Scrappy-Doo

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Scrappy-Doo
Scooby-Doo character
Scrappy-doo.png
First appearance"The Scarab Lives!" (Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo episode, 1979)
Created byJoseph Barbera
Voiced byLennie Weinrib (1979–1980)
Don Messick (1980–1988)
Scott Innes (1999–present)
J. P. Manoux (2002; Scrappy Rex in the live-action film)
James Arnold Taylor (2007; Drawn Together)
Dan Milano (2007; Robot Chicken)
Tom Kenny (2019; Wacky Races)
In-universe information
Full nameScrappy Cornelius Doo
SpeciesDog
GenderMale
BreedGreat Dane

Scrappy-Doo is a fictional Great Dane puppy created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1979 with the catchphrases "Scrappy Dappy Doo", "Lemme at 'em!" and "Puppy Power!". He is the nephew of Hanna-Barbera cartoon star Scooby-Doo.[1][2] Scrappy has appeared in a number of the various incarnations of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series.[3][4] Lennie Weinrib provided his voice for one season in 1979, and from 1980 on it was performed by Don Messick (who also voiced Scooby). In the first live-action theatrical film, video games, and commercials, he was voiced by Scott Innes. He was created to save the show's ratings which by 1979 had begun to sink to the point of cancellation threats from ABC, who were considering choosing between Scooby-Doo and an unnamed pilot[5] from Ruby-Spears Enterprises which Mark Evanier had also written.[6]

History[]

Hanna-Barbera[]

Precursors[]

Though Scrappy officially debuted in the fall of 1979, there may have been hints of his existence in 1969, as he "...bore a resemblance to Spears's and Ruby's initial idea for a feisty little dog", which was one of the early ideas for the Scooby-Doo character himself, along with the "big cowardly dog" ultimately chosen.[7]

Scrappy also bears a significant resemblance to his creator, Joe Barbera, in certain respects: New York City is the hometown of both[8][9][10]: 17–18, 58 [11] Scrappy's father never appears in any series, even for his son's birth, and Joe Barbera's father abandoned the family when Barbera was fifteen.[10]: 22–24  Scrappy's relationship with his Uncle Scooby took far more precedence than the absent father, as did Joe Barbera's maternal uncle Jim fill in as a father.[10]: 22–24 

After hearing Joe Barbera's description of the character, writer Mark Evanier, was significantly reminded of the Looney Tunes character Henery Hawk, and incorporated what he knew of said character into the script.[12]

Development[]

Scrappy's creation officially began in the year of 1978, when Scooby-Doo's ratings were sinking to the point of cancellation threats from ABC.[12][13][14] ABC's schedule had only one remaining show slot left, which would either go to Scooby-Doo or a pilot from Ruby-Spears Enterprises.[citation needed] Joe Barbera created Scrappy as a “new element” to restore the network's interest in the show.[citation needed] Several staff members, including Barbera, took shots at writing the character, all of which the network found unsatisfactory.[citation needed] Barbera then went to Mark Evanier, who had written for the rival pilot, to give him a shot at writing Scrappy's.[citation needed] Evanier agreed, Barbera and the ABC executives were satisfied with the results, and Scooby-Doo was chosen over the rival pilot, irritating executive producer Joe Ruby.[citation needed]

Duane Poole, a story editor for the first series Scrappy appeared in, recalled it as a lively time, with many new ideas and some new blood being hired with the desperation to revive Scooby-Doo, which had been a cash-cow in its glory days.[15]

Mel Blanc was the first choice to voice Scrappy, given his connection to Henery Hawk, but wanted too much money to voice the part.[12] Frank Welker, the voice of Fred Jones, auditioned to voice Scrappy as a dual role during the character's development (one of several voice actors considered for the role) and coined the catchphrase "Puppy Power" during his audition.[12] He would later change this to "Monkey Muscle" for the similar Donkey Kong Jr. character he would voice for TV's Saturday Supercade. The next choice was Messick, who was seen as giving the best audition, but still deemed "the wrong voice".[12] Afterwards, other well-known cartoon voice artists were considered or suggested: Daws Butler, Paul Winchell, Marilyn Schreffler, Howard Morris, Dick Beals and Marshall Efron.[12] Ultimately, Lennie Weinrib was chosen.[citation needed]

Cartoon Network[]

