San Diego Union Tribune
Saturday, January 15, 2000
TOP DOG
Cartoon Canine being
embraced by old and new generation of viewers. . .
by Gil Griffin
staff writer (San Diego
Union Tribune)
Zoinks!
Nope, it's not just you. Everywhere you look, there's
Scooby-Doo, that lovable television cartoon canine Generation
X and Y members adopted in their 1970s and 1980s childhoods.
Not just on TV, through reruns and original movies on cable's
Cartoon Network, which airs the 30-year-old "Scooby-Doo
Where Are You!" and its subsequent spinoffs in a dozen
time slots each week.
And not just in stuffed, talking dolls on toy store shelves,
or on the Internet where there are dozens of Web Sites about
the show.
He's made his way into the pop-culture consciousness of new
generations of fans, including present-day toddlers.
About 2 million people currently watch the Scooby reruns in
prime time, making it one of the channel's highest-rated
shows, said Dea Perez, the Cartoon Network's vice president
of programming and acquisitions.
In November, the Catoon Network aired and original animated
movie, "Scooby-Doo and the Witches' Ghost," which
scored a 2.4 household rating (4.1 million viewers), the best
rating in that time periord this year for any other Cartoon
Network program.
"I don't think he ever went away," Perez said.
"He's managed to stay in the hearts of everybody, no
matter what generation. He's a great character. He's big and
lovable and talks goofy and has a goofy sidekick with him.
Everybody can identify with him."
Perpetually Hungry
For the
uninitiated, here's the skinny on Scooby.
The cartoon's history began in 1969, when "Scooby-Doo,
Where Are You!" premiered on CBS. The show was created
by the legendary team of William Hanna ans Joseph Barbera,
who, in the 1960 and '70s, created such classic cartoon fare
as "The Flinstones," "The Jetsons," Hong
Kong Phooey," "Josie & the Pussycats" and
"Space Ghost."
The premise for "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" --
inspired by the old radio show "I Love a Mystery"
-- involved four animated teenagers: Daphne and Freddy, the
glamorous couple; the bookish Velma; Scooby-Doo (the spotted
Great Dane who spoke English in a singularly unique accent);
and his best pal, the gaunt, perpetually hungry Shaggy, who
would always scream, "Zoinks!" when startled.
Together, the gang cruised around in a customized green van
called "The Mystery Machine," looking for cases to
solve. In each episode, they'd encounter ghosts, ghouls and
monsters in haunted houses, looking to do them harm. In the
end, Scooby-Doo and his crew would always get the job done.
Part
of Scooby's Motivation was his friends' dangling the reward
of a "Scooby snack" -- we never really got to see
what that was -- for solving the case.
And when the bad guys were busted -- or literally unmasked --
you could always count on the ringleaders to utter a
signature lament: "If it hadn't been for you meddling
kids. . ."
Scooby-Doo was first designed and drawn by Iwao Takamoto, who
created several Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. Because of
Scooby's goofiness, Takamoto created Scooby in the opposite
image of a prized show dog owned at the time by a Hanna
Barbera employee.
Don Messick was the original voice of Scooby, while Casey
Kasen -- yes, he of radio's "American Top 40" fame
-- did Shaggy's. The show was instantly successful and from
1969-1976 became a Saturday morning staple.
ABC-TV picked up the show from CBS and created myriad
"Scooby" spinoffs, including "The
Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Show," "Scooby's All-Star
Laff-a-Lympics," and "Scrappy-Doo," which
featured Scooby's smart aleck "nephew."
Scooby shows seemed to have run their course by 1990, when no
new episodes were made.
But then in 1992, the Cartoon Network, a channel owned by
Time Warner Inc., which reaches 60 million homes, was
launched. It paid about $300 million to aquire the
Hanna-Barbera cartoon library, of which
"Scooby-Doo" was a major part.
"Scooby"
reruns were aired and a new audience was cultivated.
"I prefer Scooby over Pokemon," said Daton Morris,
11, of De Portola Middle School in Tierrasanta.
"I was probably 6 when I started watching. I'm always
guessing who the bad guy is. I like Scooby because he always
ends up catching the bad guy by accident. It's also funny how
he talks. It's ironic that he's so scared, but he ends up
catching the villans."
