Happy Friday everyone!
Today with us we have Claire, otherwise known as Bananagoose! Claire is a fanfiction writer who has written the amazing Scooby-Doo fanfic “The Gang”. If you've ever wanted to see a more mature Scooby-Doo TV show someday, this fanfic is a must-read. Claire does a perfect job getting down the characters and tone to feel a bit darker and more mature. She also does fan art and is an active poster of the ScoobyAddicts forum. Check out her fan profile below: 1. What is your name? My name is Claire, but on Tumblr and Archive of Our Own I go by bananagoose, feel free to give me a follow on either! 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I grew up with the movies and the franchise as a kid, and I was always a huge fan of mysteries. I also enjoyed the familiar characters and became attached over time to the gang and their adventures. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? My favorite episode is probably the Escape From Mystery Manor episode from Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated. A really interesting concept was introduced in that episode about the gang and the history of mystery solvers coming before them, and it was a really exciting and fun episode that also furthered the plot of the show overall. My favorite movie is a tough one; I would say it’s probably the Alien Invaders. It’s fun, it’s a good mystery, and it combines reality with whimsy in an amazing way. Also, the groovy song is enough in and of itself to put it at the top of my list! 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I am working on a Scooby Doo fanfiction on Archive of Our Own called “The Gang”. It’s about 20k right now but I have a plot all planned out, I just need to find time to update it! I also do lots of artwork, but I don’t post as much as I would like to. Other than that, I’m part of forums like scoobyaddicts.com and follow lots of fan pages on tumblr. There’s also a podcast I recommend called “That Groovy Scoobcast” that covers all things Scooby-Doo! 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? I think that the late 90s to early 2000s were great in terms of movies. Basically from the end of Casey Kasem voicing Shaggy to the beginning of Matthew Lillard voicing him. The movies were engaging in silly and in mysterious ways. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? I think a sequel to Zombie Island would be interesting just because they built such a robust world that Lena and Simone came from. I would love to see more about the curse and the area that was affected by it. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I would like to see a franchise more aimed at a slightly older crowd. I often simplify it by saying “like Riverdale but with Scooby Doo”. I think that a real life iteration of the gang would be interesting, especially if it wasn’t trying to emulate the cartoon perfectly, like some of the other live action movies did. Just finding more depth in the characters we have and exploring their lives in a world full of mysteries that need solving. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? I do have a soft spot for Shaggy because he has the most personality, in my opinion. I really appreciate Velma as well because she is a backbone of the gang in that she is on top of everything and moves the mystery along. Fred and Daphne change a lot depending on what they’re in, and Scooby is a classic character who provides much needed optimism and comic relief. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? My favorite villains are Ranger Knudsen and Baby Face Boretti from Camp Scare. They best embody the old-school villains in that they use crazy disguises and really commit to their personas just to get their hands on some treasure. I mean honestly, how could I not respect a fully grown man who pretends to be a camper and recruits a police officer to sonar the lake every day? 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? I love Mrs. Dinkley. She is eccentric and fun but also grounded and helps out when the gang is stuck. I also love her affinity for the supernatural in Mystery Incorporated. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I do have a small collection. Some do my favorite things I have are a bunch of Scooby-Doo t-shirts, a life size Scooby-Doo plush, some crew length socks with Scooby faces, and an original piece of artwork by Tom Cook, and autographed by him and Ron Campbell, previous cartoonists for the show. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think that the franchise is so strong because it has a simple and adaptable premise with solid characters that can appeal to almost anyone. The mysteries can be silly, serious, confusing, or simple. The stencil is very easy to adapt into really any kind of story you want, which is why I don’t think the franchise is going anywhere any time soon. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I’m a technical theatre major! I mostly specialize in costume design and construction, but I also dabble in lighting, sound, and carpentry! I’ve been involved in theatre since I was 5 years old, and have loved every second of it, so if there’s ever a Scooby Doo musical, you can bet I’ll be excited! Thanks so much to Claire for her detailed responses! Be sure to check back tomorrow for another fan profile!