Cartoon Network gained the rights to Scooby in 1996, after Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) merged with Time Warner[16][17] and promptly set about making it its most shown franchise via reruns of various series.[18] Scooby, which had been dormant for the last few years aside from comics, soon became quite heavily rerun.[19] Cartoon Network's goal was to appeal to the nostalgia of the older fans, as it was documented that a third of their audience was 'old enough to vote'.[20] Cartoon Network hoped to appeal to both baby boomers and young children in the 8-11 slot, as, according to then-Vice President Betty Cohen, "[They] felt they were showing kids these cartoons for the first time."[21]

Before Cartoon Network gained the rights to Scooby, its priority target audience had been children: not just one generation of children, but the general age group, which people entered and exited as years passed. Scooby-Doo was considered a source of massive commercial television time watched by children, as well as something that children imitated. After Turner Broad Casting obtained the rights to Scooby, in the early days of ownership, they too followed this pattern with A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. Chuck Gelman stated in 1994: "Scooby-Doo is a popular character with our [12-and-under] demographic and a nice fit with Halloween." Despite this, every demographic was carefully tailored to throughout various dayparts.[22]

As part of the campaign to revive Scooby's public consciousness, Scrappy was originally planned to be included in a Burger King promotion in 1996.[23]

Warner Brothers[]

Live-action Scooby-Doo movie (2002)[]

Scrappy was first included in an early draft of what would become Scooby-Doo (2002), in around March 2000. Though he did not physically appear, and was only mentioned by Shaggy and Scooby offhand and was heavily implied to have been put to sleep for undisclosed reasons. James Gunn first acknowledged his involvement in April 2000.[24] Other original ideas for the villain included the Old Man Smithers, the villain from the beginning of the film. Concept art for Scrappy turning into a monster was drawn in 2001.[25] According to the DVD commentary, choosing the villain of the movie was a problematic part of the production, as the makers did not feel comfortable simply giving the role to an "anonymous monster", and that the ending was in "bits and pieces" and the "confinements forced them to be creative." "There is a Scrappy because he exists in the cartoon, so we have to acknowledge him," Gunn stated in an interview shortly before the film's release.[26]

Ultimately, in the final film, Scrappy is revealed to be the villain, in an attempt to get revenge on Mystery Inc. after they kicked him out. Despite previously stating that he felt that "kids didn’t care",[27] Gunn later admitted with some dismay that younger viewers had reacted poorly to the development, admitting he had not understood how popular Scrappy was with five and six-year-olds.[28] "I still think it was funny that Scrappy was the villain", he explained in an interview with Cinefantastique, "but there are kids out there who were really upset."[29]

Performers[]

Reception[]

Scrappy was initially seen as a "good idea" by Saturday Morning Review.[30] Viewership, seemed to react positively to Scrappy, as Scooby's ratings went up with Scrappy's arrival, and continued to be a success for the next decade.[31][32] [33] Story editor Duane Poole noted, "Scrappy solved a lot of story problems. Before you had to get Shaggy and Scooby into dangerous situations-and there was no real easy way to get them there-with Scrappy, he, uh, picked them up and carried them there. He just charged in. He was just such the antithesis of what Scooby and Shaggy were. The dynamic was great fun to play."[34]

Joe Ruby and Ken Spears[35] seemed to have a less than positive view on the character. The co-founder of Ruby-Spears enterprises said, "Everyone was upset", though was unclear about whether this concerned business reasons (they had started their own company two years earlier) or personal creative reasons (considering that if Scooby had been canceled, then the last slot would have hit their show instead),[36] starting when, in 1979, it looked a pilot of theirs would be renewed over Scooby's. Mark Evanier, who wrote said pilot, was hired impromptu to write Scrappy-Doo into a new pilot to renew interest in Scooby. As a result, Scooby was renewed over theirs, which was upsetting for them.[37] "Scrappy would charge in and solve things, so he was useful, in that way. A lot of people made derogatory comments about it at the studio and you know you don't want to be saddled with something based on, you know, network [...] but I think I liked working with it most of those cartoons."[38] Said Charles M. Howell, a writer who originally joined the franchise back on The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show and continued to work on various iterations of the show until finally ending his tenure in the late '80s after penning the pilot episode for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.[39]

