10/5/2015
JON COLTON BARRY
JON COLTON BARRY
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! Head Writer
Jon Colton Barry is the writer for many different animated shows, such as Be Cool Scooby-Doo and Phineas & Ferb.
I want to thank Jon for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to answer all my questions. It was a lot of fun reading his responses! I also want to thank him for answering so many questions for the Scooby fans over at the other forum that I am an admin for, the ScoobyAddicts forum. It is much appreciated!
You can also follow him on Twitter.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into animation writing?
Jon Colton Barry: My old friend Dan Povenmire had seen a recent stage comedy I had written, which he liked. He had just sold “Phineas & Ferb” to Disney around that time. I was looking for work, so he offered me a writing job on the show. I had no plans to get into animation, but since I had a background in art, writing and music, “Phineas” ended up being a good fit.
ScoobySnax.com: You've worked on multiple different shows, such as Phineas and Ferb and of course Be Cool Scooby-Doo. Do you have a favorite show to write?
Jon Colton Barry: Every show, in fact, virtually every individual episode of every series, presents its own, unique creative challenges and that’s what I enjoy. I don’t have a favorite (yet).
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began work on Be Cool Scooby-Doo, were you a fan of Scooby? If so, do you have a favorite episode, movie or villain?
Jon Colton Barry: I am a fan of Scooby. It’s been on the air, in some form or another, for 45 years. I grew up watching reruns of the classic, original series the most. I've always kinda liked the first season episode "What the Hex Going On?" with the Ghost of Elias Kingston. It's a strange episode. Watching the original series as we were developing the new series made me see the odd choices the gang would make sometimes in the past. Sharon's Uncle Stuart has been suddenly turned into a decrepit, elderly man by a ghost and they decide to "watch" him overnight instead of rushing the poor guy to a hospital? Who knows how much damage is done to someone when they're magically aged 40 years? And exactly where did this guy learn such remarkable make-up skills that he could fool them even up close. I've never even seen a big Hollywood movie where "old age" make-up looks very convincing. Haha.
ScoobySnax.com: What is your process for writing an episode of Be Cool Scooby-Doo?
Jon Colton Barry: Well, in general, the process is fairly typical for a scripted animated show: come up with an idea for an episode, write an outline, then a script, etc. It takes a few weeks. This is probably the most sit-com, character-driven Scooby Doo series yet and the main five Scooby gang characters are more fleshed-out, fully formed “people” than ever. For me, personally, the “process” is getting Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby up on the page and letting them start talking to each other. That’s the fun part – just trying to get out of the way and see what they say.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite episode that you've written of Be Cool Scooby-Doo?
Jon Colton Barry: I have a few personal favorites, but I can’t really talk about them - yet ;)
ScoobySnax.com: You've redesigned the whole gang for Be Cool Scooby-Doo. Do you have a favorite character in the show?
Jon Colton Barry: I like them all for different reasons, but I think I like writing Daphne the most. She’s probably the most transformed of the main characters and getting into her eccentricities is fun.
ScoobySnax.com: What made you want to replace Mindy Cohn with Kate Micucci for the voice of Velma?
Jon Colton Barry: I didn’t have anything to do with that, so I can’t really comment on it. I’ve only worked with Kate, who's brilliant and hilarious. People are going to be floored by Velma.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show in the world, what would it be?
Jon Colton Barry: I always thought “Mystery Science Theater 3000” would have been fun to write.
ScoobySnax.com: After Be Cool Scooby-Doo is finished, do you plan to keep working on future Scooby-Doo series/movies?
Jon Colton Barry: I have no idea. Our show is really different and unique in tone and style than other Scooby projects currently going on. I really love the characters and what we’ve done with them, so I’d be pleased if our approach was embraced in the future, wider world of Scoobydom. If it was, I’d always be happy writing them.
ScoobySnax.com: Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. I am very much looking forward to the new series!!!
Jon Colton Barry: Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.
3/24/2018
Follow-Up Interview / Interview #2 with Jon Colton Barry
I want to thank Jon for taking time out of his extremely busy schedule to answer all my questions. It was a lot of fun reading his responses! I also want to thank him for answering so many questions for the Scooby fans over at the other forum that I am an admin for, the ScoobyAddicts forum. It is much appreciated!
You can also follow him on Twitter.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into animation writing?
Jon Colton Barry: My old friend Dan Povenmire had seen a recent stage comedy I had written, which he liked. He had just sold “Phineas & Ferb” to Disney around that time. I was looking for work, so he offered me a writing job on the show. I had no plans to get into animation, but since I had a background in art, writing and music, “Phineas” ended up being a good fit.
ScoobySnax.com: You've worked on multiple different shows, such as Phineas and Ferb and of course Be Cool Scooby-Doo. Do you have a favorite show to write?
Jon Colton Barry: Every show, in fact, virtually every individual episode of every series, presents its own, unique creative challenges and that’s what I enjoy. I don’t have a favorite (yet).
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began work on Be Cool Scooby-Doo, were you a fan of Scooby? If so, do you have a favorite episode, movie or villain?
Jon Colton Barry: I am a fan of Scooby. It’s been on the air, in some form or another, for 45 years. I grew up watching reruns of the classic, original series the most. I've always kinda liked the first season episode "What the Hex Going On?" with the Ghost of Elias Kingston. It's a strange episode. Watching the original series as we were developing the new series made me see the odd choices the gang would make sometimes in the past. Sharon's Uncle Stuart has been suddenly turned into a decrepit, elderly man by a ghost and they decide to "watch" him overnight instead of rushing the poor guy to a hospital? Who knows how much damage is done to someone when they're magically aged 40 years? And exactly where did this guy learn such remarkable make-up skills that he could fool them even up close. I've never even seen a big Hollywood movie where "old age" make-up looks very convincing. Haha.
ScoobySnax.com: What is your process for writing an episode of Be Cool Scooby-Doo?
Jon Colton Barry: Well, in general, the process is fairly typical for a scripted animated show: come up with an idea for an episode, write an outline, then a script, etc. It takes a few weeks. This is probably the most sit-com, character-driven Scooby Doo series yet and the main five Scooby gang characters are more fleshed-out, fully formed “people” than ever. For me, personally, the “process” is getting Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby up on the page and letting them start talking to each other. That’s the fun part – just trying to get out of the way and see what they say.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite episode that you've written of Be Cool Scooby-Doo?
Jon Colton Barry: I have a few personal favorites, but I can’t really talk about them - yet ;)
ScoobySnax.com: You've redesigned the whole gang for Be Cool Scooby-Doo. Do you have a favorite character in the show?
Jon Colton Barry: I like them all for different reasons, but I think I like writing Daphne the most. She’s probably the most transformed of the main characters and getting into her eccentricities is fun.
ScoobySnax.com: What made you want to replace Mindy Cohn with Kate Micucci for the voice of Velma?
Jon Colton Barry: I didn’t have anything to do with that, so I can’t really comment on it. I’ve only worked with Kate, who's brilliant and hilarious. People are going to be floored by Velma.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show in the world, what would it be?
Jon Colton Barry: I always thought “Mystery Science Theater 3000” would have been fun to write.
ScoobySnax.com: After Be Cool Scooby-Doo is finished, do you plan to keep working on future Scooby-Doo series/movies?
Jon Colton Barry: I have no idea. Our show is really different and unique in tone and style than other Scooby projects currently going on. I really love the characters and what we’ve done with them, so I’d be pleased if our approach was embraced in the future, wider world of Scoobydom. If it was, I’d always be happy writing them.
ScoobySnax.com: Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. I am very much looking forward to the new series!!!
Jon Colton Barry: Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.
3/24/2018
Follow-Up Interview / Interview #2 with Jon Colton Barry
My original interview with Jon Colton Barry was posted on October 5, 2015, the day Be Cool, Scooby-Doo premiered. On the week Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! aired its final episode, Jon and I re-did the same interview to see how his answers changed now after having completed the series.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite episode, from a writing perspective?
Jon Colton Barry: Having completed the series now, I have a few favorites for different reasons. I really like “Party Like It’s 1899” as it was the second episode I wrote and having already done the work of establishing the new take on the characters and tone, I was able to stretch out and explore the characters even more. I loved the idea of the gang having to solve a pretend mystery and deal with the costumed roles they were forced to play. It was just a lot of fun and by the end of writing it; I really felt I knew who these people were.
I also love “The People vs. Fred Jones.” I had wanted to do an episode like that for a while, but we kept getting push back from WB because they were concerned it would just be people talking in a courtroom. I knew that I would just be using the courtroom as a framing device and that the basic structure of the episode would be like any other in actual practice, which it was. That said, the courtroom stuff turned out to be my favorite because I feel like we found some fresh, funny courtroom jokes I’d never seen before (that were still rooted in character), which was rewarding.
“Some Fred Time” is another favorite. Again, any episode that allowed me to explore the characters in new, unusual ways were always fun. The BCSD gang was built to be more dimensional and interact in interesting ways – so episodes that took advantage of that were always fun to write.
Some other favorites are “El Bandito,” “How To Train Your Coward,” and “Ghost In The Mystery Machine.”
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite character in Be Cool, Scooby-Doo?
Jon Colton Barry: I remember my answer was Daphne to this originally, and I always loved writing her, but as the series progressed, I really started to enjoy writing Fred more. I mean, it’s amazing that the two characters that had the least personality for most of Scooby history turned out to be the most interesting and funny in BCSD (to me, at least). Fred just evolved in a really organic, fun way and I found myself centering him in stories more and more as we went along. He was full of contradictions and had a lot going on inside his head. He also had the most extremes to his personality, where he could be really full of silly, child-like wonder in “Fright of Hand” to emotionally torn to pieces in “Ghost In the Mystery Machine.” There was always so much to do with Fred and so many sides to explore.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show in the world, what would it be? (You answered "Mystery Science Theater" originally, though I'm curious if that's changed since your experience with BCSD!)
Jon Colton Barry: MST3K would still be great fun to write, but since then I’ve been developing some live action, more dramatic television shows with elements of science fiction and fantasy – which is just another huge love of mine having been part of the generation that grew up with “Star Wars” and Indiana Jones (as well as being a huge John Carpenter and Joss Whedon fan). It’s a great age for TV right now and I would love to write for a show like “Sherlock” or “Dr. Who.” The possibility to really get into character and story and strange ideas is very appealing. Then, afterwards, I’d immediately make fun of my own shows by writing MST3K episodes mocking them.
ScoobySnax.com: What has been your favorite part of working on BCSD?
Jon Colton Barry: It really remains creating and then working with this version of the gang. They became like family to me. Also, of course, working with Zac Moncrief is always pure pleasure, as well as others on the crew, like the original line producer, Wade Wisinski, who I became dear friends with. I learned so much making that show and it’s really helped me on all the new projects on which I’m currently working.
On that note, I’d like to make special mention of our supervising producer, Michael Jelenic. I understand that the show, “Teen Titans Go,” he created with Aaron Horvath, is as divisive as it is successful (and, honestly, they relish the show’s polarizing effect and often impishly antagonize the naysayers by leaning into the very things for which the show is most criticized). Many of those who don’t care for TTG didn’t give BCSD a chance because, based on the new designs and Michael’s name being attached, assumed BCSD shared a similar tone and attitude with TTG – which it doesn’t. The truth is, while I’ve expressed frustration with the way WB handled BCSD, Michael Jelenic is an amazingly smart, versatile and talented writer, story editor and producer with a seemingly endless understanding of the entire creative process involved in making a show. While he and I did not always see eye to eye on everything, he truly understood and appreciated what Zac and I were attempting to do with the series and used his position to fight for our vision with what power and influence he had. Michael had my back more times than I can count and I learned so much about the nuts and bolts of being in charge of a show from him. I will always be a very different writer and story editor than Michael Jelenic, but I will never be a better one. Thanks, Michael.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite villain of the series?
Jon Colton Barry: Professor Huh? was conceived VERY early in the development of the show. I knew he was Fred’s father before I even wrote the first episode. I loved the idea of a bad guy who committed inexplicable crimes. Also, although it’s just a gag, I loved the idea of “The Headless Minotaur.” It just makes me laugh.
ScoobySnax.com: Did you have any ideas for an episode that you would have liked to have done, if the series had continued?
Jon Colton Barry: WB actually let me get away with murder. They got and supported the character changes and comic tone of the show and I really appreciated that. We did some STRANGE things and rarely got pushback for being more sophisticated or writing gags that were clearly not aimed at 6 year olds. We started to stretch out and experiment more in second season and I would have liked to have done more episodes like “Scroogey Doo” where we insert the BCSD gang into classic horror/mystery literature and then destroy it. “Dracula,” “Frankenstein,” Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” etc. – making those monsters turn out to be guys in masks and ruining these classic books seemed like a lot of fun.
I also felt Velma became under-serviced as a character and I would have loved to had a chance to find more stories that would have allowed us to explore her. Working with Kate Micucci was ALWAYS a pleasure and she did an amazing job stepping into the role and making it her own.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could pick one joke from the entire series as the best one, what would you pick?
Jon Colton Barry: Hmmm. I mentioned “The Headless Minotaur,” which just amuses me. That’s a tough one. BCSD was a very gag-heavy show and there were so many moments and lines I was pleased with. For a character stuck with only four words per line, I think Scooby had a lot of great dialogue moments. I also liked Daphne recounting how she wasn’t allowed to be a girl scout because, due to her mother’s influence, she grew up believing, “Nature is just a giant bathroom that wants to eat you.”
ScoobySnax.com: You've mentioned before that a lot of the characters are somewhat like your own personality. Can you elaborate on this a bit? Did you write the characters with that in mind?
Jon Colton Barry: Well, yeah, I guess I just mentioned Daphne’s line about “nature,” That’s pretty much how I view it, myself, so I relate. Daphne, more than any other character, really voiced my own point of view about the world, including the horrible, cruel manipulation of bribing your friends to endanger themselves with Scooby Snacks. Throughout the series, all the characters voice certain opinions and make commentary about what’s going on that are very much my own opinions on things. I hope the characters were created and evolved in such a way that everyone can relate to certain aspects of all of them and how they view the world or specific situations – though it was all filtered through my sensibility.
On a more fundamental level, though, when it comes to my work, I’m a control freak, like Fred. When it comes to my personal life, basic nature and inner life, I’m more silly, eccentric and creative like Daphne. When it comes to social situations, I’m more misanthropic and socially awkward, like Velma (I can also be a bit cerebral). When it comes to goals or desire, I’m often very Id-driven and focused, like Shaggy. When it comes to interactions with friends, I probably poke fun, make one-liners and sardonic comments like Scooby. I also walk around naked on all fours wearing a collar.
6/8/2018
TOM KONKLE
TOM KONKLE
Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! Writer
Tom Konkle wrote several Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! episodes along with Jon Colton Barry, which include "Area 51 Adjacent" from the first season, as well as "Mysteries on the Disorient Express," "Scroogey Doo" and "Doo Not Disturb" from season 2. I personally thought all of these episodes, particularly "Doo Not Disturb" (which is my favorite of the show), were brilliantly written and Tom did a terrific job with all the episodes he wrote.
In addition to being a writer, Tom also was a voice actor for one episode of the series, in "Giant Problems." He voiced both the Leprechaun and the Irish Guy in that episode.
Throughout the interview, I ask Tom about his experience writing for Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! and how he became the talented writer and director he is today.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into writing?
Tom Konkle: I always enjoyed writing even as a kid. Sometimes I had such an elaborate imagination, the teacher would admonish me saying “Hey, remember your audience...” and lower the grade. This meaning remember you’re trying to write for fifth graders and it’s going over their head but I think she meant it was going over HER head. LOL
I did a lot of scriptwriting starting in college because I wanted to learn to create the blueprint for some of the short films and sketch comedy I wanted to do then. I enjoyed getting someone else’s script and learning what made their writing work. Seeing successful and unsuccessful writing is the best teacher in that you learn first hand what is done to make the characters work, dialogue, formatting the script and story structure.
I started getting paid to write in the early 90s and I think sometimes I wrote a lot to protect things I knew I’d be performing too. I would write material that I would perform particularly when I was doing sketch comedy much like John Cleese is said to do I found out later I was doing that like the Pythons. I would write my own material and perform it to protect how that it got executed. In that way I had a vision writing it I could execute. Also, like many film directors who also write like Christopher Nolan, I think in a very cinematic style as I am creating a script. I respect the written word and the structure as this is the blueprint for the work. I really applied this provider in my film noir feature Trouble Is My Business.
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began writing Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, were you a fan of Scooby-Doo?
Tom Konkle: I remember watching some of the episodes as a kid it must’ve been towards the tail end of the original series into whatever ‘70s interaction was running and I enjoyed a lot of them.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get involved with writing Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!?
Tom Konkle: My dear friend Jon Colton Barry was a fan of both my writing and performing particularly my sketch work, but he knew I also valued story structure and I knew what it was like to do voice acting for cartoons. Animation is dialogue driven with “anything you can draw” visuals so he invited me to start collaborating on season one and season two of Be Cool Scooby Doo. We really wanted to create a writers room together where we could cross pollinate ideas and make each other laugh and be inspired.
ScoobySnax.com: What is your process for writing an episode of Be Cool Scooby-Doo!?
Tom Konkle: First, I start with a bunch of big ideas for the overall arc of the episode story. We would talk about how the characters needed to act to be consistent, and what character development was needing to happen. There was always “breaking the story," which is basically being able to pitch it clearly enough that you get the go ahead to write a draft of it.
So coming up with the story beats and then secondary “B” stories underneath it and character development was first. I really work with dialogue and basically play all the characters in my head, or out loud if I get giggling and smiling, or liking where it’s going, and getting excited to perform the script out loud to see how it flows so I can see it in my head. I was always about writing from one big, hopefully intriguing or fun, idea and working backwards from that.
ScoobySnax.com: You've written several episodes of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, including "Area 51 Adjacent," "Mysteries on the Disorient Express," "Scroogey Doo" and "Doo Not Disturb." Which one of those was your favorite episode to write, and why?
Tom Konkle: I think it’s a tie between Area 51, Adjacent and Mysteries On The Disorient Express. For very different reasons I think they’re both interesting high concepts but had the most fun coming up with character stuff in Area 51, Adjacent and I think I had the most fun coming up with topping ideas conceptually in Murder on the Disorient Express I also like the execution of them both.
ScoobySnax.com: From a writing perspective, do you have a favorite character to write for?
Tom Konkle: Definitely, Fred was a favorite because he was often the fool for the absurd. But Daphne had the widest arc of character possibility and had agency in the plots of the episodes. I also loved writing the villains.
ScoobySnax.com: Was it challenging to write for such an iconic show like Scooby-Doo, that's been loved by many generations of fans?
Tom Konkle: It was a challenge to honor it as it need be, while pushing it to be different but...just different enough that we don’t aggravate original fans of the series by doing something so out of canon that it takes them out of the episode. We wanted to reinvent and respect. That was the real challenge in that we made the show we wanted to see, with a lot of people looking over our shoulders.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Tom Konkle: Current shows? Archer.
Movies? I have a lot of ideas for science fiction, adventure and film noir movies. I just wrote and directed a movie out now that is a 1940s film noir called Trouble Is My Business.
ScoobySnax.com: You were both a writer and a voice actor in Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!. Did you enjoy writing or voice acting more, and why?
Tom Konkle: It’s different parts of the brain. I love writing. I do act out my scripts as I’m writing to get dialogue right but writing is solitary and not about performance. I love voice acting. I’ve been a voice actor for 25 years. I love executing characters, creating voices and the idea of entertaining an audience with my voice work too.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding part of writing for Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!?
Tom Konkle: Laughing in the room with Jon, then seeing the episode come together and enjoying all the parts from animation, music, performance and the director working to get us back to what we loved in the script, and improve upon it as well.
ScoobySnax.com: Now that Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! has ended, what project(s) are you working on now?
Tom Konkle: I just released a feature film I star in and directed called Trouble Is My Business, which is available on Blu-ray, DVD and streaming worldwide. http://www.troubleismy.biz
ScoobySnax.com: Thanks so much again for taking the time to do this!
Tom Konkle: Thank you!
You can follow along with Tom's writing adventures on Twitter. You can also check out Tom's movie production company, Lumen Actus, at http://www.lumenactus.com!
In addition to being a writer, Tom also was a voice actor for one episode of the series, in "Giant Problems." He voiced both the Leprechaun and the Irish Guy in that episode.
Throughout the interview, I ask Tom about his experience writing for Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! and how he became the talented writer and director he is today.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into writing?
Tom Konkle: I always enjoyed writing even as a kid. Sometimes I had such an elaborate imagination, the teacher would admonish me saying “Hey, remember your audience...” and lower the grade. This meaning remember you’re trying to write for fifth graders and it’s going over their head but I think she meant it was going over HER head. LOL
I did a lot of scriptwriting starting in college because I wanted to learn to create the blueprint for some of the short films and sketch comedy I wanted to do then. I enjoyed getting someone else’s script and learning what made their writing work. Seeing successful and unsuccessful writing is the best teacher in that you learn first hand what is done to make the characters work, dialogue, formatting the script and story structure.
I started getting paid to write in the early 90s and I think sometimes I wrote a lot to protect things I knew I’d be performing too. I would write material that I would perform particularly when I was doing sketch comedy much like John Cleese is said to do I found out later I was doing that like the Pythons. I would write my own material and perform it to protect how that it got executed. In that way I had a vision writing it I could execute. Also, like many film directors who also write like Christopher Nolan, I think in a very cinematic style as I am creating a script. I respect the written word and the structure as this is the blueprint for the work. I really applied this provider in my film noir feature Trouble Is My Business.
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began writing Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, were you a fan of Scooby-Doo?
Tom Konkle: I remember watching some of the episodes as a kid it must’ve been towards the tail end of the original series into whatever ‘70s interaction was running and I enjoyed a lot of them.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get involved with writing Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!?
Tom Konkle: My dear friend Jon Colton Barry was a fan of both my writing and performing particularly my sketch work, but he knew I also valued story structure and I knew what it was like to do voice acting for cartoons. Animation is dialogue driven with “anything you can draw” visuals so he invited me to start collaborating on season one and season two of Be Cool Scooby Doo. We really wanted to create a writers room together where we could cross pollinate ideas and make each other laugh and be inspired.
ScoobySnax.com: What is your process for writing an episode of Be Cool Scooby-Doo!?
Tom Konkle: First, I start with a bunch of big ideas for the overall arc of the episode story. We would talk about how the characters needed to act to be consistent, and what character development was needing to happen. There was always “breaking the story," which is basically being able to pitch it clearly enough that you get the go ahead to write a draft of it.
So coming up with the story beats and then secondary “B” stories underneath it and character development was first. I really work with dialogue and basically play all the characters in my head, or out loud if I get giggling and smiling, or liking where it’s going, and getting excited to perform the script out loud to see how it flows so I can see it in my head. I was always about writing from one big, hopefully intriguing or fun, idea and working backwards from that.
ScoobySnax.com: You've written several episodes of Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!, including "Area 51 Adjacent," "Mysteries on the Disorient Express," "Scroogey Doo" and "Doo Not Disturb." Which one of those was your favorite episode to write, and why?
Tom Konkle: I think it’s a tie between Area 51, Adjacent and Mysteries On The Disorient Express. For very different reasons I think they’re both interesting high concepts but had the most fun coming up with character stuff in Area 51, Adjacent and I think I had the most fun coming up with topping ideas conceptually in Murder on the Disorient Express I also like the execution of them both.
ScoobySnax.com: From a writing perspective, do you have a favorite character to write for?
Tom Konkle: Definitely, Fred was a favorite because he was often the fool for the absurd. But Daphne had the widest arc of character possibility and had agency in the plots of the episodes. I also loved writing the villains.
ScoobySnax.com: Was it challenging to write for such an iconic show like Scooby-Doo, that's been loved by many generations of fans?
Tom Konkle: It was a challenge to honor it as it need be, while pushing it to be different but...just different enough that we don’t aggravate original fans of the series by doing something so out of canon that it takes them out of the episode. We wanted to reinvent and respect. That was the real challenge in that we made the show we wanted to see, with a lot of people looking over our shoulders.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Tom Konkle: Current shows? Archer.
Movies? I have a lot of ideas for science fiction, adventure and film noir movies. I just wrote and directed a movie out now that is a 1940s film noir called Trouble Is My Business.
ScoobySnax.com: You were both a writer and a voice actor in Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!. Did you enjoy writing or voice acting more, and why?
Tom Konkle: It’s different parts of the brain. I love writing. I do act out my scripts as I’m writing to get dialogue right but writing is solitary and not about performance. I love voice acting. I’ve been a voice actor for 25 years. I love executing characters, creating voices and the idea of entertaining an audience with my voice work too.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding part of writing for Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!?
Tom Konkle: Laughing in the room with Jon, then seeing the episode come together and enjoying all the parts from animation, music, performance and the director working to get us back to what we loved in the script, and improve upon it as well.
ScoobySnax.com: Now that Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! has ended, what project(s) are you working on now?
Tom Konkle: I just released a feature film I star in and directed called Trouble Is My Business, which is available on Blu-ray, DVD and streaming worldwide. http://www.troubleismy.biz
ScoobySnax.com: Thanks so much again for taking the time to do this!
Tom Konkle: Thank you!
You can follow along with Tom's writing adventures on Twitter. You can also check out Tom's movie production company, Lumen Actus, at http://www.lumenactus.com!
9/6/2019
VICTOR COOK
VICTOR COOK
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Director and Producer
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into directing?
Victor Cook: I started my animation career as an In-betweener & Assistant Animator on Filmation's BraveStarr. My first Storyboard jobs at Disney TV Animation was for Tail Spin, Darkwing Duck and Gargoyles. Those storyboard gigs got me promoted to Producer/Director on Disney TV's 101 Dalmatians the series, which led to a run directing many Disney TV shows such as BuzzLightyear of Star Command, Lilo and Stitch the series and Mickey Mouse ClubHouse. After that, I was hired by Sony as Supervising Producer/Director of The Spectacular Spider-Man and then Warner Brothers on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated as Supervising Director and Producer.
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began directing Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, were you a fan of Scooby-Doo? If so, do you have a favorite episode, movie or villain?
Victor Cook: I was a fan and watched the original series when I was a kid.
ScoobySnax.com: Can you describe the process for directing an episode of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated from start to finish?
Victor Cook: I read the script, and discuss with the Supervising Producer and the head writer to discuss the approach per the episode. Then I start visualizing the shots in thumbnails, and meet with the storyboard artist and designers and launch them on how I want them to creatively proceed with the episode. I sketch notes on the storyboards to steer them cinematically. I review designs and color with the Art Director. I go the voice recordings and note any lines I feel need to be plussed. Send the storyboards and designs to the animators. Travel to Korea to work with animators. Edit and call retakes when animation is done. Work with sound effects designer and music composer and oversee the audio mix to get the right sound. Deliver the episode to Network to be broadcast.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most difficult part of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Victor Cook: Nothing about it was difficult. It was one of the smoothest sailing jobs I've had in animation. Everyone on the crew and at WB was a joy to work with.
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve worked on a few other Scooby projects as well. Do you plan to continue working on Scooby-Doo related things in the future?
Victor Cook: I wouldn't rule it out, maybe someday.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about your work on SD:MI?
Victor Cook: A lot of fans say it was the best Scooby TV series.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Victor Cook: I would like to make a show I created.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite show or project that you’ve worked on?
Victor Cook: They've all been fun.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding thing of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Victor Cook: Working with and becoming friends with such a fantastic cast and crew.
ScoobySnax.com: What project(s) are you working on now?
Victor Cook: I am Executive Producer of Disney Junior's TOTS, which just premiered on Disney Channel. On NETFLIX, I have another show called Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, which I worked on as Exec Producer and Supervising Director.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of directing?
Victor Cook: Study film making! Watch a lot of movies, new and old.
Victor Cook: I started my animation career as an In-betweener & Assistant Animator on Filmation's BraveStarr. My first Storyboard jobs at Disney TV Animation was for Tail Spin, Darkwing Duck and Gargoyles. Those storyboard gigs got me promoted to Producer/Director on Disney TV's 101 Dalmatians the series, which led to a run directing many Disney TV shows such as BuzzLightyear of Star Command, Lilo and Stitch the series and Mickey Mouse ClubHouse. After that, I was hired by Sony as Supervising Producer/Director of The Spectacular Spider-Man and then Warner Brothers on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated as Supervising Director and Producer.
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began directing Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, were you a fan of Scooby-Doo? If so, do you have a favorite episode, movie or villain?
Victor Cook: I was a fan and watched the original series when I was a kid.
ScoobySnax.com: Can you describe the process for directing an episode of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated from start to finish?
Victor Cook: I read the script, and discuss with the Supervising Producer and the head writer to discuss the approach per the episode. Then I start visualizing the shots in thumbnails, and meet with the storyboard artist and designers and launch them on how I want them to creatively proceed with the episode. I sketch notes on the storyboards to steer them cinematically. I review designs and color with the Art Director. I go the voice recordings and note any lines I feel need to be plussed. Send the storyboards and designs to the animators. Travel to Korea to work with animators. Edit and call retakes when animation is done. Work with sound effects designer and music composer and oversee the audio mix to get the right sound. Deliver the episode to Network to be broadcast.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most difficult part of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Victor Cook: Nothing about it was difficult. It was one of the smoothest sailing jobs I've had in animation. Everyone on the crew and at WB was a joy to work with.
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve worked on a few other Scooby projects as well. Do you plan to continue working on Scooby-Doo related things in the future?
Victor Cook: I wouldn't rule it out, maybe someday.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about your work on SD:MI?
Victor Cook: A lot of fans say it was the best Scooby TV series.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Victor Cook: I would like to make a show I created.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite show or project that you’ve worked on?
Victor Cook: They've all been fun.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding thing of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Victor Cook: Working with and becoming friends with such a fantastic cast and crew.
ScoobySnax.com: What project(s) are you working on now?
Victor Cook: I am Executive Producer of Disney Junior's TOTS, which just premiered on Disney Channel. On NETFLIX, I have another show called Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters, which I worked on as Exec Producer and Supervising Director.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of directing?
Victor Cook: Study film making! Watch a lot of movies, new and old.
10/20/2019
JORDAN FARRELL
JORDAN FARRELL
Writer, Director and Animator of Scooby-Doo! The Backstage Rage Fan Film
ScoobySnax.com: How did you originally get into Scooby-Doo?
Jordan Farrell: When I spent a good majority of my childhood in the UK, which I find funny because that's one of two countries to my knowledge, where Scooby-Doo happens to be VERY popular, my family didn't go to the movies a lot, so we had a lot of VHS tapes of old movies, mostly from the 80s and 90s, and I remember one tape being something Scooby-Doo, “Where are You?” to be exact, so much like mostly everyone, my first exposure to the franchise was the show that started it all, after that i got hooked and still am to this day.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into animation and script writing?
Jordan Farrell: Well, for my whole life, I've been obsessed with movies and shows, and I remember watching films like “Gremlins”, “The Dark Crystal”, and “Forrest Gump”, and I realized that I wanted to make movies or write stories. When it comes to animation, I'm very fond of 2D animation, anime, and stop-motion animation. The one animated film that got me wanting to make animation my career was “Castle in the Sky” by Studio Ghibli and the master himself, Hayao Miyazaki. That also helped me form my own personal values of storytelling and animation.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite episode and film of Scooby? Why are those your favorites?
Jordan Farrell: It solely depends on the era, obviously my #1 favorite Scooby film is “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island”, it’s dark, memorable, the characters are expanded upon very well, great villains, amazing and memorable soundtrack, the animation by Mook is breathtaking and I am surprised that film never got a theatrical release at its time. I also have other favorites such as “Witch’s Ghost”, “Alien Invaders”, “Moon Monster Madness”, “Samurai Sword”, “Abracadabra-Doo”, and “Camp Scare”, and I have the same reasons for those like I have with “Zombie Island”, another thing is that those films done something bold, new, unique, refreshing and game-changing for the franchise in my opinion, those are the type of Scooby films that always attract me the most.
As for a favorite episode, for “Where are You?” it’s “Scooby-Doo and A Mummy Too”, that episode scared me the most, especially the white dots on the mummy’s eyes and the way the mummy ran, I was also in a phase where I was into “The Mummy” trilogy starring Brenden Frasher, I would also love the do a modern adaptation of that episode one day. Other favorites from other shows, “What’s New”, “Toy Scary Boo”, I enjoy the whole size doesn't matter element and evil dolls/toys have always been a particular aspect of horror that I enjoy and I will say that episode kinda influenced my film in some shape or form.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the process behind writing this film?
Jordan Farrell: It was around the time when I finished my 2nd live action short, that I wanted to make another film and after many failed attempts, I had gotten my Adobe programs at the time, and a tablet and one day, I put on Scooby-Doo for some kids I was babysitting and then the idea hit. I immediately started writing the film back in early March 2018 and finished the script in May 2018. During that period, I had already cast my Scooby gang and announced the film on Facebook in April 2018 and launched a page that same day. I sketched, inked, colored, and animated and did the mouth movement all by myself all on Adobe Photoshop. My friends, Johnathon Romero, Sandra Sands, and Thomas Byrd who voiced Fred, Velma, and Mr. Pietro were also producers on the film as well. When it came to casting my very special cameos, I just simply messaged ToonGrin, Dr. Wolfula, and That Long-Haired Creepy Guy if they wanted to provide a cameo for the film and they said yes. When it came to voice acting, it started around July 2018, two months after animation production had begun. We started with the voice of Scooby, Jacob Gomez and he was a lot of fun to work with, Harrison Garcia was my first choice as Shaggy and immediately got the part and he was excellent to work with. The rest took around a few months to a year to get voice work done. I worked on this whole movie on a laptop on a kitchen table. Otherwise, it was a fun and unique learning experience.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite character to write for? Why?
Jordan Farrell: Well, for main characters/established characters, Shaggy has always been my favorite character in the entire franchise, so when it came to approaching this film as a Shaggy-centered film, I did not hesitate to flesh him out as much as I could, I wanted to make this somewhat of a character study for shaggy and also exploring a lot of his past and exploring what caused his major anxiety, and that’s where I made the choice to give the villain a more deeper connection to Shaggy’s past. As for minor characters to write for, I quite enjoyed writing Fred and The Ghost Girl, one was giving something new for Fred and found it refreshing to make him the comedic relief this time around, The Ghost Girl was a new original character I created for this film and I loved the way I approached it which I think helps give this film a more deeper and artistic experience.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Jordan Farrell: That could apply to any show/movie I'm into at the moment, but I would love to show run my own official line-up of Scooby films and a show also. Anything from Cartoon Network also. I would love to make a movie on Gremlins, The Mummy, or Karate Kid.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite villain and why?
Jordan Farrell: The Black Samurai from “Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword”, he’s got an excellent detailed backstory for a Scooby villain, the fact that this guy used to be a noble and heroic person is what stood out to me the most, and that his very own apprentice betrayed him and caused something into the sword he created and transformed him into a dark and sinister force of evil, and his design is so cool and unique and the way the film ends his character was both satisfying and bold at the same time for me, I also love the film’s unique mythology at the same time.
ScoobySnax.com: In your opinion, what is the best series (or era) of Scooby-Doo?
Jordan Farrell: Well, I could easily say the original “Where are You?” series, but personally I would say “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated”, it has a cool ongoing storyline, excellent character development, a much darker tone, and the animation is amazing and great music as well, it feels as if everything the franchise has built up to, and the series helped reinvigorate the franchise more and more of my casual friends who weren't into Scooby-Doo tell me that they love the show, and my film does borrow heavily from that aspect.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite part of the movie to write?
Jordan Farrell: Besides Shaggy’s character arc, I think I liked that I was retelling an old Scooby story and doing my own reboot continuity at the same time, the fact that I call my Scooby gang, “The Mystery Five”, which is a reference to what the show was originally going to be called, and the fact that I have it take place at a time where they have only been solving mysteries for half a year at this point. I liked putting my own vibe and tone for it and giving the characters new aspects of their personality. My favorite aspect of writing the film was combining all the 50 years of the franchise and meshing it into a new timeline that I created. I like to call it either the “Grim” timeline or the “Mystery Five” timeline, or the “New Coolsville” timeline.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most difficult part of making the movie?
Jordan Farrell: Mainly the time/scheduling issues when trying to get actors to come over/send their lines in, it took us around 8 months to get all of Daphne’s lines, also, I went through 2 laptops, one I had to get rid of, and the 2nd I currently have. Also, there was a lot of figuring out certain aspects of the film that worked and wind up not working. But other than that, it was a long but rewarding process.
ScoobySnax.com: At the beginning of the film, it says that the film is inspired by the works of John Carpenter. For those not familiar with him, how was this film inspired by his work?
Jordan Farrell: Well, John Carpenter is a well known filmmaker in the horror community and film buffs alike, he’s known as the creator of the Halloween franchise, The Thing, Escape from New York, The Fog, etc. We mainly used elements from the first Halloween film and The Fog, mostly in tone and atmosphere, in the nightmare sequence with Shaggy, he looks out his window to see The Puppet Phantom hiding in between sheets hung outside, staring and Shaggy, he then turns back to the window only to see him gone. The shot is a direct nod to the scene where Jamie Lee-Curtis does the same thing and looks out the window to see Michael Myers. Another shot is where a fog grows near the end of the film and every time something sinister happens in the film, the colors everywhere would change to a very trippy aspect, that is a nod to the sinister scenes in The Fog. Another reference to Halloween is that the villain’s presence is there but you don't fully see what he looks like until the 2nd half of the film.
ScoobySnax.com: Though it was a very horror-focused film, your movie had a lot of comedy as well. What was your favorite joke in the film?
Jordan Farrell: I liked writing jokes for Shaggy’s dad, I think it helps flesh out Shaggy’s life outside of mystery solving, and I also liked writing for Fred, it was nice to portray him as the bumbling egotistical leader, especially my first trash can joke as well, I also took inspiration from Stifler and his mom from the film American Pie too basically portray Shaggy’s mom as the major laidback and bubbly woman who Fred had the hots for and loves to rub it into Shaggy's face. I especially enjoyed writing Shaggy’s dynamic with Fred as well, as I've always assumed that they have a longer history before they met Daphne and Velma.
ScoobySnax.com: Besides John Carpenter, were there other specific inspirations that made this film have such a horror movie-like tone?
Jordan Farrell: I looked at a lot of horror movies, mainly ones that took place in the 80s, “Dead Silence” for how the puppets were designed, “Dolls”, and “Puppet Master” for how the puppets behaved, “A Nightmare on Elm St” and “It” for our version of The Puppet Phantom, we looked at more Stephen King works, can't remember which, anything with a kids on bikes approach to it and a small town. The goal was to make this feel like a horror film from the 80s. We also looked at a lot of anime for the more comedic and dramatic moments for characters such as “Clannad” and “Another”.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your inspiration behind making the Hex Girls such prominent characters in the film?
Jordan Farrell: Well, they are one of my favorite characters from the franchise, and I always remember getting excited whenever they were announced to appear in new Scooby material and the fact that they haven't appeared in anything Scooby-Doo related since “Mystery Incorporated”, and last time I recalled, they were supposed to appear in an episode of “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo”, but don't know what happened. Also the fact that I was turning a 22 minute classic episode into a full length feature film, so that gave me the opportunity to add more characters, and when it came to The Hex Girls, I always liked that they were chill with Shaggy and Scooby a lot, and so when I decided to make them childhood friends, I knew I had something. I looked at a lot of anime and the one cliche that anime has is the childhood friends trope. Thorn I wanted to explore the most especially since she’s the leader and I do have plans in case we get to make a special that focuses on Dusk and Luna. And since I added them in my film, I wanted them to have as much screen time as possible to make it count.
ScoobySnax.com: What made you redesign Thorn's outfit?
Jordan Farrell: Well, since “Mystery Incorporated” took some creative liberties with The Hex Girls' outfits, I figured why not do that with my versions, I always like redesigning characters in my style while also never abandoning their core aspect. This version of Thorn also has a much different personality than the original does, a goth girl with a cutesy voice, and I wanted the design to reflect that, so I looked at a lot of punk rock and pop music singers from the 80s and borrowed a bit of Madonna’s hairstyle and boosted it up in an over the top anime look, the two hair strings that come out of her head is influenced by the character Nagisa from the series “Clannad”.
ScoobySnax.com: Why did you decide to make Shaggy and Thorn a couple in the film? Did you previously ship the pairing, or was there some creative thinking behind the inclusion of this pairing?
Jordan Farrell: Well, in my idea for the show, I made the whole Thorn crushing on Shaggy a running gag and I like to imagine this film taking place after the supposed first season, as for them as a couple, they never are officially a couple in my film even by the end, there’s hints of that, but I chose to leave it open for interpretation until we make more Shaggy-centered stories, we do have plans to add Googie, Crystal, and Madelyn in the future in OVA specials to play off an Archie-esque vibe with Shaggy’s arc in my timeline. So, at the moment, they are back as close friends and we’ll see where it goes from there, I never shipped them before, but when it came to creating this new version of Thorn, I thought it was interesting to explore for my universe, I mean the OG Thorn from “Witch’s Ghost”, “Legend of the Vampire”, “Mystery Incorporated”, would never date Shaggy, they are so completely opposite, but this film’s version of Thorn, probably depending on where we go with this saga. There was a lot of creative thinking of making these new versions of the characters as far back as 2015 when I first came up with the idea of doing my own reboot of Scooby-Doo.
ScoobySnax.com: In one particular scene of the film, a police officer stares at Flim Flam for selling his Lotsa Luck Joy Juice. Is this an implication that Flim Flam's product is some sort of illegal substance?
Jordan Farrell: Nah, we all know that Flim Flam is a con artist and I would say that this version of the character likes to buy/steal a 7-up soda, take the labels off and re-sells them as his own, he’s the troublemaking kid who doesn't get arrested but the cops calls his parents on him, so I like to think that he has a recurring history with them like “here’s that brat that’s selling stuff he doesn't own the rights to”.
ScoobySnax.com: What made you choose "The Backstage Rage" as your inspiration for making this film?
Jordan Farrell: When it came to picking something to do a remake of, because I've never seen Scooby-Doo retell a story from the past into modern day, so I decided to make my film an adaptation of it, so I had a hard time deciding on what to adapt and then the episode popped on the tv when I had Scooby-Doo on and then the idea hit, the villain and tone was still creepy to this day, there was also this untouched potential it had for a film and I had so many ideas popping in my head, and I knew I had my source of inspiration.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your creative process behind diving deeper into the Puppet Phantom's backstory? In other words, what made you decide to expand upon the original character?
Jordan Farrell: Well, since this was a feature film that expands on the story of a 20 minute episode, I noticed that The Puppet Phantom didn't have a backstory, like, at all, so I took the opportunity to give him a deep and detailed backstory and especially when I made the choice to [SPOILER ALERT] make the monsters real, and I mean REAL where people do die, I took inspiration from the anime Berserk and Devilman on the friendship that Mr. Pietro had with The Phantom before he transformed. I also looked into a lot of other horror icons like Freddy Krueger and Pennywise for the personality of him and I wanted to make his design to resemble a rusty creepy rotten looking puppet and heavily emphasized his yellow eyes and dark hat and cloak, since those are the stand out aspects of his original design. I wanted this villain to be an extreme disgusting nightmare for the gang, a villain that showed no limits and goes as far as to killing people. I wanted to make this villain even more freaking scary, I wanted him to be HORRIFYING.
ScoobySnax.com: What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years?
Jordan Farrell: The fact that the characters have fun distinct personalities, it appeals to everybody of any age, it always experiments with itself to something bold and new, and it's a group of kids solving mysteries and spooky monsters. I also say the camaraderie with the gang is also what stands out.
ScoobySnax.com: What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future?
Jordan Farrell: I would like them to go back to the real monsters approach again, experiment more new aspects of the franchise, take new risks, maybe see an adaptation of the “Scooby Apocalypse” comics, but most certainly I would love to see maybe a remake of an episode or two of some classic Scooby stories into movies like what I did.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of writing or animating?
Jordan Farrell: Well, all I have to say is the creative process is a very long road and task, but what will help you is that you need to have a passion for it, you don't just create a 2 and a half hour animation all for nothing, you do it because you LOVE the craft of storytelling and animation, you HAVE TO love these aspects, it’s helped me get through and it will most certainly help you as well, also, read and watch a lot of stuff, even stuff that you may not like, analyze what you watch and read, what makes it good, what makes it bad, what makes it special and form it together and write something, also draw a lot, as much as you can. And most of all, have fun doing it.
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Jordan Farrell: Absolutely, we already announced a 2nd film titled “Scooby-Doo! Waters of Atlantis” and that will have a more fantasy adventure vibe with Daphne as the main character, and you can watch the teaser trailer here. You can also follow our Facebook page for future updates and such, and because of my work on my film and gotten me special offers and gigs for other video content. I had the opportunity to voice some characters in an episode of my friend’s webseries “LEGO Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated”, which you can watch the whole series on YouTube to catch up to the season 1 finale special “The Vasquez Mystery” which I not only guest-star as myself, but I also designed the logo for the episode and drew a poster for the special. I’m also a producer on the fan film “Saga of the Swamp Thing”, which is made by my friend who helped out on my film. I also got some original films of my own coming that aren't fan films coming soon as well, and I got an original romance slice of life webcomic series coming soon also. Thank you for your time and for having me here today and be sure to rewatch my film again in the meantime while all of this is coming soon.
Jordan Farrell: When I spent a good majority of my childhood in the UK, which I find funny because that's one of two countries to my knowledge, where Scooby-Doo happens to be VERY popular, my family didn't go to the movies a lot, so we had a lot of VHS tapes of old movies, mostly from the 80s and 90s, and I remember one tape being something Scooby-Doo, “Where are You?” to be exact, so much like mostly everyone, my first exposure to the franchise was the show that started it all, after that i got hooked and still am to this day.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into animation and script writing?
Jordan Farrell: Well, for my whole life, I've been obsessed with movies and shows, and I remember watching films like “Gremlins”, “The Dark Crystal”, and “Forrest Gump”, and I realized that I wanted to make movies or write stories. When it comes to animation, I'm very fond of 2D animation, anime, and stop-motion animation. The one animated film that got me wanting to make animation my career was “Castle in the Sky” by Studio Ghibli and the master himself, Hayao Miyazaki. That also helped me form my own personal values of storytelling and animation.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite episode and film of Scooby? Why are those your favorites?
Jordan Farrell: It solely depends on the era, obviously my #1 favorite Scooby film is “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island”, it’s dark, memorable, the characters are expanded upon very well, great villains, amazing and memorable soundtrack, the animation by Mook is breathtaking and I am surprised that film never got a theatrical release at its time. I also have other favorites such as “Witch’s Ghost”, “Alien Invaders”, “Moon Monster Madness”, “Samurai Sword”, “Abracadabra-Doo”, and “Camp Scare”, and I have the same reasons for those like I have with “Zombie Island”, another thing is that those films done something bold, new, unique, refreshing and game-changing for the franchise in my opinion, those are the type of Scooby films that always attract me the most.
As for a favorite episode, for “Where are You?” it’s “Scooby-Doo and A Mummy Too”, that episode scared me the most, especially the white dots on the mummy’s eyes and the way the mummy ran, I was also in a phase where I was into “The Mummy” trilogy starring Brenden Frasher, I would also love the do a modern adaptation of that episode one day. Other favorites from other shows, “What’s New”, “Toy Scary Boo”, I enjoy the whole size doesn't matter element and evil dolls/toys have always been a particular aspect of horror that I enjoy and I will say that episode kinda influenced my film in some shape or form.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the process behind writing this film?
Jordan Farrell: It was around the time when I finished my 2nd live action short, that I wanted to make another film and after many failed attempts, I had gotten my Adobe programs at the time, and a tablet and one day, I put on Scooby-Doo for some kids I was babysitting and then the idea hit. I immediately started writing the film back in early March 2018 and finished the script in May 2018. During that period, I had already cast my Scooby gang and announced the film on Facebook in April 2018 and launched a page that same day. I sketched, inked, colored, and animated and did the mouth movement all by myself all on Adobe Photoshop. My friends, Johnathon Romero, Sandra Sands, and Thomas Byrd who voiced Fred, Velma, and Mr. Pietro were also producers on the film as well. When it came to casting my very special cameos, I just simply messaged ToonGrin, Dr. Wolfula, and That Long-Haired Creepy Guy if they wanted to provide a cameo for the film and they said yes. When it came to voice acting, it started around July 2018, two months after animation production had begun. We started with the voice of Scooby, Jacob Gomez and he was a lot of fun to work with, Harrison Garcia was my first choice as Shaggy and immediately got the part and he was excellent to work with. The rest took around a few months to a year to get voice work done. I worked on this whole movie on a laptop on a kitchen table. Otherwise, it was a fun and unique learning experience.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite character to write for? Why?
Jordan Farrell: Well, for main characters/established characters, Shaggy has always been my favorite character in the entire franchise, so when it came to approaching this film as a Shaggy-centered film, I did not hesitate to flesh him out as much as I could, I wanted to make this somewhat of a character study for shaggy and also exploring a lot of his past and exploring what caused his major anxiety, and that’s where I made the choice to give the villain a more deeper connection to Shaggy’s past. As for minor characters to write for, I quite enjoyed writing Fred and The Ghost Girl, one was giving something new for Fred and found it refreshing to make him the comedic relief this time around, The Ghost Girl was a new original character I created for this film and I loved the way I approached it which I think helps give this film a more deeper and artistic experience.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Jordan Farrell: That could apply to any show/movie I'm into at the moment, but I would love to show run my own official line-up of Scooby films and a show also. Anything from Cartoon Network also. I would love to make a movie on Gremlins, The Mummy, or Karate Kid.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite villain and why?
Jordan Farrell: The Black Samurai from “Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword”, he’s got an excellent detailed backstory for a Scooby villain, the fact that this guy used to be a noble and heroic person is what stood out to me the most, and that his very own apprentice betrayed him and caused something into the sword he created and transformed him into a dark and sinister force of evil, and his design is so cool and unique and the way the film ends his character was both satisfying and bold at the same time for me, I also love the film’s unique mythology at the same time.