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This is somewhat of an obscure article topic, but I was thinking about these recently and wanted to give my review on these three rare online video games. All of these are sadly no longer available in an officially licensed way online, but they can still be found on the Internet. Two of the games, however, only have part of the game available now even on these non-officially licensed sites. Do you guys remember this game? This one came out right after the Goblin King film did, and was genuinely challenging to get through. The game had five levels, where you had to navigate the skies as either Scooby-Doo or Shaggy on a witch's broom. Along the way, you had to avoid three types of goblins flying in the air. The first type is Glum (the skinny goblin) from the movie. The Glum Goblins have no powers whatsoever, they just fly in the air blocking your path, and give you 100 points. The second type is Glob (the heavier set goblin from the movie), which are worth 200 points. Part of the game is shooting these goblins out of the sky so you can get through, so you can shoot with multiple different kinds of pumpkins. Type 1 is just a regular pumpkin, type 2 is a giant pumpkin that takes longer to throw, and type 3 is two small pumpkins thrown in different directions. With the Glob goblins, you have to hit them twice to be able to knock them out of the sky. Hitting them once does nothing. All other goblins only need to be hit once to be defeated. The final goblin type is worth 150 points, and the most difficult in my opinion. This goblin is the type from the movie that shot the cannon to knock the broomstick out of the sky. The third goblin type throws pumpkins at you while going by, which makes it more difficult to avoid. As I mentioned before, there are five levels. Each level gets increasingly more difficult. Four and five are the toughest. Level 4 is pretty tough especially at the end, when there's a whole line of the third goblin type which shoots pumpkins at you, and you have to rapidly knock them all out of the sky at once to get past. While playing these games a few times again for this article, I always lost 2 out of my 3 lives before finally being able to get through with one life remaining. This didn't leave me enough lives to get through the 5th level, where you have to defeat The Amazing Krudsky at the end. I know I have beaten in the past, however. What I really love about this game is that you can tell how much love is put into it. There's so much cool detail, the backgrounds are immaculate, and you also get to choose your broom parts (which are unlocked throughout the game) out of 15 different options. You're given 6 broom parts at the beginning of the game, but you can unlock broom parts during the bonus round after each level, in which you try to collect as much candy as possible before the time runs out without falling off your broom. I really wish this game would come back some day! It was a genuinely very cool and challenging game. You can play the game here, but you MUST have Adobe Flash Player for it to work. This game was released with the Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare film. In 2010, the running game Temple Run was just taking off, in which you must run from a monster chasing you. This theme fit perfectly with Scooby-Doo, so naturally they adapted it with the three Camp Scare monsters. The game is pretty straightforward, you have to run from the monster and collect snacks, while dodging obstacles. If you hit too many obstacles, the monster catches you and the game is over. You have only one life in this game, and once you've lost it, the game ends. I honestly have no idea how many levels this game has. The format of the game is that the first level villain is the Woodsman, the second level is the Fishman and the third level is the Spectre of Shadow Canyon. Each level takes place in the villain's respective habit (camp, lake, and Shadow Canyon). Once you finish those first three levels, the cycle continues to repeat (i.e. Woodsman level 4, Fishman level 5, Spectre level 6, Woodsman level 7 and it continues). I've made it up to level 53 (a Fishman level), but I couldn't make it past that. I have no idea how many levels there are, as 53 seems like a lot! The challenging part in this game, is once you collect 5 snacks, the game goes into hyper-speed. While this is good for getting away from the monster, it gets very hard to navigate the obstacles. If you hit an obstacle, the monster gets closer and the game goes back to regular speed. Once you get into the 30s and 40s of the levels, the gang speeds up so much that it becomes nearly impossible to navigate. So, an interesting twist is that you actually