How Scooby-Doo Really Got His Name
As a franchise, Scooby-Doo has had a number of iterations over the years. From the original hippie-fueled animated series to the live-action movies in the 2000s to the recent animated specials featuring WWE wrestlers (yes, really), the Mystery, Inc. gang has changed a lot. But the famous scaredy-dog and his human pals are getting their biggest makeover yet in the upcoming computer-animated film, Scoob!. The new movie will show the origins of the group, including how Scooby and Shaggy met — and it even reveals how Scooby-Doo really got his name.
In the recently released Scoob! trailer, it's revealed that young Shaggy meets Scooby while having a picnic on the beach. Shaggy offers Scooby, a timid stray, some food and the pair become fast friends. When a cop shows up and demands that Shaggy turn over the stray, the youngster declares that he owns the dog. In an attempt to call his bluff, the officer then asks Shaggy what the dog's name is. Panicking, Shaggy looks down to see an open box of Scooby Snacks and declares the dog's name is "Scooby." When pressed for a middle name and last name, Shaggy ad-libs "Dooby-Doo," and that's how we end up with the name Scooby-Dooby-Doo.
The revelation that Scooby was named after Scooby Snacks, and not the other way around, is certainly strange. But it's hardly the strangest thing about Scoob! Read on to learn more about this upcoming reboot of the 50-year-old Scooby-Doo franchise.
Not your average Scooby-Doo story
Scoob! will depict an origin story showing not only how Shaggy and Scooby came together, but also how they hooked up with the rest of the Mystery, Inc. gang: Fred, Velma, and Daphne. "For the first time ever, see how a little homeless puppy first met a young boy named Shaggy to form one of the most famous friendships of all time, and how the two of them went on to help launch Mystery Incorporated," reads a statement from Warner Animated Group.
But the origin story goes a lot deeper than a couple of charming first encounters. Apparently, Scooby's lineage has worldwide implications. "The film takes audiences to the four corners of the globe and will reveal something amazing about Scooby-Doo's true heritage and destiny that will shock everyone — including Scooby-Doo — and have an unexpected impact on the world," Warner's statement reads.
And there's more to the film than origin stories. In addition to showing the Scooby-Doo gang as kids, the film will also have a plot that takes place years later, with the characters all at their familiar young adult ages. This plot involves a "dogpocalypse" that could occur if the evil ghost dog Cerberus is unleashed upon the world; something the gang must prevent from happening. The trailer also seems to show Shaggy and Scooby being abducted by aliens — or maybe criminals disguised as aliens in true Scooby-Doo fashion — leading Fred, Velma, and Daphne to search for them. In other words, this movie is bonkers.
A long time in the making
Warner Bros. first announced it was rebooting Scooby-Doo back in 2014 with a script from Randall Greene. The following year, the studio changed course and hired Matt Lieberman to write a new script and Tony Cervone to direct. In 2016, Warner announced the new film would be called S.C.O.O.B. and would be the start of a Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe. Originally slated for a 2018 release, S.C.O.O.B. was met with some skepticism, and the film was eventually reworked as Scoob!. However, the bizarre cinematic universe connections remain.
Among the film's cast are a number of characters from other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. They include Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, and Dick Dastardly and his sidekick Muttley – with Dastardly serving as the film's main villain. It remains to be seen how these characters will fit into a Scooby-Doo story, but their presence is hardly the only cast news to make waves.
Some fans were upset about the famous actors chosen to voice the main cast: Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Amanda Seyfried, and Zac Efron — all new to the franchise. Also upset were actors Matthew Lillard and Grey DeLisle-Griffin, who had voiced Shaggy and Daphne since 2002 and 2001, respectively, as they were not contacted about reprising their roles and found out they had been replaced by reading the news. The only returning voice actor from the franchise is Frank Welker, who has voiced Fred since the beginning and Scooby since '02. But in Scoob!, Welker is only voicing Scooby, while Efron voices Fred.