ScoobySnax.com: In your opinion, what is the best series (or era) of Scooby-Doo?
Jordan Farrell: Well, I could easily say the original “Where are You?” series, but personally I would say “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated”, it has a cool ongoing storyline, excellent character development, a much darker tone, and the animation is amazing and great music as well, it feels as if everything the franchise has built up to, and the series helped reinvigorate the franchise more and more of my casual friends who weren't into Scooby-Doo tell me that they love the show, and my film does borrow heavily from that aspect.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite part of the movie to write?
Jordan Farrell: Besides Shaggy’s character arc, I think I liked that I was retelling an old Scooby story and doing my own reboot continuity at the same time, the fact that I call my Scooby gang, “The Mystery Five”, which is a reference to what the show was originally going to be called, and the fact that I have it take place at a time where they have only been solving mysteries for half a year at this point. I liked putting my own vibe and tone for it and giving the characters new aspects of their personality. My favorite aspect of writing the film was combining all the 50 years of the franchise and meshing it into a new timeline that I created. I like to call it either the “Grim” timeline or the “Mystery Five” timeline, or the “New Coolsville” timeline.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most difficult part of making the movie?
Jordan Farrell: Mainly the time/scheduling issues when trying to get actors to come over/send their lines in, it took us around 8 months to get all of Daphne’s lines, also, I went through 2 laptops, one I had to get rid of, and the 2nd I currently have. Also, there was a lot of figuring out certain aspects of the film that worked and wind up not working. But other than that, it was a long but rewarding process.
ScoobySnax.com: At the beginning of the film, it says that the film is inspired by the works of John Carpenter. For those not familiar with him, how was this film inspired by his work?
Jordan Farrell: Well, John Carpenter is a well known filmmaker in the horror community and film buffs alike, he’s known as the creator of the Halloween franchise, The Thing, Escape from New York, The Fog, etc. We mainly used elements from the first Halloween film and The Fog, mostly in tone and atmosphere, in the nightmare sequence with Shaggy, he looks out his window to see The Puppet Phantom hiding in between sheets hung outside, staring and Shaggy, he then turns back to the window only to see him gone. The shot is a direct nod to the scene where Jamie Lee-Curtis does the same thing and looks out the window to see Michael Myers. Another shot is where a fog grows near the end of the film and every time something sinister happens in the film, the colors everywhere would change to a very trippy aspect, that is a nod to the sinister scenes in The Fog. Another reference to Halloween is that the villain’s presence is there but you don't fully see what he looks like until the 2nd half of the film.
ScoobySnax.com: Though it was a very horror-focused film, your movie had a lot of comedy as well. What was your favorite joke in the film?
Jordan Farrell: I liked writing jokes for Shaggy’s dad, I think it helps flesh out Shaggy’s life outside of mystery solving, and I also liked writing for Fred, it was nice to portray him as the bumbling egotistical leader, especially my first trash can joke as well, I also took inspiration from Stifler and his mom from the film American Pie too basically portray Shaggy’s mom as the major laidback and bubbly woman who Fred had the hots for and loves to rub it into Shaggy's face. I especially enjoyed writing Shaggy’s dynamic with Fred as well, as I've always assumed that they have a longer history before they met Daphne and Velma.
ScoobySnax.com: Besides John Carpenter, were there other specific inspirations that made this film have such a horror movie-like tone?
Jordan Farrell: I looked at a lot of horror movies, mainly ones that took place in the 80s, “Dead Silence” for how the puppets were designed, “Dolls”, and “Puppet Master” for how the puppets behaved, “A Nightmare on Elm St” and “It” for our version of The Puppet Phantom, we looked at more Stephen King works, can't remember which, anything with a kids on bikes approach to it and a small town. The goal was to make this feel like a horror film from the 80s. We also looked at a lot of anime for the more comedic and dramatic moments for characters such as “Clannad” and “Another”.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your inspiration behind making the Hex Girls such prominent characters in the film?
Jordan Farrell: Well, they are one of my favorite characters from the franchise, and I always remember getting excited whenever they were announced to appear in new Scooby material and the fact that they haven't appeared in anything Scooby-Doo related since “Mystery Incorporated”, and last time I recalled, they were supposed to appear in an episode of “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo”, but don't know what happened. Also the fact that I was turning a 22 minute classic episode into a full length feature film, so that gave me the opportunity to add more characters, and when it came to The Hex Girls, I always liked that they were chill with Shaggy and Scooby a lot, and so when I decided to make them childhood friends, I knew I had something. I looked at a lot of anime and the one cliche that anime has is the childhood friends trope. Thorn I wanted to explore the most especially since she’s the leader and I do have plans in case we get to make a special that focuses on Dusk and Luna. And since I added them in my film, I wanted them to have as much screen time as possible to make it count.
ScoobySnax.com: What made you redesign Thorn's outfit?
Jordan Farrell: Well, since “Mystery Incorporated” took some creative liberties with The Hex Girls' outfits, I figured why not do that with my versions, I always like redesigning characters in my style while also never abandoning their core aspect. This version of Thorn also has a much different personality than the original does, a goth girl with a cutesy voice, and I wanted the design to reflect that, so I looked at a lot of punk rock and pop music singers from the 80s and borrowed a bit of Madonna’s hairstyle and boosted it up in an over the top anime look, the two hair strings that come out of her head is influenced by the character Nagisa from the series “Clannad”.
ScoobySnax.com: Why did you decide to make Shaggy and Thorn a couple in the film? Did you previously ship the pairing, or was there some creative thinking behind the inclusion of this pairing?
Jordan Farrell: Well, in my idea for the show, I made the whole Thorn crushing on Shaggy a running gag and I like to imagine this film taking place after the supposed first season, as for them as a couple, they never are officially a couple in my film even by the end, there’s hints of that, but I chose to leave it open for interpretation until we make more Shaggy-centered stories, we do have plans to add Googie, Crystal, and Madelyn in the future in OVA specials to play off an Archie-esque vibe with Shaggy’s arc in my timeline. So, at the moment, they are back as close friends and we’ll see where it goes from there, I never shipped them before, but when it came to creating this new version of Thorn, I thought it was interesting to explore for my universe, I mean the OG Thorn from “Witch’s Ghost”, “Legend of the Vampire”, “Mystery Incorporated”, would never date Shaggy, they are so completely opposite, but this film’s version of Thorn, probably depending on where we go with this saga. There was a lot of creative thinking of making these new versions of the characters as far back as 2015 when I first came up with the idea of doing my own reboot of Scooby-Doo.
ScoobySnax.com: In one particular scene of the film, a police officer stares at Flim Flam for selling his Lotsa Luck Joy Juice. Is this an implication that Flim Flam's product is some sort of illegal substance?
Jordan Farrell: Nah, we all know that Flim Flam is a con artist and I would say that this version of the character likes to buy/steal a 7-up soda, take the labels off and re-sells them as his own, he’s the troublemaking kid who doesn't get arrested but the cops calls his parents on him, so I like to think that he has a recurring history with them like “here’s that brat that’s selling stuff he doesn't own the rights to”.
ScoobySnax.com: What made you choose "The Backstage Rage" as your inspiration for making this film?
Jordan Farrell: When it came to picking something to do a remake of, because I've never seen Scooby-Doo retell a story from the past into modern day, so I decided to make my film an adaptation of it, so I had a hard time deciding on what to adapt and then the episode popped on the tv when I had Scooby-Doo on and then the idea hit, the villain and tone was still creepy to this day, there was also this untouched potential it had for a film and I had so many ideas popping in my head, and I knew I had my source of inspiration.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your creative process behind diving deeper into the Puppet Phantom's backstory? In other words, what made you decide to expand upon the original character?
Jordan Farrell: Well, since this was a feature film that expands on the story of a 20 minute episode, I noticed that The Puppet Phantom didn't have a backstory, like, at all, so I took the opportunity to give him a deep and detailed backstory and especially when I made the choice to [SPOILER ALERT] make the monsters real, and I mean REAL where people do die, I took inspiration from the anime Berserk and Devilman on the friendship that Mr. Pietro had with The Phantom before he transformed. I also looked into a lot of other horror icons like Freddy Krueger and Pennywise for the personality of him and I wanted to make his design to resemble a rusty creepy rotten looking puppet and heavily emphasized his yellow eyes and dark hat and cloak, since those are the stand out aspects of his original design. I wanted this villain to be an extreme disgusting nightmare for the gang, a villain that showed no limits and goes as far as to killing people. I wanted to make this villain even more freaking scary, I wanted him to be HORRIFYING.
ScoobySnax.com: What do you think has made the franchise so popular that it’s still going strong after 50 years?
Jordan Farrell: The fact that the characters have fun distinct personalities, it appeals to everybody of any age, it always experiments with itself to something bold and new, and it's a group of kids solving mysteries and spooky monsters. I also say the camaraderie with the gang is also what stands out.
ScoobySnax.com: What direction would you like to see the franchise go in the future?
Jordan Farrell: I would like them to go back to the real monsters approach again, experiment more new aspects of the franchise, take new risks, maybe see an adaptation of the “Scooby Apocalypse” comics, but most certainly I would love to see maybe a remake of an episode or two of some classic Scooby stories into movies like what I did.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of writing or animating?
Jordan Farrell: Well, all I have to say is the creative process is a very long road and task, but what will help you is that you need to have a passion for it, you don't just create a 2 and a half hour animation all for nothing, you do it because you LOVE the craft of storytelling and animation, you HAVE TO love these aspects, it’s helped me get through and it will most certainly help you as well, also, read and watch a lot of stuff, even stuff that you may not like, analyze what you watch and read, what makes it good, what makes it bad, what makes it special and form it together and write something, also draw a lot, as much as you can. And most of all, have fun doing it.
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Jordan Farrell: Absolutely, we already announced a 2nd film titled “Scooby-Doo! Waters of Atlantis” and that will have a more fantasy adventure vibe with Daphne as the main character, and you can watch the teaser trailer here. You can also follow our Facebook page for future updates and such, and because of my work on my film and gotten me special offers and gigs for other video content. I had the opportunity to voice some characters in an episode of my friend’s webseries “LEGO Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated”, which you can watch the whole series on YouTube to catch up to the season 1 finale special “The Vasquez Mystery” which I not only guest-star as myself, but I also designed the logo for the episode and drew a poster for the special. I’m also a producer on the fan film “Saga of the Swamp Thing”, which is made by my friend who helped out on my film. I also got some original films of my own coming that aren't fan films coming soon as well, and I got an original romance slice of life webcomic series coming soon also. Thank you for your time and for having me here today and be sure to rewatch my film again in the meantime while all of this is coming soon.
- Also check out the interview I did with the voice of Scooby in Jordan's film, Jacob Gomez
5/31/2021
ROGER ESCHBACHER
ROGER ESCHBACHER
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Writer
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into writing?
Roger Eschbacher: I was in a Los Angeles comedy group called "The Groundlings" back in the 90s, and the animation studios often recruited us as writers and voice actors. The first animated show I wrote for was "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters" on Nickelodeon.
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began writing Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, were you a fan of Scooby-Doo? If so, do you have a favorite episode, movie or villain?
Roger Eschbacher: I was! I grew up watching the original Scooby-Doo every Saturday morning. It was kind of a ritual back then. Also, DVRs weren't invented yet so if you missed an episode, you missed an episode unless you happened to catch a rerun.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get involved with writing Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Roger Eschbacher: I mentioned to a friend that I was looking for a job and he said I should talk to Mitch Watson who was hiring writers for SDMI. I went in and talked to Mitch and we hit it off and he hired me to write a bunch of episodes.
ScoobySnax.com: Can you describe the process for writing an episode of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated from start to finish?
Roger Eschbacher: I would get an episode assignment and go in and talk to Mitch and some of the other producers about it. I'd make copious notes and suggestions and as we worked out the episode. Then I'd go home and write the first draft. I would incorporate notes given by the producers and eventually turn in the final draft which was then distributed to the artists and the voice actors.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most difficult part of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Roger Eschbacher: I had a lot of writing experience under my belt by the time I got hired, so SDMI was fun and easy to work on.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about your work on SD:MI?
Roger Eschbacher: It's always fun to get feedback from fans. The two shows I get the most love for are "Littlest Pet Shop" and " Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated." People seem to really like my episodes on both shows and my Scooby episodes in particular. I'm proud of that!
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Roger Eschbacher: In addition to all kinds of animated shows, I watch a lot of science fiction and fantasy-related movies and TV shows, so it would be awesome to work on cool shows in those categories.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite show or project that you’ve worked on?
Roger Eschbacher: Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, of course!
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding part of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Roger Eschbacher: The SDMI crew (writers, artists, producers, etc) are super talented, so it was rewarding to work with such a gifted group of people. Also, Scooby and friends are like animation royalty to me. How could I not love writing for those characters?!
ScoobySnax.com: What project(s) are you working on now?
Roger Eschbacher: I've been writing YA fantasy and sci-fi novels for years and have used the recent slowdown in animation to work on those. If you're interested, search for my name on Amazon and see if there's anything you might like to read.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of animation writing?
Roger Eschbacher: I do. I've got an Animation FAQ on my website that has lots of info on that topic and on writing books. If you have a question that's not answered on my page, feel free to ask me! Check it out here.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you plan to continue working on Scooby-Doo related things in the future?
Roger Eschbacher: The Scooby-Doo franchise is so much fun. I'd be more than happy to work on any new Scooby projects.
ScoobySnax.com: What is one “fun fact” (behind-the-scenes tidbit) that people might not know about your work on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, or the show in general?
Roger Eschbacher: True story: I was asked for my T-shirt size because the show wanted to send me a Scooby-Doo crew shirt, but . . . (sniff) . . . they never sent it.
Roger Eschbacher: I was in a Los Angeles comedy group called "The Groundlings" back in the 90s, and the animation studios often recruited us as writers and voice actors. The first animated show I wrote for was "Aaahh!!! Real Monsters" on Nickelodeon.
ScoobySnax.com: Before you began writing Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, were you a fan of Scooby-Doo? If so, do you have a favorite episode, movie or villain?
Roger Eschbacher: I was! I grew up watching the original Scooby-Doo every Saturday morning. It was kind of a ritual back then. Also, DVRs weren't invented yet so if you missed an episode, you missed an episode unless you happened to catch a rerun.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get involved with writing Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Roger Eschbacher: I mentioned to a friend that I was looking for a job and he said I should talk to Mitch Watson who was hiring writers for SDMI. I went in and talked to Mitch and we hit it off and he hired me to write a bunch of episodes.
ScoobySnax.com: Can you describe the process for writing an episode of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated from start to finish?
Roger Eschbacher: I would get an episode assignment and go in and talk to Mitch and some of the other producers about it. I'd make copious notes and suggestions and as we worked out the episode. Then I'd go home and write the first draft. I would incorporate notes given by the producers and eventually turn in the final draft which was then distributed to the artists and the voice actors.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most difficult part of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Roger Eschbacher: I had a lot of writing experience under my belt by the time I got hired, so SDMI was fun and easy to work on.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about your work on SD:MI?
Roger Eschbacher: It's always fun to get feedback from fans. The two shows I get the most love for are "Littlest Pet Shop" and " Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated." People seem to really like my episodes on both shows and my Scooby episodes in particular. I'm proud of that!
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Roger Eschbacher: In addition to all kinds of animated shows, I watch a lot of science fiction and fantasy-related movies and TV shows, so it would be awesome to work on cool shows in those categories.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite show or project that you’ve worked on?
Roger Eschbacher: Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, of course!
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding part of working on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated?
Roger Eschbacher: The SDMI crew (writers, artists, producers, etc) are super talented, so it was rewarding to work with such a gifted group of people. Also, Scooby and friends are like animation royalty to me. How could I not love writing for those characters?!
ScoobySnax.com: What project(s) are you working on now?
Roger Eschbacher: I've been writing YA fantasy and sci-fi novels for years and have used the recent slowdown in animation to work on those. If you're interested, search for my name on Amazon and see if there's anything you might like to read.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of animation writing?
Roger Eschbacher: I do. I've got an Animation FAQ on my website that has lots of info on that topic and on writing books. If you have a question that's not answered on my page, feel free to ask me! Check it out here.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you plan to continue working on Scooby-Doo related things in the future?
Roger Eschbacher: The Scooby-Doo franchise is so much fun. I'd be more than happy to work on any new Scooby projects.
ScoobySnax.com: What is one “fun fact” (behind-the-scenes tidbit) that people might not know about your work on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, or the show in general?
Roger Eschbacher: True story: I was asked for my T-shirt size because the show wanted to send me a Scooby-Doo crew shirt, but . . . (sniff) . . . they never sent it.
9/3/2021
DUANE POOLE
DUANE POOLE
Writer of The Scooby-Doo Show, The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show & Scooby Goes Hollywood
ScoobySnax.com: What inspired you to get into scriptwriting?
Duane Poole: When I was a kid, my parents bought me a tape recorder and I taped a Dick Van Dyke Show -- a series I loved and to which I give credit for whatever sense of humor I may have. I listened to it over and over and then thought to type it out on a toy typewriter I had. My first script. Stolen, but we all start somewhere. So I was always interested in writing...and when I discovered live theatre I thought *that* was where my interests would take me. One of my stage musicals was seen by a couple producers at Hanna-Barbera who invited me down to write animation. And a television writer was born.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your process of writing an episode of Scooby-Doo from start to finish?
Duane Poole: It pretty much always started with the ghost/goblin/monster of the week. That inspired the setting, the setting inspired the gags, and the characters did the rest. There were, of course, stock bits that had to be in every episode. The eating gags, the chases, the "those pesky kids" reveals. So much of it was looking for variations and the setting (a lighthouse, a haunted graveyard, an old castle) dictated much of that.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding part of writing for Scooby-Doo? What was the most challenging part?
Duane Poole: The best part, considering many of the primetime shows and movies I've done, was that in animation, Scooby never said "I won't say that line". So there was a freedom -- a freedom that extended to the story as well, since live action projects often come with budgets that limit number of settings, etc. With animation, the artists could give you anything you could dream up. You want ancient China? Done. A city on Mars? Have at it. So Scooby and the gang could go anywhere without limits. (Well, obviously not ancient China and Mars, but you get what I'm saying.) The most challenging part was coming up with those fresh takes on the stock gags. I hate duplicating something I've already done, but sometimes it had to happen, the same sort of gags in different settings. Still, we all tried to keep it fresh.
ScoobySnax.com: Though you mostly only worked on season 1 of The Scooby-Doo Show (according to IMDb), season 2 had a noticeably darker tone. Do you know if there was any creative reasoning from the writers' room behind making the second season darker than the first?
Duane Poole: No idea. And there really wasn't a "writers' room" back then. The producers usually worked as story editors as well and assigned the various stories -- sometimes created in house, sometimes pitched by the outside writers.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses have you received for your work on Scooby-Doo?
Duane Poole: I think sitting in that first big, live-action Scooby movie and hearing the crowd boo Scrappy -- which I had a hand in creating -- was perhaps the most memorable response. But to be fair, I've always found him annoying as well.
ScoobySnax.com: Was writing an episode of The Scooby-Doo Show a lot different than writing an episode of The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show, and why?
Duane Poole: As I mentioned, we were always trying to keep the show fresh. The addition of Scrappy, for better or worse, gave us all another color to paint with, metaphorically speaking. So there was a little fresh energy added with that change.
ScoobySnax.com: How did the idea of Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics come about? What inspired Hanna-Barbera to create a "battle of the network stars" type TV series with all of their most famous cartoon characters?
Duane Poole: Money, I'd guess. It's the same reason shows do crossover episodes and shows like the one you named. "What's another way we can use our characters and encourage an audience to tune in?"
ScoobySnax.com: The final episode of the first year of Scooby and Scrappy-Doo, "The Ransom of Scooby Chief," features Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy visiting New York, while Fred, Velma and Daphne appear very minimally. Given this was the last episode to feature Fred, Velma and Daphne for three years, do you know if this episode was intended as a "backdoor pilot" of sorts to test the waters for the 7-minute Scooby and Scrappy-Doo shorts that came the following year?
Duane Poole: It could have been. I have only a vague memory of this one -- though I think I still have the storyboard in a box in the garage.
ScoobySnax.com: When adding Scrappy-Doo to the series as a main character, did you or any of the other writers at that time feel there was any sort of risk that viewers wouldn't like him?
Duane Poole: I'm not sure any of us was prepared for the negative reaction he got. At the time, we thought he would just help expand the world and the comic possibilities.
ScoobySnax.com: Scooby Goes Hollywood was truly a one-of-a-kind film. What was your creative logic behind writing this film? What inspired you to make the gang stars of their own mystery-solving TV show? Were you trying to hint that all of the gang's past mysteries were just part of a TV show?
Duane Poole: You've overthinking, sorry to say. We just figured it was a good concept for a Scooby special, the fun of parodying movies giving us a fresh background to explore. I really wish I had a better answer for this for you.
ScoobySnax.com: I know from another interview you did that you love musicals. Was this part of what inspired Scooby Goes Hollywood to be a musical?
Duane Poole: I really pushed for it to be a musical. It didn't go as far as I'd have liked, but yes, the musical element was really important to me.
ScoobySnax.com: In your interview with A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo in 2018, you mentioned that there were talks of a live-action Scooby-Doo show in the 1970s (in which you played Shaggy for the screen test!). Could you share more about this show? Was any plot or aspect of the series developed before it was scrapped?
Duane Poole: The talks were just that and never went much beyond -- certainly never a script or a real concept. HB were merely exploring the idea using their big-headed park costumes and had me play Shaggy. This (I believe) was even before I was working on Scooby-Doo. Still that young kid writer from Seattle they were trying to find work for.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite show or project that you’ve worked on?
Duane Poole: Animation-wise, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon. We could really go wild with the comedy there. Live-action, I was pleased to have written/produced the final two screen appearances of screen legend Katharine Hepburn. It's been a good career and I've been incredibly lucky.
ScoobySnax.com: You also worked on Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, which aired around the same time and crossed over with Scooby three times. How did these crossovers come to be? Were the multiple crossovers with Scooby an attempt to make the audience more intrigued with Dynomutt and Blue Falcon by including a familiar character?
Duane Poole: Much like the crossover question above, yes, it was to get a bigger audience to discover Dynomutt. How I wish that series had a longer life than it had.
ScoobySnax.com: You worked on Goober and the Ghost Chasers as well as Scooby-Doo. This isn't a Scooby question, but I've always been intrigued by the fact that ten of the sixteen episodes included guest stars in a major role, eight of those times being The Partridge Kids. What was the inspiration behind making Goober such a guest-star driven show?
Duane Poole: Again, not so much inspiration as crass commercialism, figuring the guest stars would bring in bigger audiences. It was a kick to work with all those 'star' voices, though.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of scriptwriting?
Duane Poole: Write and write and write some more. Learn the craft and learn your television and cinema history. (Nothing is more frustrating to me than contemporary writers who don't know the classics.) And knock on a lot of doors. All it takes is for one right door to open and the rest will follow. A hard business to break into, but so gratifying.
ScoobySnax.com: What projects are you working on currently?
Duane Poole: I've been doing a lot of the Hallmark Christmas movies lately while focusing my spare time on live theatre. I've had four shows play in New York -- nothing on Broadway yet, nothing you'd have heard of, nothing with a long run -- but that's my next goal.
Duane Poole: When I was a kid, my parents bought me a tape recorder and I taped a Dick Van Dyke Show -- a series I loved and to which I give credit for whatever sense of humor I may have. I listened to it over and over and then thought to type it out on a toy typewriter I had. My first script. Stolen, but we all start somewhere. So I was always interested in writing...and when I discovered live theatre I thought *that* was where my interests would take me. One of my stage musicals was seen by a couple producers at Hanna-Barbera who invited me down to write animation. And a television writer was born.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your process of writing an episode of Scooby-Doo from start to finish?
Duane Poole: It pretty much always started with the ghost/goblin/monster of the week. That inspired the setting, the setting inspired the gags, and the characters did the rest. There were, of course, stock bits that had to be in every episode. The eating gags, the chases, the "those pesky kids" reveals. So much of it was looking for variations and the setting (a lighthouse, a haunted graveyard, an old castle) dictated much of that.
ScoobySnax.com: What was the most rewarding part of writing for Scooby-Doo? What was the most challenging part?
Duane Poole: The best part, considering many of the primetime shows and movies I've done, was that in animation, Scooby never said "I won't say that line". So there was a freedom -- a freedom that extended to the story as well, since live action projects often come with budgets that limit number of settings, etc. With animation, the artists could give you anything you could dream up. You want ancient China? Done. A city on Mars? Have at it. So Scooby and the gang could go anywhere without limits. (Well, obviously not ancient China and Mars, but you get what I'm saying.) The most challenging part was coming up with those fresh takes on the stock gags. I hate duplicating something I've already done, but sometimes it had to happen, the same sort of gags in different settings. Still, we all tried to keep it fresh.
ScoobySnax.com: Though you mostly only worked on season 1 of The Scooby-Doo Show (according to IMDb), season 2 had a noticeably darker tone. Do you know if there was any creative reasoning from the writers' room behind making the second season darker than the first?