have to avoid the snacks towards the end so you can control Scooby and Shaggy, and still win the game. Don't ask me how Scooby and Shaggy are able to run on water this game. Unless they've become Jesus, haha. Though Shaggy is an all-powerful being supposedly, so maybe that's it lol. You can play this game here (Flash Player is needed again for it to work). I mentioned earlier that some of the games are missing a piece, and that is unfortunately present in this one. In the original game when it was still on the WB site, you could enter in a code "Camp86" which unlocked a secret fourth level where you had to run away from the tidal wave destroying the camp. The game's level cycle would shift accordingly, and the secret tidal wave level would repeat every four levels (i.e. Level 1 Woodsman, Level 2 Fishman, Level 3 Spectre, Level 4 Tidal Wave, Level 5 Woodsman, Level 6 Fishman, etc.). Sadly, this was not carried over, and the code doesn't work on any of the non-official sites. It's still a fun game though, and it generally makes you want to get as far as you can. Here's hoping I'll beat level 53 someday, haha. The final game is Scooby-Doo's Magic Mystery Mansion, which has sadly been pretty mutilated in being migrated over to non-WB sites. This was another genuinely fun and challenging adventure game that was posted on the WB site with the release of the Abracadabra Doo film, but was removed a while ago. Currently, the game only has the first level intact now. The game involves finding an object (or several) to trap the monster from Abracadabra Doo. You have to search the mansion for the magic object, avoiding the monster(s) along the way, then once you find the object, you can capture the monsters in the castle. The first level is very easy, you have to find a magic wand and capture the lion. There are only two floors you have to navigate. After this, none of the other levels work on their current less-than-legal versions. Every site I checked just gives you a "loading" page and then it never loads. But luckily I do remember the other levels, so I'll detail them here. The second level featured the Banshee, and was much more challenging. I remember the second level had a glitch, and if you stepped on a certain spot on the top floor, the whole game would freeze up and you'd have to reload. Once you knew the spot, you just have to avoid it and you could get through the levels without problem. Level 3 featured the gryphon, which I believe the object had something to do with a magical expanding net, but my brain could be making that up. After level 3, you could enter in a code "Cone1" which would give you a ton of secret levels. I think I only made it up to level 7, so I'm not sure how many levels there were. There is little record of these games at all online, so everything I'm saying is coming from memory. Level 4 featured both the gryphon and the banshee, Level 4 got much more complicated, to the point where there were probably ten floors you had to search, and you didn't necessarily know if you'd find the villain on any of them. It was pretty difficult from there on out. Level 5 featured two gryphons and a banshee, level 6 featured two banshees and a gryphon, and was in some sort of a creepy school instead of the magic mansion. Level 7 featured two banshees and two gryphons. I'm not sure if it was so difficult for me to get past because it was the final level, or if there was a level 8 which maybe featured the lion from the original level, or maybe three of some villain. Either way, searching for the objects and then having to capture the monsters made for a genuinely fun and difficult game that I really miss and I wish was still playable to some extent. For me, that one level being still available (and it was the easiest level too) doesn't make it worth playing. If you still want to play it though, here it is. I hope you enjoyed this article and maybe enjoyed playing some vintage Scooby-Doo games. There was a fourth game I remember loving from Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, but I can't find any trace of that. After "Camp Scare," sadly, the games tying in with the movies stopped, which is a shame given they were pretty well made! I believe one was made with Curse of the Lake Monster, but it had nothing to do with the film, it just was sort of a "hey, we made this game, and we also have this movie coming out, so let's release them at the same time and say they're related!" type thing.
Today’s fan spotlight is Scoobyfan4ever, who is a very frequent commenter on my blog. Scoobyfan4ever is a Scooby super fan who has a special and very rare item in his personal Scooby collection. It’s also Scoobyfan4ever’s birthday today, so everyone wish him a big happy birthday!
