the voice of Daphne in the first season of ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' in 1969–70. Heather North assumed the role for season two in 1970, and continued as Daphne through 1997, save for Kellie Martin's turn as preteen Daphne in ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo''. Mary Kay Bergman performed the voice of Daphne from 1998 to 2000, when Grey DeLisle assumed the role. She continues to perform the role to this day. North reprised her voice role for two 2003 direct-to-video films, ''Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire'' and ''Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico''. Sarah Michelle Gellar appears as Daphne in the live-action theatrical films and as Daphne's voice in the ''Robot Chicken'' parodies. Kate Melton played Daphne in the live-action TV movies.
* Velma Dinkley: Nicole Jaffe was the original voice of Velma from 1969 to 1973. Pat Stevens assumed the role from 1976 to 1979, with Marla Frumkin taking over midseason on '' Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' in the latter year. Frumkin returned to voice Velma on a recurring basis for ''The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries'' in 1984, and Christina Lange voiced preteen Velma in ''A Pup Named Scooby-Doo''. B. J. Ward voiced Velma from 1997 to 2002, with Mindy Cohn assuming the role in 2002. As with North, Jaffe reprised her voice role for ''Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire'' and ''Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico'' in 2003. Stephanie D'Abruzzo voiced Velma for the 2013 puppet film '' Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map''. In 2015, Kate Micucci took on the role for the series ''Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!'' and Lego Scooby-Doo shorts and specials; in 2016 she took over the role from Cohn completely. Linda Cardellini appears as Velma in the live-action theatrical films and as the voice of Velma in the ''Robot Chicken'' parodies. Hayley Kiyoko played Velma in the live-action TV movies.
* Scrappy-Doo: Lennie Weinrib voiced Scrappy-Doo during the first version of ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' in 1979–80. Don Messick assumed the role in 1980 for the ''Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo'' segments of ''The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show'' and continued as Scrappy through 1988. Scrappy has only appeared sporadically since 1988, with Scott Innes performing the voice in the 2002 live-action film, which portrays Scrappy as the main villain, as well as in Cartoon Network bumpers, video games and toys since 1999. Dan Milano voiced Scrappy in a 2007 ''Robot Chicken'' sketch.

Comic books

Gold Key Comics began publication of ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' comic books in December 1969. The comics initially contained adaptations of episodes of the television show drawn by Phil DeLara, Jack Manning and Warren Tufts

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases