 Because Sarah Michelle Gellar starred as the main character Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the exact same time the first Scooby-Doo live action movie was being made, she had to commute between Los Angeles, California and Queensland, Australia to be able to film both movies. Luckily for her, both producers allowed her to have a very flexible schedule and worked around her busy acting career. To remedy this problem and accommodate her fellow cast members of both productions, Gellar agreed to alternate between the two countries every two weeks until production was finished on Scooby-Doo.
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 Earlier this week, some brand new details were revealed about the Scooby-Doo / Supernatural crossover! The crossover will be the sixteenth episode of Supernatural's thirteenth season, and expected to air in March according to JoBlo.com. The episode will be directed and executive produced by Robert Singer. Additional executive producers include Andrew Dabb and Phil Sgriccia. The co-executive producer for the crossover will be Jim Michaels. This photo was posted on Twitter by Jim Michaels of the Supernatural crew on Monday (hence the January 22, 2018 date). Going by the Futon Critic, which is usually pretty reliable, the episode will likely air March 15, 2018 if there are no other sudden hiatuses (Notice all repeats are marked with a "Repeat TBA," whereas March 1, 8 and 15 simply list TBA). However, this date is not officially confirmed yet, so I recommend taking it with a grain of salt. New episodes of Supernatural air every Thursday night at 7:00pm central on the CW. Stay tuned for more info!
 Over the weekend, I finally got a chance to watch this latest movie. It was definitely one of my favorites in recent years! I haven't done a review here in a while, and since a few people requested I do one via comments and email, I thought I'd post my review of the film for you all to read. I should probably note that I'm not all that familiar with the Batman franchise as it seems many of you are, so I wasn't as familiar some of the Batman references as a lot of you all may be. And of course, if you haven't had a chance to watch the film yet, I would recommend waiting to read this post, as there are spoilers ahead! :) This was a fantastic film right from the beginning! Generally, the recent Scooby DTVs (particularly the LEGO ones) have been a bit of a hit-or-miss in certain aspects, but this one was a big win from all departments for me! I loved all the references! It was so clever how they worked the intro for The New Scooby-Doo Movies into the intro. Admittedly, I haven't caught up on the Scooby-Doo! Team Up comics and the issues I've read have been very random and in no particular order. I did, however, see it mentioned elsewhere online that the film also had several allusions to the Scooby-Doo! Team Up comic series. I noticed some familiar superheroes that Scooby has teamed up with from some of the recent comic solicitations I've posted on here. I believe almost all of the superheroes have been in previous issues of Team Up, including Plastic Man, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary (who was actually from this month's issue!) and Detective Chimp. The only superhero I don't think had appeared previously was The Question (who, admittedly, I had never heard of before this film), though I may be totally wrong on that. I also liked the huge lineup of Batman villains! It was fun to see Joker and Penguin teamed up together again, as I'm presuming it's some sort of reference to the New Scooby-Doo Movies episodes they both appeared in (I don't think they had ever teamed up before. And you can probably tell by now that my knowledge of the Batman franchise is very limited lol). I'll admit I wasn't familiar with all of the villains, though I did recognize classics like Catwoman, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, Two-Face and of course Harley Quinn! I was a bit disappointed when we didn't see any of the Scooby villains, as was promised in the original press release! I was expecting them throughout the whole film, and was a bit disappointed when they never showed up at all. That poses the question of why the press release included them in the first place, which I can't think of any reason other than maybe the film was retooled at the last minute. The mystery in this film was so interesting and intricate! I'll admit I never would have expected Clayface to be the Crimson Cloak, until of course he started morphing/bubbling up while in the disguise. I absolutely loved the Crimson Cloak as the main villain! His voice, particularly when he whispered "Batman," was sooo spooky! The physical aspects of his disguise were really cool looking as well, and much different from the typical ghosts we've seen in the past. The twist ending where the Riddler was actually behind it all was really unexpected! I personally love when they add endings or layers to the mystery that are difficult to figure out, because the mysteries can sometimes be overly easy to guess, particularly in some of the latest DTVs. The one criticism I did have about the overall mystery was why the Mystery Analysts didn't believe Batman about the Crimson Cloak letting all the villains out of Arkham. They had all seen the Crimson Cloak the first time he appeared with Batman and the gang, so it didn't entirely make sense why they suddenly wouldn't believe Batman and side with Detective Bullock. They all could have vouched that they had at least seen the Crimson Cloak with Batman earlier, rather than not mentioning anything and allowing Batman to take the blame. This may be something I missed not being a big Batman fan, but I didn't like how they made the Penguin quack. It sounded overly cheesy and didn't fit with his last couple of appearances. However, I don't know if his quacking was simply left out of his past appearances in the Scooby franchise, or if that is normal for him in other Batman episodes/movies. Lastly, I have to say I loved the gang dressing up in the Batman costumes. It was the perfect ending to a perfect movie! It was quite heartwarming to see Batman rescue Professor Milo in the end and reunite him with his father. Daphne's final comment regarding that she knew who Batman really was so cute! You'd have to have a heart as cold as the Joker himself not to find that incredibly adorable! Overall, I absolutely loved this movie and would highly recommend it to all Scooby fans! I'm half wondering if this movie is a testing ground for the next series, Scooby-Doo! Guess Who? if it is truly a revival of The New Scooby-Doo Movies as has been rumored. Either way, I hope to see more fabulous movies and crossovers like this one sometime in the future!  Here they are! One week later than usual, here are the solicitations for the upcoming Scooby-Doo comics scheduled for release in April 2018!  SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #24 Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DeMATTEIS Art by RON WAGNER, ANDY OWENS and others Cover by JILL THOMPSON • Variant cover by TREVOR HAIRSINE It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Fred and Daphne are finally together! But in a world full of murder, monsters and misery—how long can true love last? On sale APRIL 11 • 32 pg, FC • $3.99 US • RATED T  SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #92 Written by IVAN COHEN Art and cover by WALTER CARZON and HORACIO OTTOLINI It’s the annual Mystery-Con International—a convention honoring sleuths from all over the world—and this year, Mystery, Inc. are the guests of honor! But when the booth of some of their biggest fans is robbed of some valuable merchandise, our heroes have to go undercover as Mystery, Inc. cosplayers to find out whodunnit! On sale APRIL 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E  SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #37 Ft Supergirl Written by SHOLLY FISCH Art and cover by DARIO BRIZUELA Supergirl may be as invulnerable as her cousin, but even bulletproof skin can’t help her when she’s haunted by the ghosts of Krypton! Is it a hoax? A message from the Phantom Zone? It’s up to Scooby and the gang to find out…assuming that Scooby and Streaky the Super-Cat can set aside their cat-and-dog rivalry! On sale APRIL 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E • DIGITAL FIRST  SCOOBY-DOO! TEAM-UP VOLUME 5 TP F/Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Hong Kong Phooey/Spot, Plastic Man/Woozy Winks, Jonah Hex, Top Cat & Challengers of the Unknown
Written by SHOLLY FISCH Art by DARIO BRIZUELA, SCOTT JERALDS and DAVE ALVAREZ Cover by DARIO BRIZUELA In these all-ages tales from SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #25-30, Scooby and the Mystery Inc. gang fight evil with the help of heroes including Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Plastic Man, Hong Kong Phooey and more! On sale JUNE 5 • 128 pg, FC, $12.99 US  On November 29, 2017, fans felt a variety of emotions regarding the announcement of a new live-action movie, focusing solely on the two female members of Mystery Incorporated, Daphne and Velma. Many felt excited, for a new take on the franchise and for a film that had a sharper focus on the women main characters. Others were surprised, to see another live-action movie being put out with a brand new cast. Others were uncertain, about if this film would still be enjoyable even without the franchise's two central characters, Shaggy and Scooby, who have both appeared in every incarnation to date. Before I continue this article further, I should probably reaffirm that this entire post is simply reflective of my opinions, and I am in no way trying to convince you to agree with me anywhere in this post. You are more than welcome to disagree with my argument here, as the world would be very boring if we all agreed on everything like mindless robots. Over the last few weeks