Fun Facts About Scooby-Doo: When looking back at the animation history, there are few cartoons with such a devoted following as Scooby-Doo. Since its debut in 1969, Scooby-Doo has withstood the test of time. It
till attracts fans, both old and new, to this day but do you know what separates a casual Scooby-Doo fan from the devoted diehard? KNOWLEDGE!!!!
Scooby-Doo Then Versus Now (Fun Facts About Scooby-Doo)
If there was a mystery around or even a monster foot you probably wouldn’t ask any teenagers to help solve the case unless they were a part of mystery incorporated. Scooby-Doo and the gang were first introduced by Hanna-Barbera for the Saturday morning lineup back in 1969 and they have been solving mysteries ever since. Thanks to numerous additions to the series, some revisions, and even a few reboots that the franchise has managed to stay relevant for five decades and counting.
“Scooby-Doo where are you!”
Most of you probably aren’t familiar with the old 60s cartoon ‘The Archies’ based on the popular comic ‘Strip’. The show salvaged the Saturday morning cartoon lineup for the CBS network and so the network executive Fred Silverman contacted Hanna-Barbera to devise a similar show but with an added twist-the element of mystery. Thus, ‘Mysteries 5’ was born- the show about a teenage rock group and their dog. The group would make music, play shows and solve mysteries in spare time. The name eventually changed after Fred was inspired by Frank Sinatra’s add ‘Dooby Dooby Doo’ from the song ‘Strangers in the Night’ and the renowned title we know today- ‘Scooby-Doo where are you!’, came into fruition. The rock band idea was dropped but the musical element was still largely present in the show.
Now, let’s jump to the latest series ‘Be Cool Scooby-Doo’.
In an effort to stand out, producer ZacMoncrief announced that the creative crew would be taking a fully comedic approach in the series. In contrast to the usual mystery forward element we all know and love, the new direction called for a quirky new redesign of the characters, but while the art style differs drastically from the originals, the new series pays homage to the classics by reviving iconic elements of the show such as the musical elements which had been lost.
The Gang– At this point, everyone is familiar with a mystery ink gang. The Shaggy and Scooby Doo-the cowardly best friends controlled by their appetite, the analytical bookworm – Velma, the anti-damsel in distress- Daphne and the strategic leader of the group-Fred. Throughout the years, the gang has managed to maintain these archetypes with only minor changes in personality. But the latest Series ‘Be Cool Scooby-Doo’ really shook things up in that endeavor. So while Shaggy and Scooby were still cowardly, it was not played on as thick as before. Unlike the old series where Velma’s passion was for books and education, she was over analytical to the point where she was a Sheldon Cooper personality, but slightly more charming. Still, the most noticeable change was Daphne’s personality. She became far more eccentric.
In 2010, the show finally decided to push the boundaries like never before and for the first time developed relationships among the group. Fred and Daphne were dating in this series. Velma and Shaggy had a secret relationship going on but he was afraid to tell his best friend Scooby, worrying that he will feel jealous or abandoned.
After a brief discussion over the evolution of the show, let’s search for a bag of secrets.(Fun Facts About Scooby-Doo)
⍣ Hanna-Barbera is famous for numerous cartoon classics including ‘The Flintstones’, ‘Yogi Bear’, ‘The Smurfs’ and ‘Tom and Jerry’.
⍣ Scooby’s full name is Scoobert Scooby-Doo. Ruby and Spears don’t even remember where the name came from but ultimately they didn’t want the name Schobert affiliated with Scooby and rightfully so because Schobert sounds way too proper for Scooby-Doo. Right?
⍣ Shaggy’s full name is Norville Shaggy Rogers. Shaggy came first and the former name Norville came later on during the development of the show.
⍣ Scooby’s original name was ‘Too Much’ which was a popular catchphrase at the time.
⍣ Do you know how Fred got his name? You guessed it right-Fred Silverman, the creator said in an interview that Silverman coincidentally suggested it.
⍣ When the show was titled ‘Who was Scared’, it was originally rejected by CBS because they thought it was too frightening for the children. After it was rejected, the staff went back to the giant board and made several changes. They decided Scooby should be the focal point of the show and not the four kids. They also turned down the spooky aspects and heightened the comedic aspects.
⍣ Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy are based on characters from the show ‘The many loves of Dobie Gillis’ where Fred was based on Dobie Gills, Daphne on Thalia Menninger, Velma on Zelda Gilroy and Shaggy on Maynard G Krebs.
⍣ Character designer Lata Komodo went to a dog breeding specialist to ask the advice of what a prize-winning Great Dane would look like. He then decided to do the exact opposite for the design of Scooby-Doo, giving Scooby double chin, full legged hind legs and spots on his back which real Great Dane don’t even have.
⍣ Don Messick was the original voice of Scooby-Doo. Maybe you don’t know the name but you will recognize the voice. He did Bam-Bam in the Flintstones, Astro in the Jetsons, Benton Quest in Jonny Quest and Papa Smurf in The Smurfs.
⍣ The thunder sound effect at the beginning of the original show’s original credit is a sound of a tape echo unit feeding back on itself.
⍣ The ‘Scooby-Doo where are you!’ vocal is not the original theme composed for the series. Musical director Ted Nichols had first composed an instrumental theme for the show (Fun Facts About Scooby-Doo).
⍣ The vocal we all know and love almost didn’t even make it into the first episode. David Mook recorded the vocal just three days before the airing of the first episode.
⍣ Scooby-Doo is part of a set of triplets. His triplets siblings are Skippy doo and DoobyDoo.
⍣ Another rumor born from the original series is that Velma is a lesbian and has feelings for Daphne. However, the creators have shot that one down too. The writer has even provided a hint that Velma and Shaggy are a couple in the first few episodes of the original series.
⍣ Velma’s famous line “my glasses! I can’t see without them” was never originally scripted. During a table read, Velma’s voice actress Nicole lost her glasses and uttered a variation of the now-famous lines. The writers liked it so much that Velma losing her glasses became one of the show’s trademark gags.
Believe it or not, there has never been a Scooby-Doo series that has gone on for more than four seasons.
(Fun Facts About Scooby-Doo)