Check out his fan profile below! 1. What is your name? Scoobyfan4ever 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I remember watching reruns of Scooby-Doo on Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and KidsWB when I was very small and have been a fan since forever. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? I have a list of favorite episodes. Hassle in the Castle, Jeepers It’s the Creeper, The Backstage Rage, Vampire Bats and Scaredy Cats, High Rise Hair Raiser, The Lochness Ness, Guess Who’s Knott Coming to Dinner. Just to name a few but there are tons more. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? I frequent the Scoobypedia web page and ScoobySnax page quite a bit. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? My favorite series is of course Scooby-Doo Where Are You! and the classic golden era in general is the best. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Make a sequel to Scooby-Doo and Batman: The Brave and the Bold and a Laff a Lympics revival. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? Tbh this might be an unpopular opinion but I really don’t want the franchise to go on much longer (maybe another 10 years at the most) because I feel like the quality is going to drop lower and lower. If the franchise does keep going on decades from now, I would like them to bring in Scooby Dum. I wish they'd show Scrappy more respect in the future, and include him as well. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Scooby and Shaggy of course. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? I have several villains I really like....The Creeper, The Puppet Master, Green Ghosts, Redbeard, Tar Monster, 10,000 Volt Ghost, Diabolical Disc Demon etc.... 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Vincent Van Ghoul and the Hex Girls. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I’ve collected several Scooby-Doo toys, books, DVDs, video games, and various other items over the years but my most prized possession is my framed Scooby-Doo poster titled Strangers in the Night signed by Iwao Takamoto. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? The characters and the structure of the show. After all, everyone loves a good mystery. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? My least favorite series is Be Cool Scooby-Doo, my least favorite animated movie is Curse of the 13th Ghost and my least favorite live action movie is Scooby-Doo (2002). I also dislike Kate Micucci's Velma and (on a more positive note) I also have a younger cousin named Lily, who became a huge Scooby fan because of me! Thanks so much again to Scoobyfan4ever for his answers, and hope he has an awesome birthday! :) The Clown Police come to arrest Madcap at the end of "Into the Mouth of Madcap" from Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! They're just so dang funny, you can't not spotlight them haha!
Hi super Scooby fans!
Today, the spotlight is on Angela, who has been a Scooby fan so long that she doesn’t even remember when she started watching! You may also know Angela better as ilovescoobydoo from the ScoobyAddicts forum. Check out Angela’s profile below: 1. What is your name? Angela (ilovescoobydoo from ScoobyAddicts) 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? I have been a Scooby fan for as long as I can remember, so I don't remember how I got into watching it. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? I have many favorites from different series, and many favorite movies as well. It's impossible for me to choose just one. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Talking with other fans and posting when I see any new merchandise. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? Scooby-Doo Where Are You. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Scooby-Doo Where Are You. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I would like to see more merchandise, and for them to stay true to the real Scooby. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Scooby, he is just so lovable. I do love the whole gang, it's just not the same when they cut them out. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? I have a number of favorites of them as well, I think they each shine in their own right. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? I really enjoy seeing The Hex Girls. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I have DVDs, VHS tapes, computer games, video games, board games, playing cards, action figures, stuffed animals, hot wheels, Mystery Machines, shirts, pjs, shoes, wall boarder, wall decals/wall art, curtains, bedding, legos, comic books, books, coloring books, stickers, backpacks, lunchboxes, tote bags, tin boxes, puzzles, storage drawers, organizer, pencil box, pencils, pen, kids meal toys, basketball, soccer ball, bouncy ball, dishes, race track, clocks, and many more items. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? It's a classic. There is a certain charm that classic shows have. It also appeals to all age groups. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I'm trying to learn Italian. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! I have met Matthew Lillard. I went to see the outside of the building where Hanna Barbera studios was. My drawing was featured in a comic book. One year for my birthday, my Dad surprised me with a painting that he did of Scooby and me with The Mystery Machine in the background. Thanks so much to Angela for doing this! Feel free to leave her a comment in the section below, and check back for tomorrow's fan spotlight. Today, our fan spotlight is Russ. Russ has been a longtime fan of Scooby, and is an active member on the ScoobyAddicts forum. He also is an artist who has commissioned many different pieces of Scooby-Doo fan art on DeviantArt.
