A Ranking of Fred's Portrayals

6/17/2022

This ranking of Fred's portrayals notably includes whom I consider to be the worst portrayal of any main character in the franchise. My favorite is already pretty clear from the beginning, and I would be very surprised if somebody picked somebody other than him, but nonetheless here are my rankings!

6. Freddie Prinze Jr.

While I don't want to come off overly negative, Freddie Prinze Jr. is hands down the worst portrayal of any main character in the history of the franchise in my opinion. He comes off like a narcissist who thinks he is the coolest man to ever exist, and admittedly, people who are full of themselves is one of my least favorite personality traits. I feel Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! pulled off something similar so much better. In that series, Fred is a bit of a control freak. However, it's executed in a funny way in that series, whereas here he just comes off like an unlikable jerk. This goes below Marla Frumkin levels of bad in my opinion, and is truly the bottom of the barrel for portrayals.

5. Pierce Gagnon

Like I said when I talked about Ariana in Velma's rankings, I hope this ranking improves when I see Scoob! Holiday Haunt. I really have no quips against this portrayal of Fred, other than it's just kind of unmemorable compared to the other four.

4. Zac Efron

Similar to his younger counterpart, the only real issue I had with Zac's Fred portrayal is it comes off a little flat. Granted, this is miles above Freddie Prinze Jr.'s portayal of him and I did really enjoy him in SCOOB!. However, compared to the other three SCOOB! voices, Zac's was probably my least favorite. Guess he just needed to get his head a little more in the game (bonus points to anybody who got that reference haha).

3. Robbie Amell

I think this was a much better execution of Fred, even if it still wasn't amazing. Having Fred be a macho jock feels at least like a more natural characterization for Fred than making him into a complete jerk like they did in the first two live-action films. I also recently saw Robbie in another show, Upload. I really enjoyed him in that series and would highly recommend it.

2. Carl Steven

Guess it just goes to show iconic #1 is when Carl Steven makes it to #2. I love Carl's portrayal of the more zany, wacky Fred. He gets the voice down perfectly and is my second favorite of the child actors in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. However, I do always feel bad now when I see his name, since he had such a sad life after this show ended and died alone in prison in 2011.

1. Frank Welker

Those two words are all that needs to be said. He is Fred and I'm going to be really sad when he retires, which hopefully is a long way away.

If anyone else wants to share their rankings for Fred's portrayals over the years, feel free to do so in the comments!

23 Comments

Matt

6/17/2022 09:18:14 am

Well this one’s ranking comes through… pretty easily for me

Won’t rank Robbie Amell

5. Pierre Gagnon- We’ll see what happens with the next movie

4. Zac Efron- Not very impressive tbh but passable ig

3. Freddie Prinze Jr- Fit what the character was supposed to be. Not really sure that characterization problem comes down to Prinze himself more than the writing imo

2. Carl Steven- Gets second place in a blowout compared to the others. Possibly the best of A Pup Named Scooby Doo

1. Frank Welker- Fred IS Frank, and this is the biggest blowout of possibly any competition ever in the history of mankind. Frank still sounds just as good now as he did in 1969. He and Casey are at the top tier of Scooby voice actors. It will be a sad, sad day when he retires because he can never truly be replaced as Fred. They struck gold with Matthew Lillard replacing Casey, let’s just hope when that sad time comes, they can strike gold again

Becker

6/17/2022 01:07:01 pm

Completely agreed on #3

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 02:28:20 pm

The problem with Prinze definitely could have been the writing. I haven't seen anything else with him in it to compare, so I'm not sure. Yeah, Carl was definitely the standout voice actor of Pup. I'm going to be really sad when Frank retires too, because unlike the other characters, I honestly have no idea who would do the voice.

Jacob Staggs

6/17/2022 09:27:57 am

Frank Wellllllkerrrrr!!!!!!! I think that is a pretty thorough explanation.

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 02:28:33 pm

Yup haha.

Jakob123

6/17/2022 09:59:04 am

I am truly sorry you feel that way about Freddie Prinze Jr's potrayal as Fred WildWind, and while i do respect your opinion, I didn't mind his performence that much for the most part.

Although looking back at it now I kinda do somewhat see where your getting at.

I guess maybe some area's of his potrayal as Fred may have been a tad bit too over the top, more specifically in the first live-action SD film to be preciset.

But like you said everybody has different tastes about certain things.

We all agree to disagree and the least we can do is respect eachothers opinions.