Duane Poole: No idea. And there really wasn't a "writers' room" back then. The producers usually worked as story editors as well and assigned the various stories -- sometimes created in house, sometimes pitched by the outside writers.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses have you received for your work on Scooby-Doo?
Duane Poole: I think sitting in that first big, live-action Scooby movie and hearing the crowd boo Scrappy -- which I had a hand in creating -- was perhaps the most memorable response. But to be fair, I've always found him annoying as well.
ScoobySnax.com: Was writing an episode of The Scooby-Doo Show a lot different than writing an episode of The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show, and why?
Duane Poole: As I mentioned, we were always trying to keep the show fresh. The addition of Scrappy, for better or worse, gave us all another color to paint with, metaphorically speaking. So there was a little fresh energy added with that change.
ScoobySnax.com: How did the idea of Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics come about? What inspired Hanna-Barbera to create a "battle of the network stars" type TV series with all of their most famous cartoon characters?
Duane Poole: Money, I'd guess. It's the same reason shows do crossover episodes and shows like the one you named. "What's another way we can use our characters and encourage an audience to tune in?"
ScoobySnax.com: The final episode of the first year of Scooby and Scrappy-Doo, "The Ransom of Scooby Chief," features Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy visiting New York, while Fred, Velma and Daphne appear very minimally. Given this was the last episode to feature Fred, Velma and Daphne for three years, do you know if this episode was intended as a "backdoor pilot" of sorts to test the waters for the 7-minute Scooby and Scrappy-Doo shorts that came the following year?
Duane Poole: It could have been. I have only a vague memory of this one -- though I think I still have the storyboard in a box in the garage.
ScoobySnax.com: When adding Scrappy-Doo to the series as a main character, did you or any of the other writers at that time feel there was any sort of risk that viewers wouldn't like him?
Duane Poole: I'm not sure any of us was prepared for the negative reaction he got. At the time, we thought he would just help expand the world and the comic possibilities.
ScoobySnax.com: Scooby Goes Hollywood was truly a one-of-a-kind film. What was your creative logic behind writing this film? What inspired you to make the gang stars of their own mystery-solving TV show? Were you trying to hint that all of the gang's past mysteries were just part of a TV show?
Duane Poole: You've overthinking, sorry to say. We just figured it was a good concept for a Scooby special, the fun of parodying movies giving us a fresh background to explore. I really wish I had a better answer for this for you.
ScoobySnax.com: I know from another interview you did that you love musicals. Was this part of what inspired Scooby Goes Hollywood to be a musical?
Duane Poole: I really pushed for it to be a musical. It didn't go as far as I'd have liked, but yes, the musical element was really important to me.
ScoobySnax.com: In your interview with A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo in 2018, you mentioned that there were talks of a live-action Scooby-Doo show in the 1970s (in which you played Shaggy for the screen test!). Could you share more about this show? Was any plot or aspect of the series developed before it was scrapped?
Duane Poole: The talks were just that and never went much beyond -- certainly never a script or a real concept. HB were merely exploring the idea using their big-headed park costumes and had me play Shaggy. This (I believe) was even before I was working on Scooby-Doo. Still that young kid writer from Seattle they were trying to find work for.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have a favorite show or project that you’ve worked on?
Duane Poole: Animation-wise, Dynomutt and Blue Falcon. We could really go wild with the comedy there. Live-action, I was pleased to have written/produced the final two screen appearances of screen legend Katharine Hepburn. It's been a good career and I've been incredibly lucky.
ScoobySnax.com: You also worked on Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, which aired around the same time and crossed over with Scooby three times. How did these crossovers come to be? Were the multiple crossovers with Scooby an attempt to make the audience more intrigued with Dynomutt and Blue Falcon by including a familiar character?
Duane Poole: Much like the crossover question above, yes, it was to get a bigger audience to discover Dynomutt. How I wish that series had a longer life than it had.
ScoobySnax.com: You worked on Goober and the Ghost Chasers as well as Scooby-Doo. This isn't a Scooby question, but I've always been intrigued by the fact that ten of the sixteen episodes included guest stars in a major role, eight of those times being The Partridge Kids. What was the inspiration behind making Goober such a guest-star driven show?
Duane Poole: Again, not so much inspiration as crass commercialism, figuring the guest stars would bring in bigger audiences. It was a kick to work with all those 'star' voices, though.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of scriptwriting?
Duane Poole: Write and write and write some more. Learn the craft and learn your television and cinema history. (Nothing is more frustrating to me than contemporary writers who don't know the classics.) And knock on a lot of doors. All it takes is for one right door to open and the rest will follow. A hard business to break into, but so gratifying.
ScoobySnax.com: What projects are you working on currently?
Duane Poole: I've been doing a lot of the Hallmark Christmas movies lately while focusing my spare time on live theatre. I've had four shows play in New York -- nothing on Broadway yet, nothing you'd have heard of, nothing with a long run -- but that's my next goal.
4/8/2022
SANDY FRIES
SANDY FRIES
Former colleague of Joseph Barbera
(Sandy Fries, left, with Joseph Barbera, right)
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into screenwriting?
Sandy Fries: Screenwriting was something that I always thought would be fun, and the biggest motivator in my career is enjoying myself. I believe that if you have the talent, and the communication skills, looking for fun things is always the way to go with your career. What's the alternative? Being boring and miserable? That's not something I'm interested in, so instead, I look for opportunities where I can have fun.
ScoobySnax.com: One chapter of your book goes into detail about how you worked with Joseph Barbera at the start of your career. Do you have any favorite memories or stories about working with Joe Barbera?
Sandy Fries: Absolutely. Joseph Barbera was a wonderful person to work with, and he was brilliantly funny. I learned so much by working with him. One of the things I loved the most about working with Joseph Barbera was his office. He had the coolest office I have ever seen in my life. In one part of the office, he had several Emmy and Academy Awards that were all lined up. When you walked into that office, seeing those awards made you go, "Wow… this is amazing." The first time I ever went into his office for a story meeting, he said, "Sandy, have you ever held an Academy Award?" I meekly replied, "Uh, well…no, Mr. Barbera, I haven't". A big smile appeared on his face, "Well, would you like to…?" So, Mr. Barbera let me hold one of his Academy Awards, which was a memory that I'll never forget.
ScoobySnax.com: In addition to Hanna-Barbera, your book mentions how you have worked with creator of The Simpsons, Sam Simon. Do you have any favorite memories or stories of working with Sam?
Sandy Fries: Sam Simon was a very, very, talented guy. I mean, obviously you must be to co-create The Simpsons. He and I wrote four projects together, and he was a brilliant, humorous, and profound writer. I knew him personally, and he helped me get my first big break in Hollywood. There's a dramatic, and really heavy, story about Sam Simon in my book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. It's a powerful, very moving, and a very sad story. This is a story I genuinely believe that everyone can learn a valuable life lesson from.
The story is so poignant that I'd rather let whoever is interested in the story read about it in my book. I can't do the story justice by retelling it. It took me a long time to write that chapter, I edited it several times, and then I even rewrote it several times. The best way for that story to be told is the way it is told in the book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. I can't do it justice, but I promise that if you read it, you will learn something from it, and you will be moved by it.
ScoobySnax.com: How did getting your start writing at Hanna-Barbera influence how you approached the rest of your career as a writer?
Sandy Fries: Hanna-Barbera was the studio that I had the most fun writing for. I wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Spider-Man, and while they were enjoyable, they were not nearly as fun as writing for Hanna-Barbera. Star Trek: The Next Generation dealt with some heavy-duty subjects, which cannot be as enjoyable as writing for animation. Writing for Hanna-Barbera affected me because I learned I wanted to do animation more than most live-action shows.
Usually when I was writing for another studio, I would say something to the effect of, "This is fun, and this is really great, but working at Hanna-Barbera, with Joseph Barbera, is the best". One of the things about me that other writers don't do, is that I've written for a lot of different genres. Drama, science fiction, comedy, animation, soap operas … most writers don't do that. However, I did that deliberately so that I could learn to write in a lot of different styles. Despite learning to write for all those genres, I always loved animation the most. When I was a writer at Hanna-Barbera, I said to myself, "This is as good as it gets for me. I love comedy, I love animation, and I have a great executive to work with." Hanna-Barbera was the best, and it always left me wanting to go back into that world.
ScoobySnax.com: You worked on a number of shows during your time at Hanna-Barbera. What was your favorite of those shows to work on, and why was it your favorite?
Sandy Fries: My favorite show that I wrote for was called Droopy, Master Detective. I loved writing for that show because you could do anything with the animation. Whatever my mind could come up with, the animators were able to create, and I loved having that creative freedom with my writing. I also really loved the Droopy character, especially his dialogue. Droopy talked slowly with a deep toned, but quirky sounding, voice. For those of you who might not know, Droopy is the basset hound who worked as the elevator attendant in the Steven Spielberg movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He started at MGM, but eventually was brought over to Hanna-Barbera.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about your work at Hanna-Barbera (or in general for all the shows you've written for)?
Sandy Fries: I had asked Joseph Barbera to autograph a Hanna-Barbera book about Tom & Jerry one time. What he wrote in the book was thoughtful, kindhearted, and something that I'll always remember for the rest of my life. He wrote in the book, "To Sandy… my top writer. - Joseph Barbera". You know, when you get that type of a compliment from a person like Mr. Barbera… it's just phenomenal.
ScoobySnax.com: What inspired you to write your book?
Sandy Fries: It happened almost automatically. It sort of flowed out of me like a tidal wave. There are a couple big reasons why I wanted to write it.
The first reason is that I've worked with brilliant people. I've been very fortunate in my life and with my career. I've been able to meet three presidents of the United States -- and even got to spend a decent amount of time with them. I knew the head of CBS News personally, and I am proud to call him a friend. I've been fortunate enough to work with some of the most creative people in history, like Stan Lee, Joseph Barbera, and Sam Simon. I've even worked with the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, and the creator of The Big Bang Theory, Chuck Lorre. Each of these people are considered to be the top of the line in terms of brilliance and creativity in show business. I learned a lot about how to live a great life from each one of those people, so I almost felt like I had a responsibility to put their lessons into a book. My goal for anyone who reads the book is that you can hopefully find wisdom, or motivation, to have a better life. If you read it, I think it will help you improve your life in a lot of different ways. It's more than a book about writing, it's a book about how to live a fantastic life. You don't need to like show business to like this book.
The second reason I wrote the book is that some of the stories are just too darn funny to not ever be told. Some of the things that happened to me in my life are really out there, and also really edgy. I remember when those things happened to me in real life, I said, "Whoa, this would be great for a book… or maybe even a movie!". Another story you can read about is the time I almost died at Warner Brothers. The place that I almost died in was a, well, very unusual place to die. I won't go into too many details, but I remember in the moment it was horrible. I was sure I was going to be dead. But in retrospect, it would've been a really, really, funny way to die. There are a lot of stories in the book that I felt compelled to put in there because they were funny, or they were a great learning experience.
Ultimately, the main reason I wrote the book was that it was fun to write. I've written hundreds of scripts, articles, and advertisements -- but I would say the book is absolutely, without a doubt, my favorite thing that I've written in my whole life. I highly encourage everyone to give it a read, it could change your life.
ScoobySnax.com: What inspired you to get into teaching? In addition, do you have a favorite course to teach, and why is this course your favorite?
Sandy Fries: One of the things that I always wanted to do was to be a professor at a college or a university. That just struck me as a very cool life. Reading and discussing things I was interested in was very appealing to me. I also am a firm believer that a person doesn't need to live just one life. A person should be able to live two or three lives in terms of what one does with a career. One of my lives is as a professor at a college in Illinois. I'm reading books about subjects that I love, I'm talking about them with intelligent people, and what I read is stuff I would read for fun anyways.
Academic life is idyllic. The campus is beautiful. The nature around me is peaceful. I have a great office with an amazing view. I read about topics that fascinate me… and even get paid money to do it. How cool is that?
My favorite class that I teach is a film class. As someone once said to me, "Sandy, you watch movies all day, and get paid for it?". It's certainly more than that, there's lectures, analysis, but I love watching movies. I love pulling them apart and putting them back together. I love being able to discuss movies in a multi-level way with students. It's fun.
Before I was a professor I would go to the movies and the best part was, afterwards, when I would discuss the movie with friends. What did you think about this scene? What about that dialogue? How about that character? When I teach my film class, I'm doing all the stuff I would do for fun anyways, but it's even more fun to do that when you are getting paid for it.
The other thing was, when I was an undergraduate at Clark University, I had to take a lot of tests. My collegiate experience would've been perfect if I could be at school and not have to take any tests. Well, now I'm in college again, and I don't have to take a single test!
I've lived several lives. I've lived a New York City life, a Los Angeles life, and now I'm living my Midwestern life. Every one of my lives has had its challenges and luckily I've been able to get through them. Overall, each of the places I've lived have been fantastic. I prefer that I've had the New York life, the California life, and the Midwest life, because change is healthy and exciting.
ScoobySnax.com: Besides teaching, do you have any plans of writing for more shows or films in the future?
Sandy Fries: My attitude is that I've done it, and I've done it as well as I can do. I might want to write for Family Guy, and probably could if I really wanted to. I think the characters are really funny, the writing overall is really tight, and there's a lot of creative freedom on that show. However, for right now, my key focus is on enjoying myself and being a great professor. The rest of the time I enjoy watching TV, reading books, eating good food, and sleeping.
I remember one time Sam Simon said to me, "You know Sandy, I like working, but not as much as I like not-working." Similar to Sam, I like working, but I also enjoy not-working just as much. So, the very long-winded answer to that is that I might like to write an episode of Family Guy, but there's no internal pressure on myself to do that.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Sandy Fries: There was a phenomenal show that I loved, called St. Elsewhere. I almost became a writer on that show, but unfortunately, I did not get the job. It was a brilliant show in terms of writing, acting, directing, -- every element of St. Elsewhere was exceptional. I almost wrote for it because a producer on the show really liked the script that I had submitted, but it never happened. Mark Harmon, Denzel Washington, and Howie Mandell all debuted on that show. Despite the great acting, what I liked the most was how diverse the writing could be. There were episodes where a scene would include heavy drama, but then in the next it would be heavily filled with comedic relief. Sometimes they even worked in the fantasy genre, and it was still well-written.
If anyone wants to watch a really good television show, stream St. Elsewhere. It went from heavy scenes to hilarious scenes, and it all worked brilliantly. Somebody should revive St. Elsewhere.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of scriptwriting?
Sandy Fries: Well, this is going to sound like a shameless, self-promoting, plug -- but read my book Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. It's on Amazon for $5.95, and it has really great reviews. People love the book, and I really love the book. If you are looking to break into Hollywood, or writing in general, reading my book will be exorbitantly helpful in bringing your career to the next level.
Another helpful hint is that if you have talent, go after that goal. Don't worry about the competition, because I can tell you that there aren't many good writers in Hollywood. There are many people who think they are good writers, but they are not. And if you have talent, go for whatever you would enjoy. If you worry about the money, do not. If you are talented, in the right career, and you enjoy your work, the money will come automatically. If you're talented, and if you have a good work ethic, you will accomplish your goals. And if you don't go for it, when the time comes for you to drop dead, you'll probably be bitter and dislike yourself.
Oh, and I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet, but you should also read my book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life.
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you would like to share that I have not asked about?
Sandy Fries: Joseph Barbera had great taste in restaurants. JB would frequently take the writers and I out to lunch at a variety of different places. We went to a Chinese place called Fung Lum, and often visited Musso & Frank's - which appeared in Tarantino's most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Everywhere we'd go, people loved Mr. Barbera. Not because of who he was, or what he accomplished, but solely because of his demeanor and his personality. And he also always picked up the check.
Another thing about Joseph Barbera was that he was very quick, in a creative sense. One time when I was in a story meeting with him, inspiration struck. He immediately began explaining a gag for the Tom and Jerry Kids Show to me, but he was talking as fast as his thoughts entered his head. It sounded something like this:
He went, "So Tom [unintelligible] and then Jerry [unintelligible], so then Tom [unintelligible]."
I just stared blankly back at him, and JB responded, "You didn't understand any of that did you?"
He began to act out and sketch the gag so that I was able to understand it. It was a very good gag. But the very first time he explained it, his mind was running so quickly that he couldn't communicate it properly. When Joseph Barbera would explain his ideas, he would act out characters, and do their voices as well. This helped him communicate many of his thoughts to the writers and animators in an understandable way. It was great to see him do sketches and gags that we were discussing. I would come in with a script, he'd read it through, he'd edit it, and then add his ideas. Any idea he added made the scene, or a gag, or even the dialogue, better. There were times my script was passed through with very little changes made. Being able to write a script that Joseph Barbera put through with very little edits was very fulfilling.
One day we were in the studio watching one of my scripts being recorded by the voice artists. At the beginning of the interview, you asked me how I got into screenwriting, and I said that it was because I wanted to have fun. Well, I cannot emphasize how fun it was to see these incredible voice actors performing my dialogue during a recording session.
There's a picture of me and the voice actors -- along with Mr. Barbera -- and in the photo every single person is smiling and having a fun time. That's my kind of job. That's what I like to do.
I've learned a lot over the course of my life, from many different talented people. Stan Lee taught me the relevance of responding. Gene Roddenberry taught me how to overcome overbearing obstacles. Joseph Barbera taught me how to work hard with a smile on my face. Big Bang Theory creator, Chuck Lorre, taught me to never give up even when the work seemed worthless.
Those tips, and other stories on how to achieve a good life, are filling up my book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. It's available on Amazon for only $5.95. It'll take you under three hours to read, and it could change the rest of your life. There's a link to it right below this sentence, and I truly believe you will enjoy reading it.
Sandy Fries: Screenwriting was something that I always thought would be fun, and the biggest motivator in my career is enjoying myself. I believe that if you have the talent, and the communication skills, looking for fun things is always the way to go with your career. What's the alternative? Being boring and miserable? That's not something I'm interested in, so instead, I look for opportunities where I can have fun.
ScoobySnax.com: One chapter of your book goes into detail about how you worked with Joseph Barbera at the start of your career. Do you have any favorite memories or stories about working with Joe Barbera?
Sandy Fries: Absolutely. Joseph Barbera was a wonderful person to work with, and he was brilliantly funny. I learned so much by working with him. One of the things I loved the most about working with Joseph Barbera was his office. He had the coolest office I have ever seen in my life. In one part of the office, he had several Emmy and Academy Awards that were all lined up. When you walked into that office, seeing those awards made you go, "Wow… this is amazing." The first time I ever went into his office for a story meeting, he said, "Sandy, have you ever held an Academy Award?" I meekly replied, "Uh, well…no, Mr. Barbera, I haven't". A big smile appeared on his face, "Well, would you like to…?" So, Mr. Barbera let me hold one of his Academy Awards, which was a memory that I'll never forget.
ScoobySnax.com: In addition to Hanna-Barbera, your book mentions how you have worked with creator of The Simpsons, Sam Simon. Do you have any favorite memories or stories of working with Sam?
Sandy Fries: Sam Simon was a very, very, talented guy. I mean, obviously you must be to co-create The Simpsons. He and I wrote four projects together, and he was a brilliant, humorous, and profound writer. I knew him personally, and he helped me get my first big break in Hollywood. There's a dramatic, and really heavy, story about Sam Simon in my book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. It's a powerful, very moving, and a very sad story. This is a story I genuinely believe that everyone can learn a valuable life lesson from.
The story is so poignant that I'd rather let whoever is interested in the story read about it in my book. I can't do the story justice by retelling it. It took me a long time to write that chapter, I edited it several times, and then I even rewrote it several times. The best way for that story to be told is the way it is told in the book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. I can't do it justice, but I promise that if you read it, you will learn something from it, and you will be moved by it.
ScoobySnax.com: How did getting your start writing at Hanna-Barbera influence how you approached the rest of your career as a writer?
Sandy Fries: Hanna-Barbera was the studio that I had the most fun writing for. I wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, Spider-Man, and while they were enjoyable, they were not nearly as fun as writing for Hanna-Barbera. Star Trek: The Next Generation dealt with some heavy-duty subjects, which cannot be as enjoyable as writing for animation. Writing for Hanna-Barbera affected me because I learned I wanted to do animation more than most live-action shows.
Usually when I was writing for another studio, I would say something to the effect of, "This is fun, and this is really great, but working at Hanna-Barbera, with Joseph Barbera, is the best". One of the things about me that other writers don't do, is that I've written for a lot of different genres. Drama, science fiction, comedy, animation, soap operas … most writers don't do that. However, I did that deliberately so that I could learn to write in a lot of different styles. Despite learning to write for all those genres, I always loved animation the most. When I was a writer at Hanna-Barbera, I said to myself, "This is as good as it gets for me. I love comedy, I love animation, and I have a great executive to work with." Hanna-Barbera was the best, and it always left me wanting to go back into that world.
ScoobySnax.com: You worked on a number of shows during your time at Hanna-Barbera. What was your favorite of those shows to work on, and why was it your favorite?
Sandy Fries: My favorite show that I wrote for was called Droopy, Master Detective. I loved writing for that show because you could do anything with the animation. Whatever my mind could come up with, the animators were able to create, and I loved having that creative freedom with my writing. I also really loved the Droopy character, especially his dialogue. Droopy talked slowly with a deep toned, but quirky sounding, voice. For those of you who might not know, Droopy is the basset hound who worked as the elevator attendant in the Steven Spielberg movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He started at MGM, but eventually was brought over to Hanna-Barbera.
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about your work at Hanna-Barbera (or in general for all the shows you've written for)?
Sandy Fries: I had asked Joseph Barbera to autograph a Hanna-Barbera book about Tom & Jerry one time. What he wrote in the book was thoughtful, kindhearted, and something that I'll always remember for the rest of my life. He wrote in the book, "To Sandy… my top writer. - Joseph Barbera". You know, when you get that type of a compliment from a person like Mr. Barbera… it's just phenomenal.
ScoobySnax.com: What inspired you to write your book?
Sandy Fries: It happened almost automatically. It sort of flowed out of me like a tidal wave. There are a couple big reasons why I wanted to write it.
The first reason is that I've worked with brilliant people. I've been very fortunate in my life and with my career. I've been able to meet three presidents of the United States -- and even got to spend a decent amount of time with them. I knew the head of CBS News personally, and I am proud to call him a friend. I've been fortunate enough to work with some of the most creative people in history, like Stan Lee, Joseph Barbera, and Sam Simon. I've even worked with the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, and the creator of The Big Bang Theory, Chuck Lorre. Each of these people are considered to be the top of the line in terms of brilliance and creativity in show business. I learned a lot about how to live a great life from each one of those people, so I almost felt like I had a responsibility to put their lessons into a book. My goal for anyone who reads the book is that you can hopefully find wisdom, or motivation, to have a better life. If you read it, I think it will help you improve your life in a lot of different ways. It's more than a book about writing, it's a book about how to live a fantastic life. You don't need to like show business to like this book.
The second reason I wrote the book is that some of the stories are just too darn funny to not ever be told. Some of the things that happened to me in my life are really out there, and also really edgy. I remember when those things happened to me in real life, I said, "Whoa, this would be great for a book… or maybe even a movie!". Another story you can read about is the time I almost died at Warner Brothers. The place that I almost died in was a, well, very unusual place to die. I won't go into too many details, but I remember in the moment it was horrible. I was sure I was going to be dead. But in retrospect, it would've been a really, really, funny way to die. There are a lot of stories in the book that I felt compelled to put in there because they were funny, or they were a great learning experience.
Ultimately, the main reason I wrote the book was that it was fun to write. I've written hundreds of scripts, articles, and advertisements -- but I would say the book is absolutely, without a doubt, my favorite thing that I've written in my whole life. I highly encourage everyone to give it a read, it could change your life.
ScoobySnax.com: What inspired you to get into teaching? In addition, do you have a favorite course to teach, and why is this course your favorite?
Sandy Fries: One of the things that I always wanted to do was to be a professor at a college or a university. That just struck me as a very cool life. Reading and discussing things I was interested in was very appealing to me. I also am a firm believer that a person doesn't need to live just one life. A person should be able to live two or three lives in terms of what one does with a career. One of my lives is as a professor at a college in Illinois. I'm reading books about subjects that I love, I'm talking about them with intelligent people, and what I read is stuff I would read for fun anyways.
Academic life is idyllic. The campus is beautiful. The nature around me is peaceful. I have a great office with an amazing view. I read about topics that fascinate me… and even get paid money to do it. How cool is that?
My favorite class that I teach is a film class. As someone once said to me, "Sandy, you watch movies all day, and get paid for it?". It's certainly more than that, there's lectures, analysis, but I love watching movies. I love pulling them apart and putting them back together. I love being able to discuss movies in a multi-level way with students. It's fun.
Before I was a professor I would go to the movies and the best part was, afterwards, when I would discuss the movie with friends. What did you think about this scene? What about that dialogue? How about that character? When I teach my film class, I'm doing all the stuff I would do for fun anyways, but it's even more fun to do that when you are getting paid for it.
The other thing was, when I was an undergraduate at Clark University, I had to take a lot of tests. My collegiate experience would've been perfect if I could be at school and not have to take any tests. Well, now I'm in college again, and I don't have to take a single test!