Check out Russ’s profile below: 1. What is your name? Russ 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? Being born in 1968 I watched it as I grew up along with all the other cartoons from the 70's and 80's that were shown in the UK. Roll forward many (many) years and it was when watching cartoons with #2 child (a.k.a. ‘the small screaming one’) that I got back into the franchise. The prime thing behind this was Where's My Mummy which at the time #2 thought was the scariest film ever. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? Not sure if I have a favourite episode as there are good episodes scattered all over the place but they are often let down by other issues. For example most SD:MI episodes are marred by the relationship 'drama' and the gangs dysfunction characters. BCSD has its share of issues which affect most episodes. Others (WNSD, WAY etc) are fun but mostly forgettable in that none stick out above the other. Despite what I've said about BCSD it would probably be from there I would pick the best episode from as when JCB et al nailed it, they nailed it - Greece is the Word or Scroogy Doo probably are tops with Vote Velma as an honourable mention for the concept and the martial law quip at the end. As for films that's a harder question, I can give you a top few but can't pick one. So Abracadabra Doo, Big Top, Cyber Chase and Camp Scare would gravitate towards the top. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? My first involvement with the online fandom was via the now moribund velmadinkly.net and its Yahoo forum. Next came fanfiction.net (and through that I developed my 'allergy' to Shaphne fans), then ScoobyAddicts, DeviantArt and Tumblr. I've commissioned various bits of art over the years as well, mostly via DeviantArt, with one physical piece by one of the artists of Archie fame - Fernando Ruiz (commissioned via the most recent Die Kitty Die Kickstarter campaign). 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? You always want to say the next one but the current output is frankly a bit meh with mostly lackluster crossovers couple with a loss of who the members of the gang are and why they have stuck together. They never were well developed but there's no subtly or sign of care for the characters in the recent output. And the comics suck as well (IMO). So unless WB can get their act together (SCOOB sounds like a hot mess and Guess Who is an unknown quantity but has guest stars and that has rarely worked well over time) so the glory days might be behind us. Having seen the trailer I’m more optimistic about Guess Who than I was but the jury is still out. Until then I’ll go for WNSD. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? None of them as in reality they’d just mess it up with their current creative/editorial problems. WIth caveats I would probably plump for SD:MI. The caveats being without the dumpster fire that was the gang’s relationships and their characters. I would want them to avoid the romantic pairing within the gang as it is just too divisive with the sole exception of Velma/HDW. Failing that an animated version of Scooby Apocalypse. Or Abracadabra Doo, I’d love to see Madelyn back again. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? Give the franchise lock, stock and two smoking Scooby Snacks to DC or Archie or get WB out of the mix and give HB the creative freedom they need. Another thing that probably won't happen, but needs to, is higher production values and a focus on storytelling via the whole gang and their interactions. Guest stars, set-pieces and slapstick should be the means to the end of storytelling not the end in itself. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Velma, cause she’s smart, awesome and sexy. Velma as Red Sonja. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? SD:MI had the better villains by far, I suppose Professor Pericles has to be the Emperor Palpitine of Scooby villains but George Avocados had the better hair. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? There's not that many who do recur but Marcie Fleach (HDW) from SD:MI I think would fit the bill. Everyone else will say the Hex Girls I expect. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Mostly DVDs, a few figures (mostly Velma), some Scooby toys, a couple of t-shirts, a waifu pillow case of Velma, travel pass holder, a huge pile of mostly Velma centric images downloaded from the internet*, 4 Scooby related DeviantArt favourite folders, downloaded digital commissioned art and some physical art with some of the latter even framed. 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? Its prime purpose is to entertain children which it does well. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I know <redacted> and <redacted>, been next to the safe that’s used to contain <redacted> and so on but that's the curse of having signed the Official Secrets Act all those years ago. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! Woohoo! Open mic time! If I had control of the Scooby franchise: For Characters I’d set up some rules that had to be followed for all media unless there was a good reason, and ‘drama’ wouldn’t be one of them. The gang is supposed to be friends, friends since early childhood even, but recently you wouldn’t know that from how they’ve been written. There’s meant to be chemistry between them, but not the sort where your reach for fume hood and safety goggles. This would be the template for all creative work going forward. For comics