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 02:29:22 pm

Thanks for your really respectful reply and I definitely respect your opinion as well. I just found it to be a bit over the top personally, but I'm glad you didn't mind his performance!

Carson Maitland - Smith link

6/17/2022 10:36:21 am

Dade Elza should be ranked Number 7 💙

Jakob123

6/17/2022 12:35:48 pm

Who is Dade Elza?

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 02:30:08 pm

He voices Fred in the YouTube series Mystery Incorporated.

Jakob123

6/17/2022 07:45:10 pm

Oh yeah I forgot.... Also I think you mean he plays Freds character in that series.

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 08:16:20 pm

Oops yeah, I meant to say he plays Fred in the Mystery Incorporated YouTube series, not voices him.

Becker

6/17/2022 12:35:55 pm

6) Robbie Amell
I'll start this off by saying Amell is a good actor for sure. He's pretty big in the industry nowadays for a reason. If you watch him The Babysitter, The Flash TV Show, Upload etc, you know he's good. But I don't think he was a good fit for Fred. There's nothing about his performance that has me hooked, interested, invested or anything. He's just... there, bland, out of place, unmemorable, oozes no engaging personality traits. Basically what some people think (mistakenly imo) about the classic Fred is what THIS Fred really is to me. Not a horrible performance, but just miscast and off. Now... here comes a bit of a personal rant. Part of why I don't like his version is also the fact he's portrayed as a kinda strange silly macho jock. I HATE that. I really do not like the idea of Fred being that. He was never anything remotely like that to me. I've always seen him as someone who'd even purposefully not hang with jocks (I mean, he hangs with Shaggy, that's someone I'd see jocks pick on if anything). Even when he played for the football team in high school in SDMI, he was just a football player, not a stereotypical stupid douchey self-centered jock. Fred's personality, passions, appearance, way of interacting has NEVER been something that would make me think of him as a jock. Never... except for these two movies... I understand this is very much MY way of looking at Fred as a character and the type of person he represents to me, but that's still a valid reason for ME to dislike what they did with him here, because that's just not what I ever wanna see done with Fred. I feel the same way about Fred a jock as I do about Shaggy being a stoner, or Velma as an antisocial, or Daphne as a "Mean Girl". Those are just the most base-level predictable assumptions someone who's never seen Scooby-Doo would make about the characters... Ugh. Ok, rant over. Another nitpick I have which is very petty, admittedly, is that he's not blond lol. I mean c'mon man, you're trying to convince us you're Fred and you ain't sporting that absolute peak Fred-ness? Lmao

5) Pierce Gagnon
Another kid Scoob! voice, another next to last rank. Lol. Honestly, I won't think much either way of these kid versions (except Iain) until Holiday Haunt. Until then, just a generic kid voice woth a performance that doesn't stand out due to the lack of material.

4) Zac Efron
Pretty decent. Not a voice that really makes me think of Fred, sounds closest to Prinze if anything, but the line delivery is pretty good and funny when needed. He got a laugh out of me a few times. Not the worst Scoob! voice actor, he's a fair bit better than Gina imo.

3) Freddie Prinze Jr
It seems like the way you think about Prinze's Fred is the way I think of Amell's, and vice-versa! Funny how that worked out. To get the bad out of the way first, his writing in the 2002 film is quite frustrating and infuriating on many occasions. I don't disagree with the fact he's a narcissist, but I honestly think Prinze pulls off the unlikable side of Fred pretty well. Plus, Prinze didn't write the movie, so he has no control over what they want from it, all he can do is deliver the best possible performance they want from him for their specific version. And, unlike Amell who's performance was as entertaining as watching paint dry, Prinze actually does a good job at being a self-absorbed weirdo who can't give less of a F. And that's not all that Fred is in the 2002 movie by the way. There's more to him than that, he's not a narcissist the whole time. Prinze does a decent job at playing the more normal side of Fred in the movie too. And I'm not so sure why you're saying he was a narcissist in both films. I thought Fred in Monsters Unleashed was MUCH more of a classic Fred than in 2002. He seemingly grew as a person between the two movies (which is great), he's no longer a narcissist or full of himself except in very brief moments. And Prinze once again does a pretty good job with Fred in that movie too, considering what they asked of him. Don't get me wrong, he's not Lillard or even Cardellini level, but he is just as good as Gellar (funny how Fred and Daphne are technically married irl lol). Side note, the tipping point for how I decided between him and Efron is actually Robot Chicken lmao. I'll go out on a limb and say that Prinze is somehow even better as Fred in Robot Chicken than in the live-action films. Robot Chicken is DEFINITELY not for everyone, but I genuinely think Prinze is one of the highlights whenever they do a Scooby-Doo sketch on that show. He's just so funny in them as Fred, consistently makes me laugh.