I've lived several lives. I've lived a New York City life, a Los Angeles life, and now I'm living my Midwestern life. Every one of my lives has had its challenges and luckily I've been able to get through them. Overall, each of the places I've lived have been fantastic. I prefer that I've had the New York life, the California life, and the Midwest life, because change is healthy and exciting.
ScoobySnax.com: Besides teaching, do you have any plans of writing for more shows or films in the future?
Sandy Fries: My attitude is that I've done it, and I've done it as well as I can do. I might want to write for Family Guy, and probably could if I really wanted to. I think the characters are really funny, the writing overall is really tight, and there's a lot of creative freedom on that show. However, for right now, my key focus is on enjoying myself and being a great professor. The rest of the time I enjoy watching TV, reading books, eating good food, and sleeping.
I remember one time Sam Simon said to me, "You know Sandy, I like working, but not as much as I like not-working." Similar to Sam, I like working, but I also enjoy not-working just as much. So, the very long-winded answer to that is that I might like to write an episode of Family Guy, but there's no internal pressure on myself to do that.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
Sandy Fries: There was a phenomenal show that I loved, called St. Elsewhere. I almost became a writer on that show, but unfortunately, I did not get the job. It was a brilliant show in terms of writing, acting, directing, -- every element of St. Elsewhere was exceptional. I almost wrote for it because a producer on the show really liked the script that I had submitted, but it never happened. Mark Harmon, Denzel Washington, and Howie Mandell all debuted on that show. Despite the great acting, what I liked the most was how diverse the writing could be. There were episodes where a scene would include heavy drama, but then in the next it would be heavily filled with comedic relief. Sometimes they even worked in the fantasy genre, and it was still well-written.
If anyone wants to watch a really good television show, stream St. Elsewhere. It went from heavy scenes to hilarious scenes, and it all worked brilliantly. Somebody should revive St. Elsewhere.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to go into the world of scriptwriting?
Sandy Fries: Well, this is going to sound like a shameless, self-promoting, plug -- but read my book Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. It's on Amazon for $5.95, and it has really great reviews. People love the book, and I really love the book. If you are looking to break into Hollywood, or writing in general, reading my book will be exorbitantly helpful in bringing your career to the next level.
Another helpful hint is that if you have talent, go after that goal. Don't worry about the competition, because I can tell you that there aren't many good writers in Hollywood. There are many people who think they are good writers, but they are not. And if you have talent, go for whatever you would enjoy. If you worry about the money, do not. If you are talented, in the right career, and you enjoy your work, the money will come automatically. If you're talented, and if you have a good work ethic, you will accomplish your goals. And if you don't go for it, when the time comes for you to drop dead, you'll probably be bitter and dislike yourself.
Oh, and I'm not sure if I mentioned this yet, but you should also read my book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life.
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you would like to share that I have not asked about?
Sandy Fries: Joseph Barbera had great taste in restaurants. JB would frequently take the writers and I out to lunch at a variety of different places. We went to a Chinese place called Fung Lum, and often visited Musso & Frank's - which appeared in Tarantino's most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Everywhere we'd go, people loved Mr. Barbera. Not because of who he was, or what he accomplished, but solely because of his demeanor and his personality. And he also always picked up the check.
Another thing about Joseph Barbera was that he was very quick, in a creative sense. One time when I was in a story meeting with him, inspiration struck. He immediately began explaining a gag for the Tom and Jerry Kids Show to me, but he was talking as fast as his thoughts entered his head. It sounded something like this:
He went, "So Tom [unintelligible] and then Jerry [unintelligible], so then Tom [unintelligible]."
I just stared blankly back at him, and JB responded, "You didn't understand any of that did you?"
He began to act out and sketch the gag so that I was able to understand it. It was a very good gag. But the very first time he explained it, his mind was running so quickly that he couldn't communicate it properly. When Joseph Barbera would explain his ideas, he would act out characters, and do their voices as well. This helped him communicate many of his thoughts to the writers and animators in an understandable way. It was great to see him do sketches and gags that we were discussing. I would come in with a script, he'd read it through, he'd edit it, and then add his ideas. Any idea he added made the scene, or a gag, or even the dialogue, better. There were times my script was passed through with very little changes made. Being able to write a script that Joseph Barbera put through with very little edits was very fulfilling.
One day we were in the studio watching one of my scripts being recorded by the voice artists. At the beginning of the interview, you asked me how I got into screenwriting, and I said that it was because I wanted to have fun. Well, I cannot emphasize how fun it was to see these incredible voice actors performing my dialogue during a recording session.
There's a picture of me and the voice actors -- along with Mr. Barbera -- and in the photo every single person is smiling and having a fun time. That's my kind of job. That's what I like to do.
I've learned a lot over the course of my life, from many different talented people. Stan Lee taught me the relevance of responding. Gene Roddenberry taught me how to overcome overbearing obstacles. Joseph Barbera taught me how to work hard with a smile on my face. Big Bang Theory creator, Chuck Lorre, taught me to never give up even when the work seemed worthless.
Those tips, and other stories on how to achieve a good life, are filling up my book, Secrets Your Textbook Will Not Tell You: About TV, Movies, and Life. It's available on Amazon for only $5.95. It'll take you under three hours to read, and it could change the rest of your life. There's a link to it right below this sentence, and I truly believe you will enjoy reading it.
5/22/2022
SUZI YOONESSI
SUZI YOONESSI
Producer and director of Daphne & Velma
ScoobySnax.com: How did you first become interested in directing?
Suzi: My love of storytelling started at a young age, when I'd eagerly stay up at night, relishing my Grandma Nimtaj's Persian Fairy Tales. In high school, I found myself most comfortable behind a 35mm or hi8 camera or creating music with my punk band, so my interest in filmmaking was clear by the time I entered the San Francisco Art Institute to study photography and film. What I love about film is that it incorporates multiple artistic mediums to tell a story, so I am able to continue to dabble in music, story and cinematography as it helps tell the film story.
ScoobySnax.com: How was the concept for Daphne & Velma first developed?
Suzi: I was approached with Daphne and Velma as a fleshed out treatment, conceived by Blue Ribbon Entertainment who developed the story with writers Kyle Mack and Caitlin Meares.
ScoobySnax.com: If you had any role in the casting, what drew you to cast Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman in the roles of Daphne and Velma?
Suzi: Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman embody the yin and yang that makes Daphne and Velma an everlasting friendship, and the Sarahs platonic spark on set was dynamic and powerful to watch. Sarah Jeffery is such a nuanced and powerful actor. She captures the brightness and whimsy of Daphne, while filling out her depth of character and thought. I love how she navigated Daphne's investigative smarts and determination, while keeping her light bright. Sarah Gilman is masterful with her comedic timing and she channeled the effortless cool and outsider vibes of Velma. She is an actor who elevates the material with her improv skills, and both are able to explore the darker side of each character with light.
ScoobySnax.com: The tone of this film is very lighthearted and quirky. How did you and the rest of the crew decide on this type of tone for the film?
Suzi: I love the tone that we achieved, and was lucky to be working with a script by Kyle Mack and Caitlin Meares, who have such sharp dialogue, and a creative and production team that really understood embracing the lens of Daphne and Velma as teenage girls. My intention was to translate the stony humor of Scooby Doo into live action form and bring some of the iconic animation blocking to life in live action form. Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman both have such a smart sense of humor and magnetic energy that helped land the tone of the film.
ScoobySnax.com: Sarah Gilman mentioned in an interview that the filming was done in just a little over two weeks. How did the short filming window impact the final product (either positively or negatively)?
Suzi: The short shooting window was challenging, but I love embracing the limitations of a budget because it really pushes you as a filmmaker and filmmaking team. I was fortunate to have creative collaborators I had worked with in the past, and we'd put our heads together to think creatively about actualizing a school with cutting edge technology on a dime. Some of my favorite set pieces and props were a result of banding together with my production designer Rodrigo Cabral and prop master Cassie Miggins who are two super talents with the Riot Grrrl DIY spirit.
ScoobySnax.com: The film is largely centered around this idea of sisterhood and empowering women. How did the sisterhood theme help shape how you approached directing this film?
Suzi: I tried to infuse the film set with love and kindness, even when we were faced with unprecedented challenges. It was a visual and emotional delight staying focused on the characters using their ingenuity and celebrating their differences, to capture them truly being the writers of their destinies. I also loved working with music supervisor Dan Wilcox to build a soundtrack with a female-driven psychedelic, pop-punk vibe that captures Daphne and Velma's rebellious and enduring spirit.
ScoobySnax.com: How did this project compare and contrast to previous projects you’ve done?
Suzi: One thing I will always treasure on Daphne and Velma is the ability to pull from the Scooby Doo series and visual tropes. I also loved digging into building out two iconic female characters who were part of my DNA growing up - Daphne and Velma truly taught me that you can step out of the shadows and be part of the action, regardless of gender.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite memory, and what was the biggest challenge of creating this film?
Suzi: I loved filming the scene with the conflict couch, which is such a great turn in Daphne and Velma's relationship arc in the story. The set was low fi, with analog light up cubes, but rich in physical comedy and performance. The whole production and creative team banded together to bring the scene to life - someone was flipping the light from blue to red off-screen, while SFX held invisible wires to make it move the cubes, and Sarah G and Sarah J really leaned into the physical comedy. It really captured the feeling of the girls navigating a couch in beta testing mode, with the camera beautifully drifting between them.
ScoobySnax.com: Were there ever any plans for a sequel to Daphne & Velma?
Suzi: The door will always be open to sequels with the Scooby Doo franchise and Daphne and Velma's friendship.
ScoobySnax.com: In 2020, a trilogy of Daphne & Velma books was released. While they aren’t directly connected to the film, they still center around the idea of a sisterhood-like bond and use animated versions of Gilman and Jeffery’s portrayals on the covers. Do you know if the film inspired the book series, and if so, how?
Suzi: I have no idea, but I'd love to connect with the writer of the series!!!!
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about the film?
Suzi: Vanessa Marano perfectly delivers the line, "and I wouldn't have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids." This line wasn't originally in the script, and it was something I picked up with Vanessa doing improv, since I am a fan of the series and felt it was a must to have in the edit room. One of the execs was on the fence about including the line. After it played at Comic Con, the audience went wild after Vanessa delivered the line, and the exec turned to me and said, "I really thought we shouldn't include it." While acknowledging it was the right choice, seeing how the fans reacted. It made me feel like I was the right director on the project and that my fandom paid off in the end.
ScoobySnax.com: What unique contribution do you feel this film brings to the Scooby franchise?
Suzi: I think Daphne and Velma is an unapologetically female perspective and shines a light on the women of the series who truly deserved their own film after several decades of solving mysteries while seeing the stories through the male gaze.
ScoobySnax.com: What do you most hope audiences will take away from this film after watching it?
Suzi: The film is truly inclusive storytelling, and I hope audiences are empowered by Daphne and Velma's kindness and heart, and how they complement and respect each other's strengths and differences to find solutions.
Suzi: My love of storytelling started at a young age, when I'd eagerly stay up at night, relishing my Grandma Nimtaj's Persian Fairy Tales. In high school, I found myself most comfortable behind a 35mm or hi8 camera or creating music with my punk band, so my interest in filmmaking was clear by the time I entered the San Francisco Art Institute to study photography and film. What I love about film is that it incorporates multiple artistic mediums to tell a story, so I am able to continue to dabble in music, story and cinematography as it helps tell the film story.
ScoobySnax.com: How was the concept for Daphne & Velma first developed?
Suzi: I was approached with Daphne and Velma as a fleshed out treatment, conceived by Blue Ribbon Entertainment who developed the story with writers Kyle Mack and Caitlin Meares.
ScoobySnax.com: If you had any role in the casting, what drew you to cast Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman in the roles of Daphne and Velma?
Suzi: Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman embody the yin and yang that makes Daphne and Velma an everlasting friendship, and the Sarahs platonic spark on set was dynamic and powerful to watch. Sarah Jeffery is such a nuanced and powerful actor. She captures the brightness and whimsy of Daphne, while filling out her depth of character and thought. I love how she navigated Daphne's investigative smarts and determination, while keeping her light bright. Sarah Gilman is masterful with her comedic timing and she channeled the effortless cool and outsider vibes of Velma. She is an actor who elevates the material with her improv skills, and both are able to explore the darker side of each character with light.
ScoobySnax.com: The tone of this film is very lighthearted and quirky. How did you and the rest of the crew decide on this type of tone for the film?
Suzi: I love the tone that we achieved, and was lucky to be working with a script by Kyle Mack and Caitlin Meares, who have such sharp dialogue, and a creative and production team that really understood embracing the lens of Daphne and Velma as teenage girls. My intention was to translate the stony humor of Scooby Doo into live action form and bring some of the iconic animation blocking to life in live action form. Sarah Jeffery and Sarah Gilman both have such a smart sense of humor and magnetic energy that helped land the tone of the film.
ScoobySnax.com: Sarah Gilman mentioned in an interview that the filming was done in just a little over two weeks. How did the short filming window impact the final product (either positively or negatively)?
Suzi: The short shooting window was challenging, but I love embracing the limitations of a budget because it really pushes you as a filmmaker and filmmaking team. I was fortunate to have creative collaborators I had worked with in the past, and we'd put our heads together to think creatively about actualizing a school with cutting edge technology on a dime. Some of my favorite set pieces and props were a result of banding together with my production designer Rodrigo Cabral and prop master Cassie Miggins who are two super talents with the Riot Grrrl DIY spirit.
ScoobySnax.com: The film is largely centered around this idea of sisterhood and empowering women. How did the sisterhood theme help shape how you approached directing this film?
Suzi: I tried to infuse the film set with love and kindness, even when we were faced with unprecedented challenges. It was a visual and emotional delight staying focused on the characters using their ingenuity and celebrating their differences, to capture them truly being the writers of their destinies. I also loved working with music supervisor Dan Wilcox to build a soundtrack with a female-driven psychedelic, pop-punk vibe that captures Daphne and Velma's rebellious and enduring spirit.
ScoobySnax.com: How did this project compare and contrast to previous projects you’ve done?
Suzi: One thing I will always treasure on Daphne and Velma is the ability to pull from the Scooby Doo series and visual tropes. I also loved digging into building out two iconic female characters who were part of my DNA growing up - Daphne and Velma truly taught me that you can step out of the shadows and be part of the action, regardless of gender.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite memory, and what was the biggest challenge of creating this film?
Suzi: I loved filming the scene with the conflict couch, which is such a great turn in Daphne and Velma's relationship arc in the story. The set was low fi, with analog light up cubes, but rich in physical comedy and performance. The whole production and creative team banded together to bring the scene to life - someone was flipping the light from blue to red off-screen, while SFX held invisible wires to make it move the cubes, and Sarah G and Sarah J really leaned into the physical comedy. It really captured the feeling of the girls navigating a couch in beta testing mode, with the camera beautifully drifting between them.
ScoobySnax.com: Were there ever any plans for a sequel to Daphne & Velma?
Suzi: The door will always be open to sequels with the Scooby Doo franchise and Daphne and Velma's friendship.
ScoobySnax.com: In 2020, a trilogy of Daphne & Velma books was released. While they aren’t directly connected to the film, they still center around the idea of a sisterhood-like bond and use animated versions of Gilman and Jeffery’s portrayals on the covers. Do you know if the film inspired the book series, and if so, how?
Suzi: I have no idea, but I'd love to connect with the writer of the series!!!!
ScoobySnax.com: What memorable responses or feedback have you received about the film?
Suzi: Vanessa Marano perfectly delivers the line, "and I wouldn't have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids." This line wasn't originally in the script, and it was something I picked up with Vanessa doing improv, since I am a fan of the series and felt it was a must to have in the edit room. One of the execs was on the fence about including the line. After it played at Comic Con, the audience went wild after Vanessa delivered the line, and the exec turned to me and said, "I really thought we shouldn't include it." While acknowledging it was the right choice, seeing how the fans reacted. It made me feel like I was the right director on the project and that my fandom paid off in the end.
ScoobySnax.com: What unique contribution do you feel this film brings to the Scooby franchise?
Suzi: I think Daphne and Velma is an unapologetically female perspective and shines a light on the women of the series who truly deserved their own film after several decades of solving mysteries while seeing the stories through the male gaze.
ScoobySnax.com: What do you most hope audiences will take away from this film after watching it?
Suzi: The film is truly inclusive storytelling, and I hope audiences are empowered by Daphne and Velma's kindness and heart, and how they complement and respect each other's strengths and differences to find solutions.
4/16/2024
JOHN DUSENBERRY
JOHN DUSENBERRY
Story editor of SCOOB! & head of story for Scoob! Holiday Haunt
ScoobySnax.com: As a kid, were you a fan of Scooby? If so, did you have a favorite series or episode/film?
John: Having been part of two Scooby Doo projects, people are often surprised to hear that I have never been a big fan of the series. Don't get me wrong, I have a deep appreciation for all things silly and spooky, but the show didn't quite hit the mark for me. Whether it was the laugh track layered over a cartoon or the recycled and predictable plots, something about it just didn't click. So, you can imagine the cosmic irony when back in 2016 I found myself being offered a job on the first-ever fully animated Scooby-Doo movie!
But looking back, I think that my lack of fandom actually worked in the film's favor. I share the sentiment with Miyazaki that films made by overly passionate fans of a franchise can sometimes miss the mark, feeling more like a tribute than a fresh take. That sort of detachment from the series directly contributed to ideas for the story that I might not have considered otherwise. Pushing me to transform the arguably one-dimensional stereotypes from the original series into fully fleshed-out characters with growth and arcs with which audiences could truly connect.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into working in animation? Was it something you knew you wanted to do from a young age, or was it something that you discovered later in life?
John: As a kid, I was all about two things: drawing and movies. I was that kid glued to behind-the-scenes making-of footage for all my favorite films. For a long time, I had one eye on the idea of becoming a concept artist, and the other eye set on becoming an actor, writer, or live-action director. I was also a huge fan of Jim Henson's puppetry and special effects wizardry. Anything with puppets and special effects. I joined a robotics club during high school and experimented with some short CGI films that the program encouraged. So when Pixar and Toy Story happened, it was like a lightbulb moment for me (pun intended). I could draw, I was good at tech, I loved movies, and Pixar's whole thing was basically one big special effect. So suddenly, animation seemed like an easy way to break into the film industry! But after graduation, I took a detour and started a web design firm. Back in the early 2000s, when websites were still a mystery to most. We helped businesses build their online presence and branding, but I quickly grew to miss the creative spark behind what we were doing. So, I resolved to follow my passion, took on a series of odd jobs and went to film school. I nearly took a few detours along the way--toying with Anthropology and even the Medical field, but eventually found my path leading me to CalArts (where the magic behind Toy Story was born), and it was there that my journey into the animation industry really kicked into gear.
Oddly enough, though, after a decade as an animator and almost another as a story artist, I've been finding myself being asked to do voice acting on shows as we develop them--which feels like my childhood dream of being in front of the camera come full circle, in a very roundabout way.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite part of working on SCOOB!, and what was the most challenging aspect?
John: Working on SCOOB! was an absolute blast, mainly thanks to the incredible crew we had. The people surrounding that project really turned Warner Bros. into a second home for me, and some of my closest friends are people I started with there. It's been incredibly awesome to continue collaborating with them on so many other projects, too (including the yet-to-be-released SCOOB! sequel, Holiday Haunt).
But we were under serious pressure to knock SCOOB! out of the park and set the stage for a series of films based on the Hanna-Barbera IPs that Warner Bros. had acquired. SCOOB! was always meant to kickstart this whole new era of iconic characters hitting the big screen. And therein laid the major challenge. We had to find the sweet spot of introducing a universe of characters without overloading the film or making it feel like a disjointed series of episodes. It was no easy task, but I think we got pretty close to the mark. Judging by the feedback I've received (this interview included), people really dug what we created.
ScoobySnax.com: Have you received any memorable responses for your work on SCOOB!?
John: The love from the Scooby-Doo and SCOOB! fandom has always been so incredibly kind. It's always so heartwarming to connect with fans through podcasts, interviews, and just bumping into folks around town. There's nothing quite like seeing how much joy our work brings. The first SCOOB! film always feels particularly special because of how it came out right at the start of the pandemic. People often talk about it as if we gave them a big, cozy hug right when they needed it most.
And actually--that reminds me of one fun little anecdote that always brings me a smile. My older brother lives in Houston, and will periodically send me pictures of his local movieplex where a colossal SCOOB! movie poster somehow stands to this day! It's been up since the film came out, and I'm not sure if Warner Bros. forgot they rented the ad space or what--but it's become a lasting tribute that seems like it's here to stay for generations to come.
ScoobySnax.com: Did you have a favorite sequence or scene to animate in SCOOB!?
John: There's a lot of great moments in SCOOB!, but my favorite remains the "Lady Cop" scene. I was given was a loose, rough version of the script with some essential dialogue, but I knew the scene needed something special. The direction I got was actually pretty straightforward: "We need the gang to get pulled over by a cop who turns out to be Dastardly." Storyboarding the sequence, I somehow found myself coming up with the idea that the cop could be a really attractive female, and that Fred would instantly fall in love with her and attempt to be suave, only to spectacularly fail. A running bet with the story crew was to find new way to make Fred a lovably clueless character. The dumber his antics the better, and this scene was really, really dumb! I remember pitching the Lady Cop scene to roaring laughter, even from big studio execs--which can be quite rare. I honestly thought that scene might get watered down or cut entirely, but somehow it made it all the way to final getting better and better, thanks to the incredible work of Christina Hendricks, Zac Efron, and the rest of the crew that brought it to life. It's not every day you get to shape an entire sequence like I did with "Lady Cop." A joke here, a line of dialogue there, good idea that gets turned over to better writers--sure. It's a scene that I'm really proud of.
ScoobySnax.com: SCOOB! went through a lot of different versions of animation during the production stages. What was the creative logic for deciding on the final version of the animation, as opposed to the many other animation styles that were proposed?
John: Like most films, SCOOB! went through several iterations during its development phase. There were a few versions even before I joined the project, and we underwent at least two page-one rewrites during my stint on the show. And really, each version had its strengths, things I wish had made it to final. But ultimately, the version that made it to the screen was really driven by the desire to show audiences the Mystery Gang's first big, fully animated adventure.
We also wanted to take the characters in new directions and introduce audiences, both old and new, to a diverse cast of beloved characters that would be featured in future projects. Stylistically, the challenge was all about how to translate these iconic characters from their traditional, flat, limited designs into full blown, fluid and dynamic CG animation without losing their essence which audiences for generations had come to know and love. Easy, right? But it seems like we did a good job.
ScoobySnax.com: You were promoted to head of story for SCOOB! Holiday Haunt. What were the rewards and challenges of having a much larger role in the story for the film?
John: Maybe a year or so after wrapping SCOOB!, I reached out to our director Tony Cervone for some industry advice. And to my surprise during that chat, Tony dropped a double bombshell that not only were they working on a sequel to SCOOB!, but he wanted me as the Head of Story. It was a huge honor, and I can only guess the result of the great rapport Tony and I had during the first film. Not only did we click professionally but we really shared a ton of personal interests, from music tastes to geeking out over Twin Peaks.
I heard through the grapevine that Tony and Allison (Abbate) were impressed with my work not just on SCOOB!, but also on other Warner Bros. projects around the same time--Smallfoot, LEGO Ninjago, LEGO 2, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and the like. I guess I gained something of a reputation for being the guy who could jump onto any project, deliver good work that elevated the film, and roll with the punches without complaint. There were a few of us being asked back to run departments on the sequel. Michael Kurinsky, Steve Childers, and of course, Tony and Allison. It really felt like getting the band back together, which was crucial given the tighter budget and production timeline for the sequel—we needed the shorthand we'd developed on the first film.
But really, being surrounded by all of my favorite people in the industry again, working on a sort of "sneakquel" with the gang as kids, and tack on the amazing voice talent we found for the film... the whole project was a Christmas Miracle. All the old crew who played the gang as kids were back. Ian Armitage, McKenna Grace, Pierce Gagnon, Ariana Greenblat (who have all gone on to do such amazing work), so that was great. But then, we somehow filled the rest of the cast with a ton of my childhood heroes! Michael McKean, Ming Na Wen, Mark Hamill, and Mr. Scooby-Doo himself: Frank Welker! I mean, are you kidding? Those guys? Forget about it. Not to mention some of my favorite newer actors like Christo Fernandez, Maya Hawke, and the late-great Andre Braugher.
I'll tell ya--it was more than I could have ever hoped for in terms of "making it" in this industry. A solid film with industry legends and all my best friends? What else could you want? Every day felt like a pinch-me moment because I was truly living the dream.
ScoobySnax.com: What is your favorite show or movie that you’ve worked on, and why?
John: SCOOB! Holiday Haunt remains at the top of my list as the best project I've ever worked on, for all the reasons I've mentioned and more. We really poured our all into that project and unabashedly paid homage to so many films that inspired us, making it not only a great experience and even better movie, but a full-blown love letter to the films that made us filmmakers. When it comes to TV shows, though, I'm torn between two equally amazing experiences.