For Films… I would stop producing them for a year or so, try to get some writers from outside the current pool, writers who respect the franchise and the characters but may have fresher ideas. I’d look to bring Madelyn Dinkley as well as Crystal and Amber (from Alien Invaders) back, and I think we could have some Hex Girls fun. A mixture of darker films (a little bit Lovecraft perhaps) with more light hearted offerings. For TV As with films, give people a break. I’d go for a 50/50 split between comedy and suspense/danger. I’d pick up the focus on characters from BCSD and the multi-episode arcs and darker tone from SD:MI. *I know what you’re thinking, so stop it right now. I must say, Russ has so far had the best answer of anyone that’s done this for question 13 haha. Thanks again to Russ for participating in my little project! You’re welcome to leave Russ any comments or questions you may have in the comments section below. Here's a sneak preview of the season finale of Guess Who, premiering on Boomerang this Thursday! Not sure if it's just me, but the animation looks a bit different on this one, as does the vibe of the episode in general. I will say I'm getting sick of having the gang being related to the guest stars, as it's mentioned in another clip that Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth is Daphne's uncle. That seems like lazy writing to me.
In the DVD and Blu-Ray releases of "The Haunted Showboat," the audio does not sync up with the video, particularly in the beginning of the episode. The digital version also used to have this issue, but it was eventually fixed after numerous complaints from WB.
Thanks to Scoobyfan4ever for coming up with this fun fact! Hi! Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!
I’d like to welcome Ethan as the fan spotlight for today! Ethan is an active member of the ScoobyAddicts forum, and is also in the beginning stages of working on his very own Scooby-Doo website! Check out Ethan’s profile below: 1. What is your name? Ethan! 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? When I was in kindergarten, my great aunt was in the hospital for long periods of time and decided to record a tape of cartoons that aired on TBS' "Disaster Area" for my family. A major part of their line-up was Scooby Doo- my sister and I were thrilled! 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? The Creeper episode is one of my favorites. Not only does it have a fun song, the intro is a little darker than usual Scooby. 'Boo Brothers' is creative genius mixed with just plain fun. There are more pop culture references than I ever knew as a kid, from the title referencing a 1980 film about two brothers trying to save an orphanage, to obscure details such as the sheriff shooting above him, only to have something fall on top of him, a fun trope used just the year previous in John Carpenter's 'Big Trouble in Little China'. There's a lot going on in 'Boo Brothers', and somehow it all comes together in a really fun presentation. Just recently there was an article in Reader's Digest about how a real treasure has been hidden near New Mexico by an old man, valued at over a million dollars and maybe someday I'll find the chance to decipher the riddle and hunt for treasure as well. 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Having recently moved out to a very rural area with no internet, I haven't been very active recently. In the past though, I've been active on Scooby Facebook Groups, ScoobyAddicts, Scoobypedia, and occasionally Discord. I made a modded version of the card game 'Love Letter' with all Scooby characters and wrote the synopsis for 'Ghoul School' on Scoobypedia. I'm also working on a website called LostScooby.tk, which focuses on collecting links to old Scooby stuff. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? '70s Scooby will always be the original, but I must say I love just about everything from the late '80s. The films, the way Scrappy matured, the reflection of the '80s themselves, etc. I love it. 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? Honestly, I don't want any more sequels unless they do a part two of 'Reluctant Werewolf' and bring back Googie and Scrappy for the film. That would be neat. 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? I'd like to see new takes which are specifically not canon. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Scrappy gets a bad rep but I like seeing how he goes from annoying to helpful over time. 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? 10k Volt Ghost. He just looks and sounds badass. Definitely one of the more creative ones. 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Del is a neat guy and fit so well he came back for a second film. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? Oh gosh, I have a lot of Scooby stuff. Funkos, lunch box, huge DVD binder, Mashems, a stuffed Scooby, card games, gumballs, and more! 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I love that Scooby is a little more intelligent than your average cartoon. It's not as philosophical as say, Disney's Recess, but even Carl Sagan praised Scooby for its way of promoting critical thinking. 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? I collect miniature figures and dice. Definitely have some Scooby ones of both! 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! It's a pleasure to have done this interview. Thanks! Thanks so much to Ethan for participating in my fan spotlight project! Feel free to leave him a comment below. Today we’re spotlighting a fan named Dan, otherwise known as Wileyk209, who is an active poster on the ScoobyAddicts forum, a fanfiction writer (you can check out two of his fanfics, “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge, and The Drive-In of Doom on the fanfiction page of this site!), and a professional cosplayer!