since the announcement of "Daphne & Velma," I have seen a very wide variety of opinions and feelings surrounding this film. Many are open to it and are looking forward to this potentially unique and different perspective on the franchise. Others, however, have already chosen to dismiss this movie as mere "feminist propaganda" and "preachy nonsense." This is not to say that anyone's arguments are wrong. We all are entitled to our own likes and dislikes, and in my nearly ten years now in the Scooby fandom, I've never met a Scooby fan that says they like every Scooby-Doo episode and movie ever created. There will always be certain aspects of things we don't like, as thankfully, we all have our own unique personalities, and thus have our own diverse opinions on what makes us enjoy or not enjoy certain things. I'd like to point out, however, that the widespread dislike which "Daphne & Velma" is already seeing less than two months after its initial announcement, is very similar to that of the dislike which "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo" received in its initial months, right after the original concept art was announced. Many of us, including myself, reacted negatively to our first look at the new series, along the lines of "WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SCOOBY?!?" There are still numerous people who dislike "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" and find various aspects of it unappealing. What's important for us to remember though, is many of us did end up loving the witty, new take on the franchise which 'Be Cool' gave us. Many people, who initially hated the designs, and had objections to the show when it first was announced, now consider the show one of the funniest incarnations of Scooby-Doo to date. Although, it would be hypocritical not to note that there are some people who dislike 'Be Cool' (whether it was because they found the humor childish, the animation unappealing, etc.), but in my opinion, that is consistent with every show out there. Despite the widespread acclaim for "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated," some people even disliked that show due to their own personal tastes. "Daphne & Velma" is also seeing a similar type of dislike, and as with 'Be Cool,' the film has not yet been released for people to give it a chance. This reminds me of one particular comment, which I read online before the premiere of "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" As was consistent around the time before BCSD aired, this particular comment bashed the animation and claimed that the writers had "ruined" Scooby-Doo forever. Another person replied, simply putting in their two cents that they disliked the animation as well, but they still planned to give the show a fair chance. The original commenter replied back a few days before the show premiered, insisting that "I have given this show a chance already!" While I mean no offense to this person (and honestly don't even remember where I found the comment), by definition, it is literally impossible to give something a chance if you have never seen the show. Unfortunately, not everyone will give this film a fair chance, but I think this example does a good job illustrating how we sometimes don't give things a fair chance. If none of us had given "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" a chance, many of us wouldn't have ever gotten the chance to fall in love with it, and understand the gang in a more three-dimensional way. While I've highlighted the many similarities in the current dislike of "Daphne & Velma" and the previous concept art dislike of "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!", there is also a big difference as to why "Daphne & Velma" is already so widely dismissed by the Scooby fanbase. This particular issue is a bit tougher to tackle, as it has unfortunately become a somewhat charged political issue in our current world. However, as this blog is not a political debate forum, I will do my absolute best to make what I am writing as objective and non-biased as possible. It's somewhat interesting, to see how much the phrase "feminist-focused" has become synonymous with this movie. For those of you who aren't aware, that particular phrase actually originated from my original blog post about the film's announcement. I actually had intended to type "feminism-focused" here, as "feminist-focused" would mean the movie was entirely focused around feminists (which it's not). "Feminism-focused" is more representative of what the movie probably will be, as Blondie Girl Studios' previous filmmaking history (from what I've researched) simply includes films which have an underlying plot which revolves around mainly female characters. I should probably disclose here that part of the reason I am excited for this movie is because I consider myself a feminist. Before some of you start writing me angry comments about what a horrible person I am to dare to