First is the 2017 DuckTales revival series. DuckTales was a really fun adventure that not only brought me together with old CalArts classmates and incredible talent at Disney, it also allowed me to finally employ my hand-drawn animation skills the way I learned them in school. And I had the privilege of animating a few super iconic moments in the series too: Scrooge McDuck diving into his pile of gold, Darkwing Duck delivering his iconic line "Let's. Get. DANGEROUS!". I even got to animate Donald, Huey, Duey, Luey and Launchpad! Eight-year-old me still can't quite believe it.
Then, there's the time I served as supervising animator for COSMOS: A Space-time Odyssey. As a lifelong fan of Carl Sagan and a lover of science, this was truly a dream gig. Meeting and working with Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan's widow, was an unforgettable experience, as was the heartfelt speech she delivered for Carl at our wrap party under the moon. I'm really proud of the work we did on that show, and it's one of the few shows I've worked on that was really designed to educate as much as entertain. I really think we need more of that these days. Not to mention science is awesome.
I'm also going to mention a short series I produced with my writing partner Zack Keller (of Dark Horse) called The Duke of Fancy. Inspired by Zack's amazing novel The Success of Suexliegh, the show follows the richest man in the world in a set of wild misadventures. It was a joy to work on something so delightfully absurd and funny with my best friend. Our one rule for the show was simple: if a joke or idea didn't make us burst out with genuine laughter, it didn't make the cut. I think for that reason alone, Duke was probably quite literally the most fun I've ever had making a show. Check them out on YouTube.
ScoobySnax.com: Throughout your career, who has been your biggest inspiration, and why?
John:I know a lot of my peers idolize the various legends of animation, and while I have nothing but respect for them myself, I have to admit that my main inspiration stems more from the world of live-action. I can't ignore Walt Disney's groundbreaking work, so I'll lead with that, but I really admire Walt more for the work he did with Disneyland and the scrapped EPCOT project. I think by stark comparison, I was much more into the darker, creepier worlds of Jim Henson and Tim Burton. Cinematic giants like David Lean, David Lynch, Chaplin, Keaton, Spielberg, Zemeckis, Lucas. I'm a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino, whom I had the privilege of knowing in my youth when he was just the quirky clerk at my local rental spot: Video Archives. That was cool. And I am sure he introduced me to the likes of some of my other major inspirations like John Hughes and his ability to churn out such a steady stream of relatable, heartfelt, quality storytelling. I was a huge Monty Python fan growing up (thank you, Dad), and along those lines, I love nearly everything from Glen Charles, Les Charles, James Burrows, Ivan Reitman, Luc Besson, Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, and Frank Oz.
More recently, I find myself gravitating to Guillermo del Toro and Denis Villeneuve. Frank Darabont, Alfonso Cuaron, Miyazaki, Mel Brooks, Larry David... we could have a whole separate discussion about my many, many sources of inspiration, but I feel like this gives a good idea where my tastes lie.
ScoobySnax.com: What projects are you working on currently?
John: At Warner Bros., I've had the pleasure of helping with several exciting projects under the great new leadership of Bill Damaschke. Things like Meet the Flintstones, Hello Kitty, and Cat in the Hat. Outside of WB, I've been busy mentoring students through StoryboardArt.org, working on plenty of original screenplays and short stories and novels, as well as my own Story book based on my years of experience in the industry. My hope with that book is to offer clear and actionable guidance to storytellers faced with that daunting blank page and all you want to do is craft a compelling and memorable story.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to get into storyboarding, or the animation industry in general?
John: For anyone venturing into storyboarding, animation, or filmmaking, my advice is simple: stick with it. This is a challenging industry that requires specialized skills and dedication, but it's also incredibly rewarding when you finally break in. And trust me--I've had my share of odd jobs outside of the industry; nothing compares. Find ways to fuel your passion. Study film, seek mentorship, consider film school—never stop learning. Remember that even at the height of your career, you will always be a student, drawing from the masters who paved the way before you. And that being said, never be anyone but yourself.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
John: I recently caught wind that my all-time favorite podcast, Hello from the Magic Tavern, is being adapted into an animated series. And the prospect of an animated series based on the characters crafted by Adal Rifai, Arnie Niekamp, Matt Young and the other amazingly talented improv artists out of Chicago, is incredibly exciting. It would definitely be a dream project for me right now.
Another project I've always wanted to tackle is an animated adaptation of Clive Barker's The Thief of Always. I absolutely devoured the book as a kid and found it even more captivating as an adult. It's the perfect blend of spooky and fun. Last I checked, the rights were a bit tricky to secure, but I'm hopeful that one day I'll get a chance to bring it to the big screen.
ScoobySnax.com: What is one “fun fact" or behind-the-scenes tidbit that people might not know about SCOOB! (or Holiday Haunt)?
John:
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
John: Thank you so much for reaching out. I hope you're doing well and that your fans enjoy a little peek behind the curtain.
John: Having been part of two Scooby Doo projects, people are often surprised to hear that I have never been a big fan of the series. Don't get me wrong, I have a deep appreciation for all things silly and spooky, but the show didn't quite hit the mark for me. Whether it was the laugh track layered over a cartoon or the recycled and predictable plots, something about it just didn't click. So, you can imagine the cosmic irony when back in 2016 I found myself being offered a job on the first-ever fully animated Scooby-Doo movie!
But looking back, I think that my lack of fandom actually worked in the film's favor. I share the sentiment with Miyazaki that films made by overly passionate fans of a franchise can sometimes miss the mark, feeling more like a tribute than a fresh take. That sort of detachment from the series directly contributed to ideas for the story that I might not have considered otherwise. Pushing me to transform the arguably one-dimensional stereotypes from the original series into fully fleshed-out characters with growth and arcs with which audiences could truly connect.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get into working in animation? Was it something you knew you wanted to do from a young age, or was it something that you discovered later in life?
John: As a kid, I was all about two things: drawing and movies. I was that kid glued to behind-the-scenes making-of footage for all my favorite films. For a long time, I had one eye on the idea of becoming a concept artist, and the other eye set on becoming an actor, writer, or live-action director. I was also a huge fan of Jim Henson's puppetry and special effects wizardry. Anything with puppets and special effects. I joined a robotics club during high school and experimented with some short CGI films that the program encouraged. So when Pixar and Toy Story happened, it was like a lightbulb moment for me (pun intended). I could draw, I was good at tech, I loved movies, and Pixar's whole thing was basically one big special effect. So suddenly, animation seemed like an easy way to break into the film industry! But after graduation, I took a detour and started a web design firm. Back in the early 2000s, when websites were still a mystery to most. We helped businesses build their online presence and branding, but I quickly grew to miss the creative spark behind what we were doing. So, I resolved to follow my passion, took on a series of odd jobs and went to film school. I nearly took a few detours along the way--toying with Anthropology and even the Medical field, but eventually found my path leading me to CalArts (where the magic behind Toy Story was born), and it was there that my journey into the animation industry really kicked into gear.
Oddly enough, though, after a decade as an animator and almost another as a story artist, I've been finding myself being asked to do voice acting on shows as we develop them--which feels like my childhood dream of being in front of the camera come full circle, in a very roundabout way.
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite part of working on SCOOB!, and what was the most challenging aspect?
John: Working on SCOOB! was an absolute blast, mainly thanks to the incredible crew we had. The people surrounding that project really turned Warner Bros. into a second home for me, and some of my closest friends are people I started with there. It's been incredibly awesome to continue collaborating with them on so many other projects, too (including the yet-to-be-released SCOOB! sequel, Holiday Haunt).
But we were under serious pressure to knock SCOOB! out of the park and set the stage for a series of films based on the Hanna-Barbera IPs that Warner Bros. had acquired. SCOOB! was always meant to kickstart this whole new era of iconic characters hitting the big screen. And therein laid the major challenge. We had to find the sweet spot of introducing a universe of characters without overloading the film or making it feel like a disjointed series of episodes. It was no easy task, but I think we got pretty close to the mark. Judging by the feedback I've received (this interview included), people really dug what we created.
ScoobySnax.com: Have you received any memorable responses for your work on SCOOB!?
John: The love from the Scooby-Doo and SCOOB! fandom has always been so incredibly kind. It's always so heartwarming to connect with fans through podcasts, interviews, and just bumping into folks around town. There's nothing quite like seeing how much joy our work brings. The first SCOOB! film always feels particularly special because of how it came out right at the start of the pandemic. People often talk about it as if we gave them a big, cozy hug right when they needed it most.
And actually--that reminds me of one fun little anecdote that always brings me a smile. My older brother lives in Houston, and will periodically send me pictures of his local movieplex where a colossal SCOOB! movie poster somehow stands to this day! It's been up since the film came out, and I'm not sure if Warner Bros. forgot they rented the ad space or what--but it's become a lasting tribute that seems like it's here to stay for generations to come.
ScoobySnax.com: Did you have a favorite sequence or scene to animate in SCOOB!?
John: There's a lot of great moments in SCOOB!, but my favorite remains the "Lady Cop" scene. I was given was a loose, rough version of the script with some essential dialogue, but I knew the scene needed something special. The direction I got was actually pretty straightforward: "We need the gang to get pulled over by a cop who turns out to be Dastardly." Storyboarding the sequence, I somehow found myself coming up with the idea that the cop could be a really attractive female, and that Fred would instantly fall in love with her and attempt to be suave, only to spectacularly fail. A running bet with the story crew was to find new way to make Fred a lovably clueless character. The dumber his antics the better, and this scene was really, really dumb! I remember pitching the Lady Cop scene to roaring laughter, even from big studio execs--which can be quite rare. I honestly thought that scene might get watered down or cut entirely, but somehow it made it all the way to final getting better and better, thanks to the incredible work of Christina Hendricks, Zac Efron, and the rest of the crew that brought it to life. It's not every day you get to shape an entire sequence like I did with "Lady Cop." A joke here, a line of dialogue there, good idea that gets turned over to better writers--sure. It's a scene that I'm really proud of.
ScoobySnax.com: SCOOB! went through a lot of different versions of animation during the production stages. What was the creative logic for deciding on the final version of the animation, as opposed to the many other animation styles that were proposed?
John: Like most films, SCOOB! went through several iterations during its development phase. There were a few versions even before I joined the project, and we underwent at least two page-one rewrites during my stint on the show. And really, each version had its strengths, things I wish had made it to final. But ultimately, the version that made it to the screen was really driven by the desire to show audiences the Mystery Gang's first big, fully animated adventure.
We also wanted to take the characters in new directions and introduce audiences, both old and new, to a diverse cast of beloved characters that would be featured in future projects. Stylistically, the challenge was all about how to translate these iconic characters from their traditional, flat, limited designs into full blown, fluid and dynamic CG animation without losing their essence which audiences for generations had come to know and love. Easy, right? But it seems like we did a good job.
ScoobySnax.com: You were promoted to head of story for SCOOB! Holiday Haunt. What were the rewards and challenges of having a much larger role in the story for the film?
John: Maybe a year or so after wrapping SCOOB!, I reached out to our director Tony Cervone for some industry advice. And to my surprise during that chat, Tony dropped a double bombshell that not only were they working on a sequel to SCOOB!, but he wanted me as the Head of Story. It was a huge honor, and I can only guess the result of the great rapport Tony and I had during the first film. Not only did we click professionally but we really shared a ton of personal interests, from music tastes to geeking out over Twin Peaks.
I heard through the grapevine that Tony and Allison (Abbate) were impressed with my work not just on SCOOB!, but also on other Warner Bros. projects around the same time--Smallfoot, LEGO Ninjago, LEGO 2, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and the like. I guess I gained something of a reputation for being the guy who could jump onto any project, deliver good work that elevated the film, and roll with the punches without complaint. There were a few of us being asked back to run departments on the sequel. Michael Kurinsky, Steve Childers, and of course, Tony and Allison. It really felt like getting the band back together, which was crucial given the tighter budget and production timeline for the sequel—we needed the shorthand we'd developed on the first film.
But really, being surrounded by all of my favorite people in the industry again, working on a sort of "sneakquel" with the gang as kids, and tack on the amazing voice talent we found for the film... the whole project was a Christmas Miracle. All the old crew who played the gang as kids were back. Ian Armitage, McKenna Grace, Pierce Gagnon, Ariana Greenblat (who have all gone on to do such amazing work), so that was great. But then, we somehow filled the rest of the cast with a ton of my childhood heroes! Michael McKean, Ming Na Wen, Mark Hamill, and Mr. Scooby-Doo himself: Frank Welker! I mean, are you kidding? Those guys? Forget about it. Not to mention some of my favorite newer actors like Christo Fernandez, Maya Hawke, and the late-great Andre Braugher.
I'll tell ya--it was more than I could have ever hoped for in terms of "making it" in this industry. A solid film with industry legends and all my best friends? What else could you want? Every day felt like a pinch-me moment because I was truly living the dream.
ScoobySnax.com: What is your favorite show or movie that you’ve worked on, and why?
John: SCOOB! Holiday Haunt remains at the top of my list as the best project I've ever worked on, for all the reasons I've mentioned and more. We really poured our all into that project and unabashedly paid homage to so many films that inspired us, making it not only a great experience and even better movie, but a full-blown love letter to the films that made us filmmakers. When it comes to TV shows, though, I'm torn between two equally amazing experiences.
First is the 2017 DuckTales revival series. DuckTales was a really fun adventure that not only brought me together with old CalArts classmates and incredible talent at Disney, it also allowed me to finally employ my hand-drawn animation skills the way I learned them in school. And I had the privilege of animating a few super iconic moments in the series too: Scrooge McDuck diving into his pile of gold, Darkwing Duck delivering his iconic line "Let's. Get. DANGEROUS!". I even got to animate Donald, Huey, Duey, Luey and Launchpad! Eight-year-old me still can't quite believe it.
Then, there's the time I served as supervising animator for COSMOS: A Space-time Odyssey. As a lifelong fan of Carl Sagan and a lover of science, this was truly a dream gig. Meeting and working with Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan's widow, was an unforgettable experience, as was the heartfelt speech she delivered for Carl at our wrap party under the moon. I'm really proud of the work we did on that show, and it's one of the few shows I've worked on that was really designed to educate as much as entertain. I really think we need more of that these days. Not to mention science is awesome.
I'm also going to mention a short series I produced with my writing partner Zack Keller (of Dark Horse) called The Duke of Fancy. Inspired by Zack's amazing novel The Success of Suexliegh, the show follows the richest man in the world in a set of wild misadventures. It was a joy to work on something so delightfully absurd and funny with my best friend. Our one rule for the show was simple: if a joke or idea didn't make us burst out with genuine laughter, it didn't make the cut. I think for that reason alone, Duke was probably quite literally the most fun I've ever had making a show. Check them out on YouTube.
ScoobySnax.com: Throughout your career, who has been your biggest inspiration, and why?
John:I know a lot of my peers idolize the various legends of animation, and while I have nothing but respect for them myself, I have to admit that my main inspiration stems more from the world of live-action. I can't ignore Walt Disney's groundbreaking work, so I'll lead with that, but I really admire Walt more for the work he did with Disneyland and the scrapped EPCOT project. I think by stark comparison, I was much more into the darker, creepier worlds of Jim Henson and Tim Burton. Cinematic giants like David Lean, David Lynch, Chaplin, Keaton, Spielberg, Zemeckis, Lucas. I'm a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino, whom I had the privilege of knowing in my youth when he was just the quirky clerk at my local rental spot: Video Archives. That was cool. And I am sure he introduced me to the likes of some of my other major inspirations like John Hughes and his ability to churn out such a steady stream of relatable, heartfelt, quality storytelling. I was a huge Monty Python fan growing up (thank you, Dad), and along those lines, I love nearly everything from Glen Charles, Les Charles, James Burrows, Ivan Reitman, Luc Besson, Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, and Frank Oz.
More recently, I find myself gravitating to Guillermo del Toro and Denis Villeneuve. Frank Darabont, Alfonso Cuaron, Miyazaki, Mel Brooks, Larry David... we could have a whole separate discussion about my many, many sources of inspiration, but I feel like this gives a good idea where my tastes lie.
ScoobySnax.com: What projects are you working on currently?
John: At Warner Bros., I've had the pleasure of helping with several exciting projects under the great new leadership of Bill Damaschke. Things like Meet the Flintstones, Hello Kitty, and Cat in the Hat. Outside of WB, I've been busy mentoring students through StoryboardArt.org, working on plenty of original screenplays and short stories and novels, as well as my own Story book based on my years of experience in the industry. My hope with that book is to offer clear and actionable guidance to storytellers faced with that daunting blank page and all you want to do is craft a compelling and memorable story.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to get into storyboarding, or the animation industry in general?
John: For anyone venturing into storyboarding, animation, or filmmaking, my advice is simple: stick with it. This is a challenging industry that requires specialized skills and dedication, but it's also incredibly rewarding when you finally break in. And trust me--I've had my share of odd jobs outside of the industry; nothing compares. Find ways to fuel your passion. Study film, seek mentorship, consider film school—never stop learning. Remember that even at the height of your career, you will always be a student, drawing from the masters who paved the way before you. And that being said, never be anyone but yourself.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any show or movie in the world, what would it be?
John: I recently caught wind that my all-time favorite podcast, Hello from the Magic Tavern, is being adapted into an animated series. And the prospect of an animated series based on the characters crafted by Adal Rifai, Arnie Niekamp, Matt Young and the other amazingly talented improv artists out of Chicago, is incredibly exciting. It would definitely be a dream project for me right now.
Another project I've always wanted to tackle is an animated adaptation of Clive Barker's The Thief of Always. I absolutely devoured the book as a kid and found it even more captivating as an adult. It's the perfect blend of spooky and fun. Last I checked, the rights were a bit tricky to secure, but I'm hopeful that one day I'll get a chance to bring it to the big screen.
ScoobySnax.com: What is one “fun fact" or behind-the-scenes tidbit that people might not know about SCOOB! (or Holiday Haunt)?
John:
- Despite the news that Holiday Haunt was getting shelved, we were still given the greenlight to finish the film. So, unlike Batgirl and some of the other shows that were cancelled during that time, Holiday Haunt is DONE! In the can! Ready to GO! As emotionally taxing as it was to finish a film knowing it was destined for the vault, we prided ourselves in bringing the film to completion in the off chance that it'll eventually see the light of day.
- Scratch dialogue plays a crucial role in shaping animated movies before final voice actors are cast. And thanks to my background in acting and improv, I often step in to provide voices for characters as we develop them. On Holiday Haunt I was cast as the voice of Santa Claus right up until the end, when an impromptu line read by Mark Hamill revealed that he was clearly the better choice. Can you believe it?! (Haha). I also provided scratch for a character Andre Braugher ended up voicing and by some crazy coincidence I was also tapped to do scratch for a part that Andre was slated to voice in the upcoming Cat in the Hat!
- There was a standout character in Holiday Haunt that was directly inspired by one of our childhood heroes: John Candy. And while it would have been ideal for John to voice the part, we knew that wasn't possible. So, we aimed to find someone who not only knew and loved John, but would also be perfect for the role in their own right. Our first pick was the legend himself, Mr. Dan Aykroyd. But, due to his commitments to the new Ghostbusters film, Dan couldn't take the role. This led to a rather fortunate turn of events when another actor connected to John Candy stepped in: the one and only Michael McKean! McKean brought a level of professionalism and depth of character exploration that I have never seen from another voice actor, and it was truly an honor to work with him.
- Bonus Fun Fact: McKean had worked with John Candy in that iconic scene from Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, which by some cosmic coincidence was a major source of inspiration for my "Lady Cop" sequence in the first SCOOB!.
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
John: Thank you so much for reaching out. I hope you're doing well and that your fans enjoy a little peek behind the curtain.
8/6/2024
MARK NORMAN
MARK NORMAN
Author of Zoinks! The Spooky Folklore Behind Scooby-Doo
ScoobySnax.com: What inspired your interest in researching folklore? When did that interest first start?
Mark: Like many people of a certain age, my interest began in the school library and was focused more on the paranormal than folklore itself. Books like the classic Usborne 'Mysteries of the Unexplained' series did so much to fuel interest in the subject, but mine continued as many people's waned as they grew older. I continued to research the area, contributed to magazines such as 'Fortean Times' and the like, and participated in some of the associated mailing lists - yes, I'm old enough to pre-date real-time chat options. At the same time, I developed an interest in the history and heritage of my local area and the two combined led to an interest in all aspects of folklore. I used to work in the media and when I left the stresses of the TV world I took a degree combining social science with media, and this was to consolidate my path forward. 2015 was a key year, seeing the launch of my podcast, The Folklore Podcast, now in its 9th season and about to hit 2 million downloads, and the release of my first book 'Black Dog Folklore' looking at spectral black dogs. The podcast was supposed to be a hobby, but hitting the internet at a time when there were much fewer podcasts, and having one of the only ones that dealt with the genre, it drew a much larger audience than I was expecting. Similarly, Black Dog Folklore was and remains the only full-length study of the subject by a single author. The rest, as they say, is history and I'm still doing it, with a number of books released through various publishers.
ScoobySnax.com: What sparked the idea to write this book? Were you a fan of the show as a kid, or were there other reasons that inspired you to pursue this project?
Mark: I was, probably like most people, a fan of the show as a kid but being in the UK we had far less access to different iterations of the franchise so early episodes became ingrained through repeated viewing. But that wasn't the reason for writing the book - that actually came out of a completely random comment in another book. I was reading a non-fiction title about the production and filming of 'The Wicker Man' and it was in this that there was a throwaway comment about the Scooby Gang with reference to Summerisle. I thought the idea of Mystery Incorporated looking into this was a great concept, and it got me to thinking about the show from the point of view of our real-world folklore and mythology. Someone must surely have written a book on that... Turns out, they hadn't and so I did. An author colleague who works with another pop culture nostalgia TV franchise knew of a publisher who she thought would jump at the concept and so she put us in touch. He has a lifelong love of the show and offered to publish it, and that's where we are now.
ScoobySnax.com: Could you walk us through what your research process for the book looked like?
Mark: It's all about the spreadsheet! The first stage of this project was to create an enormous spreadsheet template which lists every episode of every iteration of the show, from Where Are You! season 1 to just prior to Velma, where I drew a line (if you don't create a hard stop point for research, then you never finish writing non-fiction books). This listed chronologically every episode, the villain, a summary of the plot and notes on the folklore found in the episode. The spreadsheet is colour-coded to show which episodes I have watched and which still needed watching. Some of this proved quite tricky as there are some versions that just can't be found easily in the UK. The rebranded episodes that became Where Are You! season 3 were only available on DVD in the US so someone had to visit a Target and get one for me, which I then had to convert to UK format. Some versions are available on US streaming services and could be accessed via a VPN. Some were on sites such as Dailymotion. And some I still can't get. So, the entire spreadsheet remains multicoloured although the majority have been viewed now. Once I had watched enough to begin the writing process I decided on the subject themes for the book chapters and then began collating the folklore in those episodes. Along with this, there was a wealth of additional research on things depicted which are not pure folklore but feature in folkloric stories. Does a monster appear in a mirror? Then how do mirrors feature in folklore? What do amulets signify in different cultures around the world? Secret passages ... flying carpets. Many many things!
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite part of the research process for this project? What was the most challenging part?
Mark: Is it bad form to suggest that the most challenging part was getting through the Scrappy episodes? Aside from that, the biggest challenge was in access to the episodes that I needed. But I'm still working on that even though the book is now completed because there are always second editions to consider, as well as writing for websites, magazines and live talks. I won't rest until everything has been viewed and used! The most pleasing part of the research process has been the numerous rabbit holes that the project has taken me down. Not just from the folklore, but from the pop culture side as well. As a fan of 1970s and 80s children's television, and the trivia associated with it, the book has been a joy to write. It's also been fun to use a slightly different writing style. I always try and approach my books with the rigour of academic writing, but with the accessibility of general non-fiction and a little bit of personality and wit. This one was no different, but I could play up the comedy too.
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve mentioned in another interview that there were times where the writing of episodes did not stay particularly true to the folklore behind certain types of villains, such as the Yeti haunting a cheese restaurant in “Kitchen Frightmare.” Were there certain series that you felt the villains stayed more true to their classic depictions in folklore than others?
Mark: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was good from this aspect, and by the same token Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? worked in the same way as it had a kind of back-to-basics approach. Be Cool was played for laughs, and there was some sophisticated humour in there for a wide demographic, but at the same time, it made some good commentary on aspects such as witches in 'World of Witchcraft' for example. In my opinion, though, Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated is the most well-rounded. Again, the plotting and humour are both sophisticated, the chapterised story arc gives far more scope for development and the research is, on the whole, very sound. The use of the Nibiru Cataclysm as an underlying theme includes a lot of information on the real-world Planet X conspiracy, along with aspects of ancient history, but also adds enough fiction to the concept to make it what it needs to be within the confines of Crystal Cove.
ScoobySnax.com: Which series did you have the most fun researching, and why?
Mark: That's like asking which is your favourite child, or pet, and I invoke my right of refusal to answer! Many of them have lots to get your teeth into and this makes them all fun in different ways. If I was pressed for an answer, then I would have to go with Be Cool, because it's the funniest. But SD:MI would be a close second.
ScoobySnax.com: How did this project compare and contrast to previous projects you’ve done?