Here’s Dan’s profile: 1. What is your name? You can call me Dan. 2. How did you get into Scooby-Doo? When I was six or seven years old I discovered Cartoon Network and fell in love with the channel; this was back in the mid-90s when they still ran many old Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Warner Bros. cartoons. Then one evening I saw the 1976 "Scooby-Doo Show" episode "A Frightened Hound Meets Demons Underground." At the time I was into classic spooky monsters and such, and I enjoyed the idea of dressing up and pretending to be them, which is just what the villains on Scooby-Doo did, but they did it for bad purposes, but it still got me into the show, along with the amusing antics of Scooby and Shaggy. 3. What is your favorite Scooby-Doo episode and film? Why? Some of my favorite episodes and films include "The Backstage Rage" (great creepy villain, and I also love puppetry) "Never Ape an Ape Man" (another fun villain, and I also love the movie set stuff and antics), "A Frightened Hound Meets Demons Underground" (again, this was the very first Scooby-Doo I ever saw), "The Chiller Diller Movie Thriller" (another fun movie set story, and also featuring Scooby-Dee), "Make a Beeline Away from That Feline" (a great creepy mystery and villain taking place in New York City), "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School" (it was fun seeing Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy helping out the daughters of famous monsters, and again the villain was awesome) "Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost" (the Hex Girls are really cool and also enjoy the New England in autumn setting) "Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire" (a fun homage to the classic shows, complete with the old surviving voice actors) and "Mask of the Blue Falcon" (another fun homage, albeit to the Hanna-Barbera universe in general.) 4. What ways are you involved in the Scooby fandom online? Besides my cosplaying as Scooby-Doo (among the other characters I often cosplay as), I've written a few fun fanfics, reviewed episodes and movies online, and I've also done a few of those "YouTube Poop" mashup videos involving Scooby in some way. 5. In your opinion, what is the best series or era of Scooby? Definitely 1969-1978, which covers "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?", "The New Scooby-Doo Movies" and "The Scooby-Doo Show" episodes. But I also enjoy "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" and "Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated." 6. If they could make a sequel to one Scooby-Doo series or film, what would it be? I would have to say "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo," revived as an animated direct-to-video movie or a fourth season to the original show. It was such a fun and comic take on the franchise, and you could really see the elements of "Tiny Toon Adventures" taking shape in its first season (due to sharing some of the same staff members.) That "Mystery Map" puppet movie was fun, but it was missing a few of the elements from the show (especially Red Herring!) 7. What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future? Hmmm, I'm not sure. Anything that doesn't use the "spooky" or "mystery" formula usually isn't good. I didn't really like the 1980-1982 episodes where it was just Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, and I also hated "Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue," both of which strayed away from the typical formula and did not feature the whole gang. And the less said about that 90s "Arabian Nights" movie, the better. 8. Who is your favorite member of the gang and why? Definitely Scooby-Doo; I love funny animal characters, and Scooby is definitely one of them. He's a funny, cartoony kind of Great Dane with an appealing design and funny voice, and can do so many things! My favorite human member of the gang is Shaggy, as he and I seem to have quite a bit in common in terms of humor, appetite and sense in dressing up (though I'm much less cowardly as Shaggy, though!) 