With the demand for new "Scooby" adventures, Warner
Bros. acted in 1998. A direct-to-home video calles,
"Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island," with the original
characters (but new voice artists), was made and released. It
later aired on the Cartoon Network.
Last Year,
"Scooby-Doo and the Witche's Ghost," was broadcast.
A new movie, "Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders" is
set for release this year.
"We get about 500 to 1,000 pieces of mail each
week," Perez said, "and more than half of that is
about 'Scooby-Doo.'"
"We also get alot of e-mails and drawings from kids
about Scooby. Their parents have introduced them to the
show."
Other programs parents are watching have also played a part
in the Scooby revival.
"Ghosts and aliens are really popular right now,"
said Dan Capone, vice president of marketing and development
for family entertainment and special interest for Warner Home
Video.
"Things like 'Roswell' (on WB) and 'The X-Files' (on
Fox) are to adults what Scooby-Doo is for kids. As kids see
the shows adults are watching, they get into it. Kids can
relate to the fact that Scooby's scared, but he still saves
the day."
Get a Scooby-Doo life
The voice of the
new Scooby-Doo and Shaggy characters is Scott Innes, a
33-year-old radio disc jockey on WYNK-FM in Baton Rouge, LA.
"Scooby-Doo is my life," Innes said.
"Everything in my house is Scooby-Doo. My wife and I
wore air-brused 'Scooby-Doo' T-shirts at our wedding. It's a
feel good thing."
Innes said the theme song hooked him when he watched the show
as a child, in his home in Poplar Bluff, Miss. He said he
even told his ele,entary school teachers that one day he'd be
the voice of Scooby-Doo.
He realized his dream accidently.
Innes recorded a song parody doing Shaggy's voice and left it
on the voice mailbox of Hanna Barbera officials.
The called Innes back and invited him to audition for the
roles of both Shaggy and Scooby.
Innes got the gig, and now he flies to Los Angeles every few
months to record Scooby's voice in the studio.
"It's not like other cartoons and shows where you're
worried what the kids will hear," Innes said, explaining
the new Scooby phenomenon.
"This is
safe for kids to watch. It's bigger than it ever was. It
takes us back to a time when things were a little simpler.
Scooby-mania is everywhere."
That's partly because Scooby merchandise is.
Warner Bros.
is marketing about 30 talking Scooby products and other
items, including a CD-ROM game ("Scooby-Doo and the
Mystery of the Fun Park Phantom") cups, Pez dispensers,
lollipops, key chains, watches, backpacks, and boxer shorts.
One of the most popular Scooby collectibles being sold at toy
stores this holiday season is a stuffed talking doll that
sells for $9.99.
"When we first sold it the day after Thanksgiving, it
flew out of here," said Mike Estrada, manager of K.B.
Toys in La Jolla.
"People were muling me for the last six. It was a lot of
people in their 20s and teen-agers who grew up watching it.
They see it again and it's nostalgic for them."
Of course,
Scooby-mania won't surpass America's current obession with
toys related to Pokemon or professional wrestling, but
Estrada said that at his store, Scooby products aren't too
far behind.
"It surprises me a little but," Estrada said.
"I think ('Scooby') is doing better than most other
cartoons as far as comebacks. 'Voltron' (a 1980s cartoon
series) came back with some action figures, but it didnt
catch on like 'Scooby'."
Perez partly attributes Scooby's resurgence to an audience
demand for quaility children's programming.
"In the '80s things got to be awlful because the
cartoons were created to sell toys," Perez said.
"In the '60s and '70s, people payed attention the the
art and the stories and a lot of care was taken in creating
them. People have started paying attention to the story
again."
Verna Panao, 11,
said she enjoys solving the mysteries along with the
characters.
"'Scooby-Doo' is the only show I know that's humorous
and mysterious," Verna said.
"It's funny that Shaggy and Scooby are always so scared and that when Shaggy's scared he jumps into Scooby's arms. And it's funny on 'Scooby-Doo' that when they find the villian, it's always someone they know. Other mystery shows on TV are scary."
Perez now sees
"Scooby-Doo" having an indefinite life-span.
"Kids love to solve mysteries," Perez said.
"'Scooby-Doo' has a hero, a bad guy and a ghost in every
episode. Good shows are always good shows."