Mark: The writing process was not too dissimilar as I try and approach all of my books in the same way - I think those followers who buy a number of them would get grumpy if I didn't! But the research process was obviously a little different this time. And despite what my wife would tell you, watching cartoons counts as research. As a nonfiction author herself, working on historical witch accusations at the moment, she was just jealous that she had to try and decipher pages of 17th-century secretary hand while I watched a talking dog eating burgers...
ScoobySnax.com: In the episode of your podcast discussing the book, you mentioned that the folklore behind witches and food are discussed at length in the book. Are there any other elements of folklore that you felt were particularly prominent themes in the franchise?
Mark: We need to remember that this is ultimately a children's show (despite what some of us might choose to believe!) and so it will always focus on the bigger and better-known themes for the most part. Ghosts, witches, cryptids and UFOs will make up the bulk of the episodes, but all of these categories can be broken down into sub-genres and this gives lots of scope for different ideas. There was a lot to drill down into with each of these areas, especially the many different types of ghost portrayed.
ScoobySnax.com: What is one fun fact that people would be interested to know about your research process?
Mark: Researching and writing becomes exponentially easier when you add a second monitor to your office desk. It also means you can procrastinate by watching Scooby on one screen while pretending to work on the other.
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Mark: I'd like to thank Scooby Snax for giving me the opportunity to answer questions, and for their help in promoting the book. The pre-order is the only way to get the collector's hardback edition of the book with the exclusive collector cards, so don't miss out. You can pre-order on the Andrews UK website from the US and if you have any problems, I'll be happy to help. I'd also love people to follow me on social media and maybe also give my podcast a try. There are many different themes covered so there should be something for everyone. You can subscribe on a podcast app or listen on my website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com - you'll find me on the platform formerly known as Twitter @folklorepod as well as on Facebook as The Folklore Podcast and also Bluesky. I'm happy to chat to people via email as well and help with orders - [email protected].
Mark: Like many people of a certain age, my interest began in the school library and was focused more on the paranormal than folklore itself. Books like the classic Usborne 'Mysteries of the Unexplained' series did so much to fuel interest in the subject, but mine continued as many people's waned as they grew older. I continued to research the area, contributed to magazines such as 'Fortean Times' and the like, and participated in some of the associated mailing lists - yes, I'm old enough to pre-date real-time chat options. At the same time, I developed an interest in the history and heritage of my local area and the two combined led to an interest in all aspects of folklore. I used to work in the media and when I left the stresses of the TV world I took a degree combining social science with media, and this was to consolidate my path forward. 2015 was a key year, seeing the launch of my podcast, The Folklore Podcast, now in its 9th season and about to hit 2 million downloads, and the release of my first book 'Black Dog Folklore' looking at spectral black dogs. The podcast was supposed to be a hobby, but hitting the internet at a time when there were much fewer podcasts, and having one of the only ones that dealt with the genre, it drew a much larger audience than I was expecting. Similarly, Black Dog Folklore was and remains the only full-length study of the subject by a single author. The rest, as they say, is history and I'm still doing it, with a number of books released through various publishers.
ScoobySnax.com: What sparked the idea to write this book? Were you a fan of the show as a kid, or were there other reasons that inspired you to pursue this project?
Mark: I was, probably like most people, a fan of the show as a kid but being in the UK we had far less access to different iterations of the franchise so early episodes became ingrained through repeated viewing. But that wasn't the reason for writing the book - that actually came out of a completely random comment in another book. I was reading a non-fiction title about the production and filming of 'The Wicker Man' and it was in this that there was a throwaway comment about the Scooby Gang with reference to Summerisle. I thought the idea of Mystery Incorporated looking into this was a great concept, and it got me to thinking about the show from the point of view of our real-world folklore and mythology. Someone must surely have written a book on that... Turns out, they hadn't and so I did. An author colleague who works with another pop culture nostalgia TV franchise knew of a publisher who she thought would jump at the concept and so she put us in touch. He has a lifelong love of the show and offered to publish it, and that's where we are now.
ScoobySnax.com: Could you walk us through what your research process for the book looked like?
Mark: It's all about the spreadsheet! The first stage of this project was to create an enormous spreadsheet template which lists every episode of every iteration of the show, from Where Are You! season 1 to just prior to Velma, where I drew a line (if you don't create a hard stop point for research, then you never finish writing non-fiction books). This listed chronologically every episode, the villain, a summary of the plot and notes on the folklore found in the episode. The spreadsheet is colour-coded to show which episodes I have watched and which still needed watching. Some of this proved quite tricky as there are some versions that just can't be found easily in the UK. The rebranded episodes that became Where Are You! season 3 were only available on DVD in the US so someone had to visit a Target and get one for me, which I then had to convert to UK format. Some versions are available on US streaming services and could be accessed via a VPN. Some were on sites such as Dailymotion. And some I still can't get. So, the entire spreadsheet remains multicoloured although the majority have been viewed now. Once I had watched enough to begin the writing process I decided on the subject themes for the book chapters and then began collating the folklore in those episodes. Along with this, there was a wealth of additional research on things depicted which are not pure folklore but feature in folkloric stories. Does a monster appear in a mirror? Then how do mirrors feature in folklore? What do amulets signify in different cultures around the world? Secret passages ... flying carpets. Many many things!
ScoobySnax.com: What was your favorite part of the research process for this project? What was the most challenging part?
Mark: Is it bad form to suggest that the most challenging part was getting through the Scrappy episodes? Aside from that, the biggest challenge was in access to the episodes that I needed. But I'm still working on that even though the book is now completed because there are always second editions to consider, as well as writing for websites, magazines and live talks. I won't rest until everything has been viewed and used! The most pleasing part of the research process has been the numerous rabbit holes that the project has taken me down. Not just from the folklore, but from the pop culture side as well. As a fan of 1970s and 80s children's television, and the trivia associated with it, the book has been a joy to write. It's also been fun to use a slightly different writing style. I always try and approach my books with the rigour of academic writing, but with the accessibility of general non-fiction and a little bit of personality and wit. This one was no different, but I could play up the comedy too.
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve mentioned in another interview that there were times where the writing of episodes did not stay particularly true to the folklore behind certain types of villains, such as the Yeti haunting a cheese restaurant in “Kitchen Frightmare.” Were there certain series that you felt the villains stayed more true to their classic depictions in folklore than others?
Mark: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was good from this aspect, and by the same token Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? worked in the same way as it had a kind of back-to-basics approach. Be Cool was played for laughs, and there was some sophisticated humour in there for a wide demographic, but at the same time, it made some good commentary on aspects such as witches in 'World of Witchcraft' for example. In my opinion, though, Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated is the most well-rounded. Again, the plotting and humour are both sophisticated, the chapterised story arc gives far more scope for development and the research is, on the whole, very sound. The use of the Nibiru Cataclysm as an underlying theme includes a lot of information on the real-world Planet X conspiracy, along with aspects of ancient history, but also adds enough fiction to the concept to make it what it needs to be within the confines of Crystal Cove.
ScoobySnax.com: Which series did you have the most fun researching, and why?
Mark: That's like asking which is your favourite child, or pet, and I invoke my right of refusal to answer! Many of them have lots to get your teeth into and this makes them all fun in different ways. If I was pressed for an answer, then I would have to go with Be Cool, because it's the funniest. But SD:MI would be a close second.
ScoobySnax.com: How did this project compare and contrast to previous projects you’ve done?
Mark: The writing process was not too dissimilar as I try and approach all of my books in the same way - I think those followers who buy a number of them would get grumpy if I didn't! But the research process was obviously a little different this time. And despite what my wife would tell you, watching cartoons counts as research. As a nonfiction author herself, working on historical witch accusations at the moment, she was just jealous that she had to try and decipher pages of 17th-century secretary hand while I watched a talking dog eating burgers...
ScoobySnax.com: In the episode of your podcast discussing the book, you mentioned that the folklore behind witches and food are discussed at length in the book. Are there any other elements of folklore that you felt were particularly prominent themes in the franchise?
Mark: We need to remember that this is ultimately a children's show (despite what some of us might choose to believe!) and so it will always focus on the bigger and better-known themes for the most part. Ghosts, witches, cryptids and UFOs will make up the bulk of the episodes, but all of these categories can be broken down into sub-genres and this gives lots of scope for different ideas. There was a lot to drill down into with each of these areas, especially the many different types of ghost portrayed.
ScoobySnax.com: What is one fun fact that people would be interested to know about your research process?
Mark: Researching and writing becomes exponentially easier when you add a second monitor to your office desk. It also means you can procrastinate by watching Scooby on one screen while pretending to work on the other.
ScoobySnax.com: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Mark: I'd like to thank Scooby Snax for giving me the opportunity to answer questions, and for their help in promoting the book. The pre-order is the only way to get the collector's hardback edition of the book with the exclusive collector cards, so don't miss out. You can pre-order on the Andrews UK website from the US and if you have any problems, I'll be happy to help. I'd also love people to follow me on social media and maybe also give my podcast a try. There are many different themes covered so there should be something for everyone. You can subscribe on a podcast app or listen on my website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com - you'll find me on the platform formerly known as Twitter @folklorepod as well as on Facebook as The Folklore Podcast and also Bluesky. I'm happy to chat to people via email as well and help with orders - [email protected].
3/4/2025
SCOTT NEELY
SCOTT NEELY
Illustrator for Scooby books, comics, and other printed media
ScoobySnax.com: What inspired you to become a professional illustrator? Were there any pivotal moments or experiences that led you to choose this career, or have you known this was your passion since you were a kid?
Scott Neely: I learned to read by reading comics. My mother would tell you that. Spidey Super Stories was a big thing for me. I had to know what was going on from all those exciting panels. Comics were cheap and accessible back then! I basically “graduated” from Spidey Super Stories to Marvel Tales starring Spider-Man to then realizing that Marvel Tales was just reprinting stories from Amazing Spider-Man. Spider-Man and Batman were my big two. I was into Superman comics when the first movie came out with Christopher Reeve.
In 1982, the crack habit of collecting comics fully started with Amazing Spider-Man #231, which I picked up at a 7-11 one afternoon after school. A comic book, Snickers bar, and a Coke-A-Cola Slurpee is pure magic. When I got to that last page… I HAD to know what happened next! That started seeking out comics and then finding the local comic store and the weekly trip for new books every Friday (comic stores got new books on Fridays back then).
The Star Wars comic that Marvel did was also pivotal for me. I was seven when Star Wars came out and it was my Holy Bible. I couldn’t get enough and The Art of Star Wars book showed me that people actually drew and designed the stuff that would wind up on the big screen!
Comics and films were majorly influential in my life. I loved Saturday Morning Cartoons as well, and Hanna-Barbera and Filmation did all that stuff. I knew I wanted to draw comics and cartoons, but they are also a lot of work! I’m self-taught in art. They say you have 10,000 bad drawings in you, and it’s true! You have to get them all out! I learned graphic design in high school and had a great teacher who pushed me. I took to graphic design like a fish does to water, and I won several “Celebration of the Arts” awards over two years. I knew where my strengths were early on. I was lucky in that respect.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get started in the field? What was the first project you ever worked on?
Scott Neely: The easy part is finding the passion, but that’s when the industry crumbles as you try to enter it!
Back in 1993, I went to Comic Fest ‘93 in Philly and walked out with several jobs. It was an exciting time, then a year later, the industry started to crash. No one saw it coming, unless you were on the outside of the bubble. First thing I worked on was drawing Star Wars stuff for West End Games who did the role-playing games back then. I also had a Star Wars Galaxy Series 3 trading card in 1995. I got the deal at the convention in ‘93. I was to be in Series 2, but they ran out of room and moved me to the third series which was released in 1995. To my good fortune, my card was picked out and reprinted in 2021 in a new set! That was unknown to me, but very exciting in that I knew I put a LOT of effort into that art!
When the comic industry really went down the toilet, I got into advertising art and graphic design. In the late ‘90s, I was working in The Franklin Mint doing conceptual product design art.
At that time, I had a friend who’s girlfriend worked at Golden Books in New York. I was pursuing doing more Star Wars art as the license for Episode 1 was in the industry pipeline. Ultimately, Golden Books lost the license battle to Random House, but I was offered some work on this thing called Pokémon, and I took the work. It was quick, easy, and fun to do! There were only 150 characters back then. I still have the model sheets they mailed me. Now everything is through the internet.
In late summer of 1999, they asked me if I wanted to audition for a new license they just got. It was for Scooby-Doo. I said yes as it was possibly more work in my possible future. Nothing more or less. Looking back now, who knew?! I had to do two audition pieces for it based on two scenes they gave you. I did them and sent them in. I still have them here in my studio. I got picked over all the others who auditioned! I remember when the Golden Books designer in charge of Scooby called me and told me I got it. It was pretty cool! I would meet someone years later who came up to me at a convention and told me that they had auditioned for it too but “somehow they picked mine” he said with a jealous, friendly smirk.
I’ve done many auditions since then, some I’ve gotten and some I didn’t. I’ve worked on over 30 different licenses but I’m mostly known for Scooby. It’s my longest-running affiliation with something. Scooby and I have lasted longer than some marriages! The truth is that I liked Scooby-Doo, not loved it. It was a potential work for me and I thought I could build off of it. That certainly happened! I watched it growing up and I loved the painted backgrounds and mystery stories. While the stories may be so-so looking back, it was the main characters who remain solid.
I did ALL the Scooby-related art for Golden Books. I said yes to everything as The Franklin Mint was shutting down at that time. I worked on 4 Scooby projects at one time in the fall of ‘99. I remember they gave the Scooby Alien Invaders coloring book (with stickers) to someone else and they were having issues getting it right. The style was slightly different than the Classic ‘69 look. My designer mentioned it to me and I said, “I’ll do it!” They were really apprehensive about it as I had three projects on my drawing table, but I was a machine back then and everything got done on time.
When Golden Books went under, Dalmatian Press took up the license and gave me a TON of work to do across the board for ten years! Dalmatian Press was fun to work for and I can’t speak highly enough of them, but sadly, they’re no longer in business. The world has changed a lot in the publishing world and a lot of things are now aimed more towards the digital marketplace.
I should mention that I’ve always loved coloring and activity books! I grew up with them and they were always around! I do collect them as an adult and have many of the ones that I had as a kid, although these are mint and unused. There was something to them and I would be proven correct in the future as the coloring book would hit the mainstream as a zen thing for adults who wanted to relax. Go figure!
ScoobySnax.com: In your 25+ years with the franchise, what has been your favorite Scooby-Doo project to work on?
Scott Neely: I have to say that I have a few things that I really love that I did, but the one that really pops in my mind was the Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated book I did for Scholastic in 2010-11. I had to do an audition for it too! I had to match the style of the show in terms of character art and the backgrounds! I had to figure out out to mimic the way the backgrounds were painted. I’m still quite proud of it now. It was to be the first in a series of books based on the show, but the show sadly tanked and Cartoon Network was burning off the second season episodes to end it quickly. Cartoon Network was in trouble then too, which is a whole other story. I could have potentially drawn that version of Scooby for a while, but luckily, Warner Bros gave my name to Capstone Publishing and I did a whole LOT of classic Scooby for them over the course of four years (28 books). All that stuff was fun to do! I said yes to everything when they asked me! They asked me to do some Tom & Jerry work in 2020 during the pandemic, but I turned it down due to the really rushed deadline they needed it by.
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve illustrated a number of original Scooby-Doo stories, as well as re-imaginings of classic Scooby episodes and films. Do you enjoy illustrating for one more than the other? If so, why?
Scott Neely: No, it’s all good. The characters are mostly intact while the look may change. All the main commercial work features the Classic ‘69 Look. That’s what WB Global Publishing goes by at least. It’s like seeing a Marvel or DC Comics t-shirt at a mainstream outlet like Walmart, Target, or Five Below and it’s always some classic (“Retro,” dare I say) piece of art that is used on it.
I started with the Classic ‘69 Look, then the What’s New, Scooby-Doo? Look came in for several years and was the standard, then it went back to the Classic ‘69 Look and has stayed that way since. The Mystery Incorporated Look only lasted for the one thing I did. Although, the only other thing that used that look were the Scooby-Doo action figures they made. They switched them out with new molds to give them the Mystery Incorporated Look. I have both sets. I don’t know if they switched back as toy stores like Toys ‘R Us are no longer around.
Also, I should make note that the character of Scrappy-Doo has seemed to turn the corner. When I first started drawing Scooby, I was working on a Scooby-themed book that featured food. For one of the stickers, I drew Scrappy holding an ice cream cone. When I got the revision notes back at the time, I saw that Scrappy had a big, thick black X on him! Ha! I asked about it and was told that “Scrappy was crappy.” Again, WB Global Publishing kept it strictly to the Classic ‘69 Look and anything after the 1969-70 series was “disavowed” at the time, for lack of a better term. It wasn’t until the first live-action movie, where Scrappy (voiced by friend Scott Innes) made a comeback of sorts. I would insert Scrappy in as a joke—just to see if I could get away with it—but it was pulled every time.
The only other look I drew was in a panel of a comic for DC where I had a photo flashback and I was able to draw the characters as they looked in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. That was fun to do but I had to ask permission before I did it. The comic work was a little more lax in terms of doing things.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any existing franchise that you’ve not yet illustrated for, what would be your dream project?
Scott Neely: A true “dream project” would be something that I straightout created and owned.
The problem with the existing franchise idea is that if I wanted to draw Spider-Man, it would look like the classic art from John Romita that I grew up with. That tone and feel is what I would do and I don’t know if I would even be allowed to do that. What they do now is not “my” Spider-Man. These days you have all these useless “Spiderverse” characters shoehorned into everything. This is a hard question as I’m the “old man in the room.”
Batman’s utility belt and costume are different, though the silhouette remains the same if you kept him in the shadows. I just have that Neal Adams/Jim Aparo look in my head that I would shoot for. Current stuff just kind of misses the mark for me, but that’s just age creeping in. I still love the comic medium itself though.
I would be completely happy with drawing an issue of the Batman ‘66 comic (if they were still doing it). Or a possibly a Batman/Scooby-Doo thing if I could draw Batman as he looked on Superfriends, or how he looked on the ‘68 Filmation Batman cartoon. I would probably be the only one who would read it though!
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve also taught a number of classes about cartooning and character design. How did you become involved in teaching?
Scott Neely: This is a long story, but the short version is that I was taking a life drawing class at a local community college in the mid to late-90s. I got to know the teacher well as it was an “after hours” college thing and anyone could join the class if they signed up and paid the tuition fee.
The teacher, as I later found out, also taught a Saturday morning art class with kids. For some reason, I was up at the college one weekend and I walked past a classroom thinking that I heard her voice and I poked my head in. It was her and she asked me if I wanted to do some quick drawing lessons with the kids. I don’t know why she suggested it… but she later said that she thought that I would be good with kids. I did a step-by-step drawing of something and didn’t notice that she had left the room. When I turned around again she was back with some guy, who I would find out later, was the head of community education for the college. He watched what I was doing and then invited me to do a summer camp class for the kids, if I was interested. It can happen just that fast. I said okay as it was great money, and thinking back, they never asked me about a lesson plan or anything. I have no teaching degree either! I guess they were really desperate to fill the spot that summer! They just kicked me into the wild and let me do it. That first time was truly a “crucible of fire” for me, which is another story.
Once I figured it all out, I did classes for many years for the college. I also had classes at several other places, or I would get invited to do libraries, schools, etc. I did classes for kids, adults, and seniors. They were mostly fun and paid well. I would always ask for a “thank you” letter which I collected to show I did an appearance. They’re fun to look back at. I eventually got burned out on it all. Most of the classes were on Saturdays and I just didn’t want to give up half my weekend anymore at one point. I needed a long break.
ScoobySnax.com: In 2014, you wrote your first Scooby-Doo story for DC Comics. You mentioned in another interview that you had 12 other comic ideas with an overarching plot that were not picked up by WB. If you’re able to share, what was the story arc you wanted to explore in the idea you pitched?
Scott Neely: Oh, yeah! I had several stories but the main thing I pitched was “The Return of The Creeper.” I still have my teaser art I drew for it! I skipped over DC and went directly to the guy at WB who loved it, but the comic format no longer allowed for the long-form story that I wanted to tell. I had to do it in ten pages. That was the format that WB wanted to stay with as they could republish 10-page stories around the world. Also, when DC cut back to save money, instead of having two new 10-page stories they would do one new story and reprint an old one. That’s still the current format for Scooby-Doo and Looney Tunes, and they’re not monthly anymore either. I understand the finances of it.
“The Return of The Creeper” was a large storyline that built over time over the course of 12 full 22-page comics. I still have my flowchart and story breakdowns for it. Looking back, it was episodic in the way that Mystery Incorporated was. The main idea came from an episode of Breaking Bad where you saw this storage locker with a large pallet of cash stacked on it. For some reason, I thought about the bank manager, Mr. Carlswell, in the original Creeper episode. What if the Crystal Cove bank wasn’t the only bank he stole from? He could have been at this for a long time! What if there was a whole lot of stolen money that was never found after he was arrested? That started it off. From there I built in stories of new random thefts around town that would ultimately lead to the Gang thinking it was return of The Creeper. Only they find out that Carlswell died in prison of a heart attack. So who was in The Creeper costume now?
I also wanted to build on the idea that they didn’t catch the monster/villain/etc at the end. It was built to keep it going. Much like the original Spider-Man/Hobgoblin storyline by Roger Stern was so compelling in the mid-80s! Man, those were great comics! My storyline really was episodic like Mystery Incorporated though I wasn’t thinking that at the time. I just thought the Scooby comics that DC did were a quick in-and-out. I would absolutely be up for writing my story as a Young Adult novel! That could be the best way to do it now in a trilogy of books.
ScoobySnax.com: Of all the franchises you’ve worked on, do you have a favorite?
Scott Neely: Nope! I have to be honest in that I’m lucky! I got to work on a LOT of cool stuff! I went where the wind and the opportunities took me. I have said this before, but I’m glad that I worked on popular characters that are known to most people. That was absolutely, positively key in my career, along with making sure I got a credit line for whatever I did! Golden Books thought I was insane to want my name in a coloring book. Nobody did that back then. My designers that I worked with all told me that I was the only one who insisted on that and they would have a chuckle at office meetings.
What did that effort get me? A hell of a lot of recognition! WB got to know my name and they requested me by name for the upcoming Cartoon Network properties at the time. Even Golden Books stood back and took notice of that! I remember the phone call from my designer telling me that news. She was amazed! My career grew, literally, on word of mouth. This was also during the early days of the internet as well, mostly. Phone calls and the fax machine were still king in terms of getting notes and revisions.
I was invited to try out and join the Disney Storybook Artists group way back in 2001 or so. My designer gave me the contact info and was pushing me to do it as so many things were up in the air. I turned it down as you would then be under that umbrella and didn’t get any individual credit. Everything would be credited as done by “Disney Storybook Artists.” You were basically trading any individual credit for a stream of constant flowing work. I chose to stay independent. I made the right decision... for me. I did know others who had done it and they told me there were some regrets they had in the long run. To an extent, it makes me sound like Dustin Hoffman in Wag The Dog when he keeps saying at the end “I want the credit.” HAHA! It doesn’t sound petty in today’s world as everyone basically gets a credit line, but back then I felt it was so important to build something off the work.
If I was drawing, let’s say, Firestorm for DC, where the hell would I be? No one knows who that character is except for a comic collector. Most artists, these days, would just say they work for DC or Marvel and let that brand identification take hold in someone’s mind. I have a luxury of saying “Scooby-Doo” and who doesn’t know about Scooby? It’s very specific and you get a smile when they hear you say it.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to become an artist or illustrator?
Scott Neely: This is a very hard question to answer in early 2025. If you had asked me 5 years ago I would have had a different answer, but right now, in the current industry, things are quite scary. Economic issues, studio strikes, streaming rights and lack of royalties, AI usage, AI training on copyrighted works, declining readership, etc, etc.
It’s a perfect storm. I am worried about my own career! I never really had to go out and look for work. I just got contacted out of the blue with offers. The studios gave out my name and life was easy. I’m thankful for that, but the game has really changed. I’m glad that I’ve done what I’ve done when I did it. For a young artist, I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s going to be much harder.
When I go to LinkedIn and see people I know in the animation business who are now “open to work” after 20-30 years at one place… it’s shocking. There are many super-talented people that have been kicked out into the wild. Things were always freelance in my field, but many places are still floundering in many ways since the pandemic. WB was the last place where they would hire remote workers for animation work, but they were also getting hell for having storyboards done overseas for much less money. Plus, there are apparently economic benefits to producing content and then shelving it rather than releasing it. Scooby’s yearly direct-to-dvd movies are done. So are the Tom & Jerry ones. They’ve cancelled or shelved a lot of Scooby content the past few years. (One case in point to this shelving trend, check out actor Tim Matheson’s fantastic memoir, Damn Glad To Meet You, and read page 286!)
I’d also like to mention that the approval process is taking so much longer. This is simply a killer. I don’t know if they fired or downsized the people doing it, but this is highly concerning. If you buy a license and are trying to get things done for a deadline, you are left hanging with lengthy wait times. Approvals used to be two weeks, or less! I’ve had them in three days. In terms of licensing, many companies like WB, Disney, Dreamworks, etc would also rather sub out the IP work to a company who pays for the license and then has to produce it. The studios just sit back, approve things, and collect the money. They’re just IP farms for the most part nowadays.