9. What is your favorite villain? Why? That's a hard one to pick! I do have a few favorites, like the Puppet Master (again, I'm into puppetry, and he had a great creepy costume and laugh), the Ape Man (he wasn't afraid to mess with the gang, like sending a dummy of himself towards Shaggy or disguising himself as Scooby), Big Bob Oakley (how he disguised as Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, the Wolfman AND a gypsy fortune teller in the same episode!), the Cat Creature (he had a pretty sneaky plan to make it look like Daphne's aunt was changing into the creature), the Chameleon (a very hammy master of disguise with his Achilles' Heel being his strong dislike of Worcestershire sauce), Stinkweed (he used the monster he hated playing in movies to commit crimes in hopes of making the monster unpopular) and Nasty-Doo (a fun werewolf-like Scooby relative.) 10. In your opinion, who is the best recurring (non-gang) character in the franchise? Probably Sheriff Stone from "Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated." The franchise has had many sheriffs, but this one was more comical and had more of a personality, along with Patrick Warburton's distinctive voice. 11. Do you have a Scooby-Doo collection? If so, what’s in it? I don't have much of a dedicated collection, but I do have quite a bit of merchandise that I've included with my collections of certain things. My DVD/Blu-Ray library includes several pre-1990s Scooby-Doo titles (and a few of the newer ones) among the many animation DVDs and Blu-Rays I own. I also have a few of the Peter Pan Records Scooby-Doo titles in my vinyl record library, and a few different Scooby-related plushies and figures I display in my room (including Funko Pop figures of Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Dum). My library of comics and other books includes several Scooby-Doo titles, mostly assorted comics from the 70s to the present, along with that new "Scooby-Doo Encyclopedia" and a behind-the-scenes book of the 2002 movie. I also have a couple of Scooby-Doo T-shirts I enjoy wearing, and of course I also have my Scooby-Doo cosplay gear, including the Rubies deluxe adult hooded Scooby suit, their Scooby hoodie shirt, a plush Scooby maskimal, the Rubies/Mask Illusions latex Scooby mask and their Dr. Coffin and Ghost Clown latex masks (I hope to collect all the villain masks they make!) 12. What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years? I think it would have to be because there is something for everyone. Male and female leads to appeal to both genders, a comedic talking animal character, the fact that they travel around and solve spooky mysteries, along with how the villains wearing ghost and monster disguises can be used to teach small children that ghosts and monsters are only make-believe. With that said, several of the shows can have things that appeal to all ages, though some might be better-suited for older children, teens and adults, like some of the direct-to-video movies (especially the early ones) or "Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated." There's also the basic mystery formula that people seem to enjoy seeing, and may want to try and figure out the villain's true identity on their own before the reveal (I find that's gotten easier with much of the newer stuff, IMO.) 13. What is one fun fact about you in real life? As I mentioned, I love old cartoons, and I'm really into cosplay, including cartoon characters. I'm also what you'd call a "furry," but not like any of that stupid stereotypical sexual stuff you may have heard. (You can read more about how being a furry isn’t necessarily a sexual thing here: https://wile-e2005.livejournal.com/235463.html) Besides Scooby, I also enjoy cosplaying as Wile E. Coyote and Disney's Big Bad Wolf, and I am also working on a fursuit of an original toon wolf character of mine. 14. Please feel free to share anything else you’d like to here! If you want to check out my YouTube channel to get to know me a little more, it's www.youtube.com/user/wileyk209zback Thanks so much to Dan for his answers! |
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