2) Carl Stevens
You don't usually expect a kid version to be so high, but when someone voices a character in almost everything for over 5 decades this is what happens. Cael was just awesome as kid Fred, great voice, always top tier delivery, absolutely hilarious. In the hands of a worst actor this version of Fred would've been a lot worse, maybe a crash and burn.

Becker

6/17/2022 12:37:16 pm

(Continuation:) In the hands of a worst actor this kid version of Fred could've been a lot worse, maybe a crash and burn. But Carl really gave it all and it paid off, to the point where there were many points throughout A Pup where Fred was the best character.

1) Frank Welker
It's Frank. Easiest #1 on Earth. Not only is Welker one of the absolute legends in voice acting in general, but he has stuck with Fred since the very beginning, through MANY different versions of the characters, and always pulls them off perfectly. Iconic voice, iconic delivery, many hilarious moments purely thanks to his performance, intentionally or unintentionally (tRaYsUrE!). He single-handedly makes Fred better. There will never be someone as good as Frank in the role, he is Fred and will be Fred to all of us even after he inevitably retires or passes. I dread that day btw.

Becker

6/17/2022 01:20:20 pm

Oops, I meant Carl Steven!

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 02:38:56 pm

6. I've seen a bit of The Flash and Upload, and really enjoyed him in both of those. I definitely understand your issue with him being cast as a jock. In my opinion, I kind of feel like portraying him as a jock doesn't really fit him either. It's kind of an easy trope to fall back on, but it doesn't really seem who Fred is as a character. It definitely feels like falling into stereotypes and isn't representative of him in any other piece of Scooby media. I know a lot of people didn't like him not being blonde, I guess I never had an issue with it though.

3. I honestly felt like Prinze pulled it off too well haha. Honestly, I felt his performance made him more of "stereotypical stupid douchey self-centered jock" (to use your words) than Amell did. It just felt so over-the-top to me and it made me really dislike him as a character. He seemed like somebody who thought he was the coolest person ever, and that isn't who Fred is. I don't disagree Prinze does a good job playing that role, but like your opinion with Robbie Amell, it just makes me annoyed with Fred as a character because the way he's characterized makes him a completely unlikeable jerk. I also thought he improved at least a little bit in Monsters Unleashed, but like Amell did for you, Prinze's performance just really rubbed me the wrong way. I personally don't think he's anywhere near as good as Gellar, but that's just my opinion.

2. Carl definitely did a great job portraying the comedic aspect of younger Fred's character! He gets the role down perfectly.

1. Hahaha I love when Frank pronounces it "tRaYsUrE" too haha. It's cute.

Becker

6/17/2022 03:27:23 pm

What it comes down to the most is ultimately the performance. What we're ranking here is just the actors first and foremost after all. I felt Prinze played the douchebag side of it very well and was even entertaining, while Amell playing that side of it was just really lame and kinda boring.

Prinze's Fred doesn't come across to me as a jock, more so just a narcissistic A-hole. Just in the 2002 film though, cuz I really do think he changed a lot in the sequel and was way more Fred-like in it, which is what brings him higher than where he otherwise would be with only the 2002 movie.

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 06:27:20 pm

Fair enough, I definitely agree with him coming off like a narcissistic A-hole, but for me, I felt like Prinze made it kind of obnoxious even if he was following the script. He definitely played that role well, I guess I just would have liked it if he did it in a way that was more humorous rather than making Fred unlikeable as a character. He was definitely a bit better in Monsters Unleashed, but I definitely still had the same problem to the extent.

Becker

6/18/2022 01:50:41 am

That whole 2002 movie was very mean-spirited and out-there in general, some very strange creative choices all around. The sequel was a lot more palatable.

WildwindVampire link

6/18/2022 10:21:56 am

Totally agreed, I much preferred the sequel.

Mr Neither

6/17/2022 06:28:56 pm

Well that seems harsh.

WildwindVampire link

6/17/2022 08:14:59 pm

I assume you're talking about the Prinze comments? Yeah, I suppose it is a bit, I just was not a fan of his portrayal at all for the reasons mentioned in the post and in response to Becker's comments.

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A Ranking of Fred's Portrayals

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