Most publishers, as I mentioned before, are also focusing more on digital content over print. Plus, they’re using older art or recycling art they already had. I was approved and on the list to draw the Sesame Steeet characters, but never got any work as they had two other artists who had been doing it for a long time and they defered to them first with any new projects. Last time I inquired, Sesame Workshop were recycling older art from their back catalog to save money, which is fine.
In terms of comic book work, I recently found out that I was apparently living “too high on the hog” ten years ago as the pay today is MUCH less today. Outside of the big two (Marvel and DC), comic pages rates are in the toilet. Most places pay well for a cover, but the interior page rates are savagely low.
(Don’t believe me? https://www.vice.com/en/article/its-impossible-to-make-money-for-most-writers-and-artists-in-comics/)
I could go on and on...
Be that as it may, there are opportunities for young artists! You need to create them. Would you rather draw Spider-Man or own Spider-Man? Let’s just say that it’s better to own the house than rent a room in it. You need to focus on your OWN creations or be a part of something where you have a creative say AND ownership in it. Forget working or relying on the big studios for work! Right now, there are small groups of animation artists forming their own small studios to produce work that they have some equity in. You need to be creating your own personal work and name as a “brand.” If people like you, they may well buy whatever you are currently doing. We used to go to a new Spielberg movie that was opening because it was a Spielberg movie! His artistic vision was enough to get us in the seats.
Finally, I do think there is or will be a continuing market for hand-drawn original artwork! Yes, cheaper art prints will make some money, but the thrill of holding and appreciating a one-of-a-kind original may well become vogue again. With all the digital content around us, I believe that a physical tactile thing will find its place among younger people trying to unplug back into the physical world. Thankfully, eBay and Etsy (and many other sites) allow for art to grow. These days, you definitely need to have several avenues of revenue coming in at all times.
ScoobySnax.com: If you can share, are there any projects you’re working on now that you want to plug?
Scott Neely: I have a few things that I can mention, and the more fully written posts for these are on my art blog, scottneelyart.blogspot.com:
1) In November 2024, I was contacted by NBC Universal as they wanted to use a piece of my art on the spin off TV series Suits LA. I signed a release for it thinking it was a one-off to be in an episode for some reason and was then told that it was to be part of the permanent set decoration for a character’s office and that I might be seeing it often. As I do this interview, I know who the character is but their office wasn’t seen in the pilot as that was shot and greenlit as a series before I was contacted. I signed my release the week of the first table read for the first season. They were moving quick to finalize things. I’ll post more on my blog as I find out more as I have no idea what they will do with it. No, it’s not Scooby.
https://scottneelyart.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-piece-of-my-art-to-be-on-tv-spinoff.html
2) Upper Deck is releasing a Fleer Scooby-Doo trading card set! It will be out on March 19th! I am one of the artists who have done original hand-drawn sketchcards for it! All the cards I created were approved! I did 15 mini-masterpieces that some lucky fans may wind up with as they were all placed in varying packs at the manufacturer. I have two “Artist Proof” cards that I retained and will be selling those online this year. These are one-of-a-kinds and I’m quite proud of them! I’ll have a big post on my blog about the process of doing them right after the March release date!
https://www.dacardworld.com/entertainment/fleer-scooby-doo-trading-cards-hobby-box-upper-deck-2025#moredetails
3) Capstone Publishing came out with a 2nd box set release of my Scooby-Doo “You Choose” books I did. There are 4 paperbacks in the second set. I did a LOT of Scooby for Capstone, and there are two box sets currently available, although the individual books still look available out there.
https://shop.capstonepub.com/Shop/s/product/detail/01t4z00000Adea4AAB
4) Papercutz is reprinting the Phineas and Ferb comics that I did! They are back in print with the Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection. I have work that I did in Volumes 2, 3, 4, and 5 from what I’ve seen so far. Volume 3 was recently released on February 18, 2025! They are also releasing them as hardcovers and as paperbacks! I’m quite proud of that work!
https://papercutz.com/product-tag/phineas-and-ferb/
5) Speaking of trading cards, I mentioned earlier that Topps reprinted my Star Wars Galaxy trading card I did way back in 1995! It was reprinted for a new Topps set in 2021 called the Topps Chrome Star Wars Galaxy Trading Cards and are available on eBay from many sellers. That was a cool turn of events and I was surprised to find out about it accidently. There is a base card and they made limited numbered variants as well of it. Wow! Would be nice if they told you though.
https://scottneelyart.blogspot.com/2025/03/my-1995-star-wars-galaxy-trading-card.html
Scott Neely: I learned to read by reading comics. My mother would tell you that. Spidey Super Stories was a big thing for me. I had to know what was going on from all those exciting panels. Comics were cheap and accessible back then! I basically “graduated” from Spidey Super Stories to Marvel Tales starring Spider-Man to then realizing that Marvel Tales was just reprinting stories from Amazing Spider-Man. Spider-Man and Batman were my big two. I was into Superman comics when the first movie came out with Christopher Reeve.
In 1982, the crack habit of collecting comics fully started with Amazing Spider-Man #231, which I picked up at a 7-11 one afternoon after school. A comic book, Snickers bar, and a Coke-A-Cola Slurpee is pure magic. When I got to that last page… I HAD to know what happened next! That started seeking out comics and then finding the local comic store and the weekly trip for new books every Friday (comic stores got new books on Fridays back then).
The Star Wars comic that Marvel did was also pivotal for me. I was seven when Star Wars came out and it was my Holy Bible. I couldn’t get enough and The Art of Star Wars book showed me that people actually drew and designed the stuff that would wind up on the big screen!
Comics and films were majorly influential in my life. I loved Saturday Morning Cartoons as well, and Hanna-Barbera and Filmation did all that stuff. I knew I wanted to draw comics and cartoons, but they are also a lot of work! I’m self-taught in art. They say you have 10,000 bad drawings in you, and it’s true! You have to get them all out! I learned graphic design in high school and had a great teacher who pushed me. I took to graphic design like a fish does to water, and I won several “Celebration of the Arts” awards over two years. I knew where my strengths were early on. I was lucky in that respect.
ScoobySnax.com: How did you get started in the field? What was the first project you ever worked on?
Scott Neely: The easy part is finding the passion, but that’s when the industry crumbles as you try to enter it!
Back in 1993, I went to Comic Fest ‘93 in Philly and walked out with several jobs. It was an exciting time, then a year later, the industry started to crash. No one saw it coming, unless you were on the outside of the bubble. First thing I worked on was drawing Star Wars stuff for West End Games who did the role-playing games back then. I also had a Star Wars Galaxy Series 3 trading card in 1995. I got the deal at the convention in ‘93. I was to be in Series 2, but they ran out of room and moved me to the third series which was released in 1995. To my good fortune, my card was picked out and reprinted in 2021 in a new set! That was unknown to me, but very exciting in that I knew I put a LOT of effort into that art!
When the comic industry really went down the toilet, I got into advertising art and graphic design. In the late ‘90s, I was working in The Franklin Mint doing conceptual product design art.
At that time, I had a friend who’s girlfriend worked at Golden Books in New York. I was pursuing doing more Star Wars art as the license for Episode 1 was in the industry pipeline. Ultimately, Golden Books lost the license battle to Random House, but I was offered some work on this thing called Pokémon, and I took the work. It was quick, easy, and fun to do! There were only 150 characters back then. I still have the model sheets they mailed me. Now everything is through the internet.
In late summer of 1999, they asked me if I wanted to audition for a new license they just got. It was for Scooby-Doo. I said yes as it was possibly more work in my possible future. Nothing more or less. Looking back now, who knew?! I had to do two audition pieces for it based on two scenes they gave you. I did them and sent them in. I still have them here in my studio. I got picked over all the others who auditioned! I remember when the Golden Books designer in charge of Scooby called me and told me I got it. It was pretty cool! I would meet someone years later who came up to me at a convention and told me that they had auditioned for it too but “somehow they picked mine” he said with a jealous, friendly smirk.
I’ve done many auditions since then, some I’ve gotten and some I didn’t. I’ve worked on over 30 different licenses but I’m mostly known for Scooby. It’s my longest-running affiliation with something. Scooby and I have lasted longer than some marriages! The truth is that I liked Scooby-Doo, not loved it. It was a potential work for me and I thought I could build off of it. That certainly happened! I watched it growing up and I loved the painted backgrounds and mystery stories. While the stories may be so-so looking back, it was the main characters who remain solid.
I did ALL the Scooby-related art for Golden Books. I said yes to everything as The Franklin Mint was shutting down at that time. I worked on 4 Scooby projects at one time in the fall of ‘99. I remember they gave the Scooby Alien Invaders coloring book (with stickers) to someone else and they were having issues getting it right. The style was slightly different than the Classic ‘69 look. My designer mentioned it to me and I said, “I’ll do it!” They were really apprehensive about it as I had three projects on my drawing table, but I was a machine back then and everything got done on time.
When Golden Books went under, Dalmatian Press took up the license and gave me a TON of work to do across the board for ten years! Dalmatian Press was fun to work for and I can’t speak highly enough of them, but sadly, they’re no longer in business. The world has changed a lot in the publishing world and a lot of things are now aimed more towards the digital marketplace.
I should mention that I’ve always loved coloring and activity books! I grew up with them and they were always around! I do collect them as an adult and have many of the ones that I had as a kid, although these are mint and unused. There was something to them and I would be proven correct in the future as the coloring book would hit the mainstream as a zen thing for adults who wanted to relax. Go figure!
ScoobySnax.com: In your 25+ years with the franchise, what has been your favorite Scooby-Doo project to work on?
Scott Neely: I have to say that I have a few things that I really love that I did, but the one that really pops in my mind was the Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated book I did for Scholastic in 2010-11. I had to do an audition for it too! I had to match the style of the show in terms of character art and the backgrounds! I had to figure out out to mimic the way the backgrounds were painted. I’m still quite proud of it now. It was to be the first in a series of books based on the show, but the show sadly tanked and Cartoon Network was burning off the second season episodes to end it quickly. Cartoon Network was in trouble then too, which is a whole other story. I could have potentially drawn that version of Scooby for a while, but luckily, Warner Bros gave my name to Capstone Publishing and I did a whole LOT of classic Scooby for them over the course of four years (28 books). All that stuff was fun to do! I said yes to everything when they asked me! They asked me to do some Tom & Jerry work in 2020 during the pandemic, but I turned it down due to the really rushed deadline they needed it by.
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve illustrated a number of original Scooby-Doo stories, as well as re-imaginings of classic Scooby episodes and films. Do you enjoy illustrating for one more than the other? If so, why?
Scott Neely: No, it’s all good. The characters are mostly intact while the look may change. All the main commercial work features the Classic ‘69 Look. That’s what WB Global Publishing goes by at least. It’s like seeing a Marvel or DC Comics t-shirt at a mainstream outlet like Walmart, Target, or Five Below and it’s always some classic (“Retro,” dare I say) piece of art that is used on it.
I started with the Classic ‘69 Look, then the What’s New, Scooby-Doo? Look came in for several years and was the standard, then it went back to the Classic ‘69 Look and has stayed that way since. The Mystery Incorporated Look only lasted for the one thing I did. Although, the only other thing that used that look were the Scooby-Doo action figures they made. They switched them out with new molds to give them the Mystery Incorporated Look. I have both sets. I don’t know if they switched back as toy stores like Toys ‘R Us are no longer around.
Also, I should make note that the character of Scrappy-Doo has seemed to turn the corner. When I first started drawing Scooby, I was working on a Scooby-themed book that featured food. For one of the stickers, I drew Scrappy holding an ice cream cone. When I got the revision notes back at the time, I saw that Scrappy had a big, thick black X on him! Ha! I asked about it and was told that “Scrappy was crappy.” Again, WB Global Publishing kept it strictly to the Classic ‘69 Look and anything after the 1969-70 series was “disavowed” at the time, for lack of a better term. It wasn’t until the first live-action movie, where Scrappy (voiced by friend Scott Innes) made a comeback of sorts. I would insert Scrappy in as a joke—just to see if I could get away with it—but it was pulled every time.
The only other look I drew was in a panel of a comic for DC where I had a photo flashback and I was able to draw the characters as they looked in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. That was fun to do but I had to ask permission before I did it. The comic work was a little more lax in terms of doing things.
ScoobySnax.com: If you could work on any existing franchise that you’ve not yet illustrated for, what would be your dream project?
Scott Neely: A true “dream project” would be something that I straightout created and owned.
The problem with the existing franchise idea is that if I wanted to draw Spider-Man, it would look like the classic art from John Romita that I grew up with. That tone and feel is what I would do and I don’t know if I would even be allowed to do that. What they do now is not “my” Spider-Man. These days you have all these useless “Spiderverse” characters shoehorned into everything. This is a hard question as I’m the “old man in the room.”
Batman’s utility belt and costume are different, though the silhouette remains the same if you kept him in the shadows. I just have that Neal Adams/Jim Aparo look in my head that I would shoot for. Current stuff just kind of misses the mark for me, but that’s just age creeping in. I still love the comic medium itself though.
I would be completely happy with drawing an issue of the Batman ‘66 comic (if they were still doing it). Or a possibly a Batman/Scooby-Doo thing if I could draw Batman as he looked on Superfriends, or how he looked on the ‘68 Filmation Batman cartoon. I would probably be the only one who would read it though!
ScoobySnax.com: You’ve also taught a number of classes about cartooning and character design. How did you become involved in teaching?
Scott Neely: This is a long story, but the short version is that I was taking a life drawing class at a local community college in the mid to late-90s. I got to know the teacher well as it was an “after hours” college thing and anyone could join the class if they signed up and paid the tuition fee.
The teacher, as I later found out, also taught a Saturday morning art class with kids. For some reason, I was up at the college one weekend and I walked past a classroom thinking that I heard her voice and I poked my head in. It was her and she asked me if I wanted to do some quick drawing lessons with the kids. I don’t know why she suggested it… but she later said that she thought that I would be good with kids. I did a step-by-step drawing of something and didn’t notice that she had left the room. When I turned around again she was back with some guy, who I would find out later, was the head of community education for the college. He watched what I was doing and then invited me to do a summer camp class for the kids, if I was interested. It can happen just that fast. I said okay as it was great money, and thinking back, they never asked me about a lesson plan or anything. I have no teaching degree either! I guess they were really desperate to fill the spot that summer! They just kicked me into the wild and let me do it. That first time was truly a “crucible of fire” for me, which is another story.
Once I figured it all out, I did classes for many years for the college. I also had classes at several other places, or I would get invited to do libraries, schools, etc. I did classes for kids, adults, and seniors. They were mostly fun and paid well. I would always ask for a “thank you” letter which I collected to show I did an appearance. They’re fun to look back at. I eventually got burned out on it all. Most of the classes were on Saturdays and I just didn’t want to give up half my weekend anymore at one point. I needed a long break.
ScoobySnax.com: In 2014, you wrote your first Scooby-Doo story for DC Comics. You mentioned in another interview that you had 12 other comic ideas with an overarching plot that were not picked up by WB. If you’re able to share, what was the story arc you wanted to explore in the idea you pitched?
Scott Neely: Oh, yeah! I had several stories but the main thing I pitched was “The Return of The Creeper.” I still have my teaser art I drew for it! I skipped over DC and went directly to the guy at WB who loved it, but the comic format no longer allowed for the long-form story that I wanted to tell. I had to do it in ten pages. That was the format that WB wanted to stay with as they could republish 10-page stories around the world. Also, when DC cut back to save money, instead of having two new 10-page stories they would do one new story and reprint an old one. That’s still the current format for Scooby-Doo and Looney Tunes, and they’re not monthly anymore either. I understand the finances of it.
“The Return of The Creeper” was a large storyline that built over time over the course of 12 full 22-page comics. I still have my flowchart and story breakdowns for it. Looking back, it was episodic in the way that Mystery Incorporated was. The main idea came from an episode of Breaking Bad where you saw this storage locker with a large pallet of cash stacked on it. For some reason, I thought about the bank manager, Mr. Carlswell, in the original Creeper episode. What if the Crystal Cove bank wasn’t the only bank he stole from? He could have been at this for a long time! What if there was a whole lot of stolen money that was never found after he was arrested? That started it off. From there I built in stories of new random thefts around town that would ultimately lead to the Gang thinking it was return of The Creeper. Only they find out that Carlswell died in prison of a heart attack. So who was in The Creeper costume now?
I also wanted to build on the idea that they didn’t catch the monster/villain/etc at the end. It was built to keep it going. Much like the original Spider-Man/Hobgoblin storyline by Roger Stern was so compelling in the mid-80s! Man, those were great comics! My storyline really was episodic like Mystery Incorporated though I wasn’t thinking that at the time. I just thought the Scooby comics that DC did were a quick in-and-out. I would absolutely be up for writing my story as a Young Adult novel! That could be the best way to do it now in a trilogy of books.
ScoobySnax.com: Of all the franchises you’ve worked on, do you have a favorite?
Scott Neely: Nope! I have to be honest in that I’m lucky! I got to work on a LOT of cool stuff! I went where the wind and the opportunities took me. I have said this before, but I’m glad that I worked on popular characters that are known to most people. That was absolutely, positively key in my career, along with making sure I got a credit line for whatever I did! Golden Books thought I was insane to want my name in a coloring book. Nobody did that back then. My designers that I worked with all told me that I was the only one who insisted on that and they would have a chuckle at office meetings.
What did that effort get me? A hell of a lot of recognition! WB got to know my name and they requested me by name for the upcoming Cartoon Network properties at the time. Even Golden Books stood back and took notice of that! I remember the phone call from my designer telling me that news. She was amazed! My career grew, literally, on word of mouth. This was also during the early days of the internet as well, mostly. Phone calls and the fax machine were still king in terms of getting notes and revisions.
I was invited to try out and join the Disney Storybook Artists group way back in 2001 or so. My designer gave me the contact info and was pushing me to do it as so many things were up in the air. I turned it down as you would then be under that umbrella and didn’t get any individual credit. Everything would be credited as done by “Disney Storybook Artists.” You were basically trading any individual credit for a stream of constant flowing work. I chose to stay independent. I made the right decision... for me. I did know others who had done it and they told me there were some regrets they had in the long run. To an extent, it makes me sound like Dustin Hoffman in Wag The Dog when he keeps saying at the end “I want the credit.” HAHA! It doesn’t sound petty in today’s world as everyone basically gets a credit line, but back then I felt it was so important to build something off the work.
If I was drawing, let’s say, Firestorm for DC, where the hell would I be? No one knows who that character is except for a comic collector. Most artists, these days, would just say they work for DC or Marvel and let that brand identification take hold in someone’s mind. I have a luxury of saying “Scooby-Doo” and who doesn’t know about Scooby? It’s very specific and you get a smile when they hear you say it.
ScoobySnax.com: Do you have any advice for anyone who is looking to become an artist or illustrator?
Scott Neely: This is a very hard question to answer in early 2025. If you had asked me 5 years ago I would have had a different answer, but right now, in the current industry, things are quite scary. Economic issues, studio strikes, streaming rights and lack of royalties, AI usage, AI training on copyrighted works, declining readership, etc, etc.
It’s a perfect storm. I am worried about my own career! I never really had to go out and look for work. I just got contacted out of the blue with offers. The studios gave out my name and life was easy. I’m thankful for that, but the game has really changed. I’m glad that I’ve done what I’ve done when I did it. For a young artist, I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s going to be much harder.
When I go to LinkedIn and see people I know in the animation business who are now “open to work” after 20-30 years at one place… it’s shocking. There are many super-talented people that have been kicked out into the wild. Things were always freelance in my field, but many places are still floundering in many ways since the pandemic. WB was the last place where they would hire remote workers for animation work, but they were also getting hell for having storyboards done overseas for much less money. Plus, there are apparently economic benefits to producing content and then shelving it rather than releasing it. Scooby’s yearly direct-to-dvd movies are done. So are the Tom & Jerry ones. They’ve cancelled or shelved a lot of Scooby content the past few years. (One case in point to this shelving trend, check out actor Tim Matheson’s fantastic memoir, Damn Glad To Meet You, and read page 286!)
I’d also like to mention that the approval process is taking so much longer. This is simply a killer. I don’t know if they fired or downsized the people doing it, but this is highly concerning. If you buy a license and are trying to get things done for a deadline, you are left hanging with lengthy wait times. Approvals used to be two weeks, or less! I’ve had them in three days. In terms of licensing, many companies like WB, Disney, Dreamworks, etc would also rather sub out the IP work to a company who pays for the license and then has to produce it. The studios just sit back, approve things, and collect the money. They’re just IP farms for the most part nowadays.
Most publishers, as I mentioned before, are also focusing more on digital content over print. Plus, they’re using older art or recycling art they already had. I was approved and on the list to draw the Sesame Steeet characters, but never got any work as they had two other artists who had been doing it for a long time and they defered to them first with any new projects. Last time I inquired, Sesame Workshop were recycling older art from their back catalog to save money, which is fine.
In terms of comic book work, I recently found out that I was apparently living “too high on the hog” ten years ago as the pay today is MUCH less today. Outside of the big two (Marvel and DC), comic pages rates are in the toilet. Most places pay well for a cover, but the interior page rates are savagely low.
(Don’t believe me? https://www.vice.com/en/article/its-impossible-to-make-money-for-most-writers-and-artists-in-comics/)
I could go on and on...
Be that as it may, there are opportunities for young artists! You need to create them. Would you rather draw Spider-Man or own Spider-Man? Let’s just say that it’s better to own the house than rent a room in it. You need to focus on your OWN creations or be a part of something where you have a creative say AND ownership in it. Forget working or relying on the big studios for work! Right now, there are small groups of animation artists forming their own small studios to produce work that they have some equity in. You need to be creating your own personal work and name as a “brand.” If people like you, they may well buy whatever you are currently doing. We used to go to a new Spielberg movie that was opening because it was a Spielberg movie! His artistic vision was enough to get us in the seats.
Finally, I do think there is or will be a continuing market for hand-drawn original artwork! Yes, cheaper art prints will make some money, but the thrill of holding and appreciating a one-of-a-kind original may well become vogue again. With all the digital content around us, I believe that a physical tactile thing will find its place among younger people trying to unplug back into the physical world. Thankfully, eBay and Etsy (and many other sites) allow for art to grow. These days, you definitely need to have several avenues of revenue coming in at all times.
ScoobySnax.com: If you can share, are there any projects you’re working on now that you want to plug?
Scott Neely: I have a few things that I can mention, and the more fully written posts for these are on my art blog, scottneelyart.blogspot.com:
1) In November 2024, I was contacted by NBC Universal as they wanted to use a piece of my art on the spin off TV series Suits LA. I signed a release for it thinking it was a one-off to be in an episode for some reason and was then told that it was to be part of the permanent set decoration for a character’s office and that I might be seeing it often. As I do this interview, I know who the character is but their office wasn’t seen in the pilot as that was shot and greenlit as a series before I was contacted. I signed my release the week of the first table read for the first season. They were moving quick to finalize things. I’ll post more on my blog as I find out more as I have no idea what they will do with it. No, it’s not Scooby.
https://scottneelyart.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-piece-of-my-art-to-be-on-tv-spinoff.html
2) Upper Deck is releasing a Fleer Scooby-Doo trading card set! It will be out on March 19th! I am one of the artists who have done original hand-drawn sketchcards for it! All the cards I created were approved! I did 15 mini-masterpieces that some lucky fans may wind up with as they were all placed in varying packs at the manufacturer. I have two “Artist Proof” cards that I retained and will be selling those online this year. These are one-of-a-kinds and I’m quite proud of them! I’ll have a big post on my blog about the process of doing them right after the March release date!
https://www.dacardworld.com/entertainment/fleer-scooby-doo-trading-cards-hobby-box-upper-deck-2025#moredetails
3) Capstone Publishing came out with a 2nd box set release of my Scooby-Doo “You Choose” books I did. There are 4 paperbacks in the second set. I did a LOT of Scooby for Capstone, and there are two box sets currently available, although the individual books still look available out there.
https://shop.capstonepub.com/Shop/s/product/detail/01t4z00000Adea4AAB
4) Papercutz is reprinting the Phineas and Ferb comics that I did! They are back in print with the Phineas and Ferb Classic Comics Collection. I have work that I did in Volumes 2, 3, 4, and 5 from what I’ve seen so far. Volume 3 was recently released on February 18, 2025! They are also releasing them as hardcovers and as paperbacks! I’m quite proud of that work!
https://papercutz.com/product-tag/phineas-and-ferb/
5) Speaking of trading cards, I mentioned earlier that Topps reprinted my Star Wars Galaxy trading card I did way back in 1995! It was reprinted for a new Topps set in 2021 called the Topps Chrome Star Wars Galaxy Trading Cards and are available on eBay from many sellers. That was a cool turn of events and I was surprised to find out about it accidently. There is a base card and they made limited numbered variants as well of it. Wow! Would be nice if they told you though.
https://scottneelyart.blogspot.com/2025/03/my-1995-star-wars-galaxy-trading-card.html