Tom Ruegger, stated, "It's a lot easier to love Scooby than it is to love Scrappy. But I don't have the problem with Scrappy that I have heard expressed by others. I suspect this is because I wasn't watching Scooby from the beginning, but rather, I came in and started catching up quite a while (a couple of years) after Scrappy had made his debut. Hey, they'd been messing with Scooby's cast for years! Scooby Dum. All those nasty celebrity cameo Scooby movies. I dislike those things more than I dislike Scrappy. And, for what it's worth, at least Scrappy brings some energy to the table. He actually does have a personality, even though many find it obnoxious. [...] So, since I tend to love the characters with whom I work, I can say that I learned to love Scrappy, despite all his limitations."[40] Casper Kelly, one of the writers of The Scooby-Doo Project also admitted to having Scrappy as being in his first memory of Scooby, as well as enjoying when the monsters were real over the traditional fake monster format.[41][42] When Archie gained the rights to Hanna-Barbera in 1995, both Bill Vallely and Mike Kirschenbaum, two writers for the series, both acknowledged that Scrappy was hated, and even attempted to remake his personality in response to that, according to Kirschenbaum, but "the animosity was too great" and Scrappy got the boot from the series midway.[citation needed]

In 1999, celebrating Scooby-Doo's thirtieth anniversary, several newspapers printed articles, some of which mentioned Scrappy.[43][44][45] In an episode of the 2011 series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Scrappy appeared in a brief cameo when Fred and Daphne visited a museum celebrating their exploits, to which Fred claimed "we all promised each other that we would never speak of him". In 2020, Casper Kelly stated that many writers did not actually hate Scrappy, implying that it was a meme and mandate.[46]

Appearances[]

Television series[]

Films[]

Other appearances[]

Tabletop games[]

  • Scooby-Doo Game (1980)
  • Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Game (1983)
  • Scooby-Doo: The Board Game (Deluxe Edition) (2021)[47]

Books[]

  • Scrappy co-starred in several of Horace Elias's tie-in novels, particularly 1980's Scooby-Doo In the Haunted House.
  • Scooby-Doo, the 1995 Archie Comics series.
  • He was the star of the 24th issue of the Cartoon Network Presents comic book series.
  • Scrappy appears in the 2019 DC Comics comic book series Scooby Apocalypse.

Other television[]

  • At midnight, of October 31, 1999, Cartoon Network aired several promos over the gang's disappearance. One was a promo involving the gang being frightened of Scrappy.[48] In an interview, the writers mention adding that bit because Scrappy's part in the marathon was coming up and they felt the need to work him in.[41]
  • Around 2001,[49] Cartoon Network aired a bumper titled "Scrappy Loses It" where Scrappy rants about how the newer Cartoon Cartoons was becoming more popular than him despite him being around longer as the Cartoon Cartoons enter the studio in the same order that their schedule aired on prime-time. The bumper ends with Scrappy saying "Not for me, not for me, man!" in reference to Cartoon Network's then-current slogan, "The Best Place for Cartoons".[citation needed]
  • Scrappy made a quick "Easter Egg" appearance in the "Scoobynatural" episode of the TV series Supernatural.

Video games[]

  • In 1991, Amiga released a game entitled Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo where Scrappy was the main playable character and had to venture through various platforms to find Shaggy and Scooby, who had gone missing.
  • In 1999, Cartoon Network released Scrappy Stinks, a game where the sole objective was to pelt Scrappy with a substance referred to as "smelly goo", but avoid hitting Shaggy and Scooby in the process.[50]

References[]