ever use that 'f' word in description of myself, I'd like to calmly and peacefully state something. While the next small piece of this article will discuss feminism in relationship to the dislike of the movie, it is simply to provide context to my argument and not to offend anyone. I have no intention of converting you into "fabulous feminists" like myself, and could really care less if you agree with me or not. I also have no intention of even being remotely preachy or convincing in this brief contextual discussion of feminism in relation to the film, and am only mentioning it as it directly relates to many people's objections to this film. One of the most common and resonating arguments is that "Daphne & Velma" is written by angry feminists who intend to "teach us a lesson." I've also heard comments claiming the film will be "man-shaming" and that the film will "lecture us" on how to be "good little feminists". While, as I mentioned, most of this article reflects my opinions only, if you take one fact away from this article, let it be this: all of these arguments are simply presumptions. No matter what your opinion on the film, none of these things have actually been confirmed at this point. This is not to say that inferences are always incorrect, and you can make many educated inferences that are most likely true. For example, the "S.C.O.O.B." movie was probably retitled and moved to 2020 because of a script rewrite or casting change. There are some inferences, however, that can be dangerous ones to make. Unfortunately, many people assume that all feminists actively protest for women's rights, shame men for their "lack of empathy" for women and their rights, and even that feminists seek to take out their personal hatred of males on poor, defenseless men. For sake of argument, here is the definition of feminism, according to the official Merriam-Webster dictionary. Feminism (n.): The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Many people, unfortunately, confuse feminism for a much more radical form of feminism or even misandry (the hatred or despise of males). Interestingly enough, even radical feminism only has a very small portion of believers who joyfully shame or dislike men. To fulfill my promise to keep this discussion at a minimum, I'll stop here, but if you are interested in further researching the differences between regular feminism and radical feminism, this article from The Guardian does a very nice job doing so and explaining why the two are often confused.
To bring this discussion back to the movie, though it is certainly possible that feminism will be heavily focused on, we can and should not simply presume it will be. Let's also not forget that the only confirmation we've received here is that the film will present the main two female characters, Daphne and Velma, in a more "empowered" light. Hopefully, even if you disagree with what I said above (and that's perfectly okay!), you can at least agree that it is okay if men and women are treated equal in society (hopefully no one here wants to go back to the days before women had the rights to do basically anything). I could spend all day listing all the empowered male characters from films, so, if you agree with my above equality statement, you can probably agree that it should be okay to have empowered women characters in films as well. This article, admittedly, has dealt with some heavy and politically-charged topics. One realization which may shock you (and I hope, makes at least one person give the film a chance who wasn't going to before) is this is all that's been confirmed so far. Simply that Daphne and Velma will be more three-dimensional, empowered characters. No scary and bloodthirsty ax-wielding feminists out to shame you for life about how oppressed women are. For the sake of argument as well, I'll post the description of the film here. If you'd like a refresher, try to read this summary again, pretending that the information that the movie is 'feminism-focused' hasn't been announced. Before their eventual team-up with Scooby and the gang, bright and optimistic Daphne and whip-smart and analytical Velma are both mystery-solving teens who are best friends but have only met online — until now. Daphne has just transferred to Velma’s school, Ridge Valley High, a tech-savvy institute with all the latest gadgets provided by the school’s benefactor, tech billionaire Tobias Bloom. And while competition is fierce among the students for a coveted internship at Bloom Innovative, Daphne and Velma dig beyond all the gadgets and tech to investigate what is causing some of the brightest students in school to disappear — only to emerge again in a zombie-fied state. In reality, on its surface, how bad does that description sound? Probably not too horrible, most likely. Unfortunately, many of you probably already know how much the media likes to hype certain things up. The whole "everyone's going to be feminist and queer and preaching for a