  1. ^ Sennett, Ted (November 29, 1989). "The art of Hanna-Barbera : Fifty years of creativity". New York, NY : Viking Studio Books. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 719–726. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ Pfanner, Eric (February 19, 2006). "Underdog takes shot at giants in kids television". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  4. ^ "TV Playbook: Let's Add a Kid!". IGN. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  5. ^ "News from ME - Mark Evanier's blog". Newsfromme.com.[non-primary source needed]
  6. ^ Paul Dini and Misty Lee. Radio Rashy Episode 170: Son of Evenings with Evanier, Part 1. Archived from the original on June 9, 2015. Download mp3
  7. ^ John Latchem. "Scooby-Doo Still Going Strong on DVD". Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Joe Ruby and Ken Spears admit that one of their first ideas for a sidekick was a ‘small feisty dog’ but ultimately preferred Scooby’s design.
  8. ^ "That Groovy Scoobcast Ep. 47 - The Ransom of Scooby Chief". Listen Notes. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Gifford, Dennis (December 20, 2006). "Joe Barbera". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing. ISBN 1-57036-042-1. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  11. ^ Whitworth, Melissa (December 20, 2006). "Master cartoonist who created Tom and Jerry draws his last". New York: Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Evanier, Mark. "Scrappy Days: The Birth of Scrappy-Doo and What I Had to Do with It". Newsfromme.com. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  13. ^ "Can DC's Scooby Apocalypse Redeem Scrappy-Doo?". Comic Book Resources. October 22, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  14. ^ "APNSD! Episode 17: Interview with Duane Poole". Stitcher. [see time signature 23:20]
  15. ^ "APNSD! Episode 17: Interview with Duane Poole". Stitcher. [see time signature 10:55]
  16. ^ Meltzer, Mark (March 4, 2019). "AT&T breaking up Turner Broadcasting". The Business Journals. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  17. ^ Beatty, Sally (June 16, 2000). "Scooby-Doo's Comeback Isn't a Mystery: Halloween Was the Marketing Gimmick". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  18. ^ "Saturday Morning TV Schedules of the 90s". Inthe90s.com.
  19. ^ "Scooby-Doo". February 5, 2014.
  20. ^ Kaltenbach, Chris. "'Kiddie' cartoons entertain growing adult audience Drawing An Older Crowd". baltimoresun.com.
  21. ^ "Cable Eager to Attract Small Audiences" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  22. ^ Stabile, Carol A.; Harrison, Mark (2003). Prime Time Animation: Television Animation and American Culture. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-28326-7.
  23. ^ Saturday morning TV collectibles : '60s '70s '80s. https://archive.org/details/saturdaymorningt00cain/page/234/mode/2up?q=Scrappy.CS1 maint: location (link)
  24. ^ "Cult films and the people who make them: Interview: James Gunn". Mjsimpson-films.blogspot.com. August 22, 2013.
  25. ^ http://www.patrickawa.net/2007/10/old-bad-dogs.html
  26. ^ "Starlog Magazine 300". Archive.org. July 2002. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  27. ^ "Scooby-Doo, Who Are You?". Cbn.com.
  28. ^ "How James Gunn brought Guardians of the Galaxy to the big screen". Wired UK. July 29, 2014.
  29. ^ "Cinefantastique". 2004.
  30. ^ "Publication". Unz.com.
  31. ^ "Funko Reveals New Scooby-Doo! Scrappy-Doo Pop!". Cbr.com. August 26, 2019.
  32. ^ In Memory of Joseph Barbera Stu's Show. Retrieved 03-18-2013.
  33. ^ Channels of Communications. C.C. Pub. Incorporated. 1988. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  34. ^ "Interview with Duane Poole (Part Two)". Time stamp 20:20
  35. ^ "News from ME - Mark Evanier's blog". Newsfromme.com.
  36. ^ "Home Media Magazine - Bringing Digital Entertainment To You". February 1, 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008.
  37. ^ "Joe Ruby and Ken Spears". Scoobyaddicts.com.
  38. ^ "A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo!". scoobydoocast.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  39. ^ "A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo!". scoobydoocast.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  40. ^ "Tom Ruegger is back!". Platypuscomix.net.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b "APNSD! Episode 30: Interview with Casper Kelly & Larry Morris (Part One)". A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo!. Retrieved June 21, 2020. [Relevant information to be found at the 12:51 time stamp]
  42. ^ "APNSD! Episode 30: Interview with Casper Kelly & Larry Morris (Part One)". A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo!. Retrieved June 21, 2020. [Relevant information to be found at the 15:40 time stamp]
  43. ^ "Scooby-Doo 30th Anniversary Article". November 22, 1999. p. 36. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  44. ^ "Scooby-Doo still solving mysteries after 30 years". September 27, 1999. p. 12. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "Scooby-Doo's 30? Too Much!". Arizona Republic via Newspapers.com. November 22, 1999. p. 35. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  46. ^ "Interview with Casper Kelly & Larry Morris (Part Two)". A Podcast Named Scooby-Doo!. [17:46 Time Sig]
  47. ^ "CMON Presents: The Animation Collection". Kickstarter. January 13, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  48. ^ "The Scooby-Doo Project: "Scrappy-Doo" Promo". YouTube.
  49. ^ Jenkins, Ward. ""Scrappy loses it"". Youtube. Retrieved September 19, 2020. ID I directed for Cartoon Network while at Primal Screen. I think this was around 2001.
  50. ^ "Cartoon Network: Games". October 5, 1999. Archived from the original on October 5, 1999. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

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