female-dominated world" is simply hyped up by certain articles like this, this, and especially this one, which in fact has a misleading clickbait page title (look at the article name in the top of the page tab) that it's been confirmed that Daphne and Velma are lesbians in the film (which is entirely false). Feminism has nothing to do with forcing everyone to be queer and lesbians, in fact, in my opinion it would be quite hypocritical to do so and these articles miss the point. My personal feminism beliefs are that everyone should simply be themselves and embrace their own unique identities. Forcing everyone to be gay makes no sense, and would be demeaning to those who don't have interest in the same sex. This entire article is not arguing that you should like the movie when it comes out. I'm simply suggesting that the movie deserves at least a chance, especially considering that we currently know nothing of the "empowered" Daphne and Velma, and don't even know if it will focus very heavily on feminism beyond some potential light undertones in the plot. If you've made it this far, I really appreciate you reading this article and at least giving me a chance to try to explain things from my perspective. I have been increasingly frustrated reading some of the comments about this film on the Internet, particularly that people are judging it so harshly before it has been released, over presumptions that may or may not even be true. I'm fully aware that "haters gonna hate" is pretty representative of the Internet today, and some people will be always be angry and immature in their criticisms of both films and other people. I hope though, that this article resonates with at least one person that read it, and at least some people realize how important it is to give something a chance. Never judge a book by its cover. Maybe the movie will be horrific and in a year we'll all be saying how terrible of an idea it was, but the film also could be amazing and inspiring. We will never truly know until we actually watch it. I know how wonderful and amazing you all are, so this maybe goes without saying, but I do have one small request. I love chatting with you all, and having interesting, deep discussions about our shared love of Scooby. You are more than welcome to disagree with me, and believe I am wrong in my opinions outlined in this post. You can even feel free to drop me an angry comment about what a horrible and disgusting person I am for being a feminist. However, while I try to make a point to reply to everyone's comments on here, please realize I will not reply to any comments which are direct personal attacks. You don't have to agree with me, but I simply request that you realize that we all have things which we believe in strongly, and this is something I believe in. And, if it helps anyone, my beliefs simply are that women should not be oppressed and should be equal societally to men, which by definition makes me a feminist. No protesting, no hatred, simply the belief that every human has the right to be respected and loved regardless of gender. Maybe this is a given, but I also would like to say that I immensely appreciate how amazing you all are, and that I even am able to make a post about a controversial issue such as this and feel comfortable doing so. The Internet can be a scary, angry place, but I'm thankful every day that you all make this such an awesome, friendly place to talk about Scooby. If you have any opinions or thoughts on this, please let me know in the comments! :)  Velma's infamous line "I can't see without my glasses!" was originally not in the script. The line was only added after, by coincidence, Velma's voice actor Nicole Jaffe dropped her glasses by accident while reading off the script, and uttered the line in frustration. The writing room thought it was perfect for Velma's character, and later added it into the show, where it soon became Velma's trademark line.
 On Thursday (January 18th) afternoon, a brand new app entitled "Scooby-Doo: Mystery Cases" was released for free on Android and Apple devices. The game is currently available on the Google Play Store (Android) and the App Store (Apple). There are over 45 levels of gameplay, which includes looking for clues, playing mini-games, building traps, and of course, unmasking the villain! Along the way, you can find Scooby Snacks as you level up (in addition to daily snacks you can earn everyday), so you can buy more costumes. You can also upgrade your costumes for perks such as more time, extra hints, and more snacks. There are also additional challenges along the way, which if successfully completed, could earn you bonus stars. The game also has several interactive menus and features, including reading character bios and comic books. You also have the ability to watch videos, and maybe even become famous on your fictional MysteryTube account! Within only two days of being released, the app is already #5 in the top 10 family apps on the App Store.
Here is the description of the game from the WB Kids website: You love Scooby-Doo, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to join Shaggy, Fred, Velma, and Daphne as the newest member of the Mystery Inc. Gang? Well, now’s your chance with Scooby-Doo Mystery Cases. All you have to do is open the app, and you’re in! Follow along with Scooby and his friends on their latest crime-solving adventure. You’ll find hidden objects in over 45 levels, discover new monsters, build interesting traps, and unmask creepy villains. Case closed. But it’s not all fun and games. Actually, it is. You can make the largest sandwich possible, piece together tricky puzzles to uncover clues, find objects in the dark before the flashlight batteries run out, and make sure Shaggy and Scooby-Doo don’t eat too many stinky boots. You’ll earn bonus stars throughout the games, and best of all, there’s Scooby Snacks. Want to give Shaggy and Scooby-Doo a new look? There’s a costume section for you to dress them up in silly outfits (dinosaur masks included). Plus these outfits give you gameplay bonuses like more time to complete puzzles and Scooby Snack multipliers. That’s right—more Scooby Snacks. If you need a break from all your monster-hunting fun, you can explore groovy comic books and videos, including new stop motion animated shorts. Recognize the voices in the app? They’re the same ones used in the current animated series Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! This app is full of mystery-solving fun for Scooby fans of all ages. The real mystery is . . . why aren’t you playing it already? You can find an additional gallery of screenshots from the game on the WB Kids site. Download the app here (both links will bring you to the app's page where you can download it for your respective device): Google Play Store (Android users) App Store (Apple users)  The soundtrack for the Scooby-Doo live action movie gave many now-famous artists their big debut in the music world. Solange Knowles, who is now a famous singer alongside her sister Beyoncé, released her debut single, "Thinking About You" (feat. Murphy Lee) on the Scooby-Doo soundtrack, six months prior to her official album entitled Solo Star. To give their first album more publicity, Simple Plan released their song "Grow Up" onto the Scooby-Doo soundtrack three months after they released their debut feature-length album. Only a short while later, Simple Plan would also be hired to sing the What's New, Scooby-Doo? theme song, in addition to having "I'd Do Anything" featured as the chase scene song for "It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine." Uncle Kracker also requested to be on the soundtrack, one year before he achieved widespread popularity for his hit songs "Drift Away (feat. Dobie Gray)" and eventually "Smile." Just as they were gaining popularity, the rock band MxPx also offered to be on the movie's soundtrack by contributing their version of the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You theme.
Additionally, some other artists who had already achieved moderate popularity were invited to contribute to the soundtrack in order to further boost their popularity. Artists such as Shaggy, Lil' Romeo, Outkast and Busta Rhymes specially created songs, many of them directly mentioning Scooby in the lyrics, for the movie to boost commercial performance. The Baha Men, the one-hit wonder group responsible for the popular single "Who Let the Dogs Out?", were also asked to pen a Scooby-themed track entitled "Scooby D." for the soundtrack due to their only single relating to dogs. The only artist who already had widespread popularity at the time (and had achieved global fame) that contributed to the soundtrack was Australian singer Kylie Minogue, whose song "Whenever You Feel Like It" was the eighth track on the compilation. At the time of the movie release, she had already been releasing music for over ten years and was being referred to as "The United Kingdom's Madonna" due to her immense commercial success. Just before the movie's post-production was finished and the soundtrack was being put together, her latest single "Can't Get You Out of My Head" had become a #1 hit around the world. Though never officially confirmed or stated, many Internet sources claim that her increasing popularity made it difficult to get her to be on the soundtrack, due to the majority of the artists being less famous at the time and just starting out their music careers. Credit for researching and writing up this fun fact goes to Kylie fan and fellow Scooby lover (as well as amazing friend!) KylieTastic. Thank you Kylie, for taking the time to extensively research and contribute this fun fact to the site, and of course for just being plain awesome! :)  Scooby's speech impediment is nearly identical to a clinically diagnosed language difficulty. Dr. Steven Long, associate professor in Speech Pathology and Audiology at Marquette University and an expert in the field, called Scooby's tendency to replace the first letter of certain words with the letter R "rhotacization," which by the clinical definition is: "Pronunciation of a vowel to reflect a following r in the orthography, as for example in American English farm, bird."
Sources: Clipd Pop Culture, Oxford Dictionary  Earlier today, "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" was added almost in its entirety to the Boomerang streaming service. All episodes from season 1 and 2 were added, in addition to two episodes from season 3, "Wrestle Maniacs" and "Horror of the Haunted Hairpiece." This just leaves 7 episodes of the series missing from the streaming service. The missing episodes include: "Night of the Boogey Biker," "Dawn of the Spooky Shuttle Scare," "Mayhem of the Moving Mollusk," "The Were-Doo of Doo Manor," "Catcher on the Sly," "The Ghost of Mrs. Shusham" and "The Wraith of Waitro." It is unknown when these remaining episodes will be available to watch on the service. If you choose to subscribe to the service, you can watch these new episodes among several other Scooby-Doo series and movies at Boomerang.com or through the Boomerang streaming app.
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