My Favorite Scooby-Doo Plush

I have quite a few plush Scooby's and this one just happens to be my favorite. This 13" tall Scooby-Doo is from Six Flags and he has a Scooby puppet on one hand and a Shaggy puppet on the other. The puppets are what make this for me! I just think the puppets are so adorable! The little Scooby (at least, I think it's Scooby and not Scrappy) is soooo cute and Shaggy with his messy hair is cute too! 

I first saw this Scooby listed on Facebook Marketplace for $15.00 and I had asked the seller to ship it to me, but she refused. I gave up on it, but then saw it was still available a few weeks later and I messaged her again to see if she would ship it to me. This time, the seller ignored me. I never heard anything back. 

About 2 months later, I saw Scooby was still listed. The seller was located in Long Branch, NJ, which was just an hour and a half from me, and things were starting to open back up after being shut down due to Covid. At the time, I had no idea that this was going to be my favorite plush, I just knew that it was so cute and I hadn't seen it before. Plus, it came with a little candy machine (pictured below). I messaged the seller and asked if I could pick it up. She said yes, and my husband and I drove the hour and a half to pick up Scooby! 

As soon as I got him, he was just too awesome! He was a great find! 

He will make an appearance in the Scooby Panel on December 17th when we talk about our favorite Scooby collectibles in our collections and our grails! 

Scooby is copyright 2008. 

Review: Straight Outta Nowhere! Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog

** Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own. **

** Contains Spoilers**

I finally got to sit down and watch this movie for a second time so I could do this review. The very first thing I noticed...the Mystery Machine has a license plate and it says ZOINKS! Already, we're off to a good start!

The second thing that stood out was that Scooby called himself a dog! Usually, he's like "Rog, Rhere?" but in this movie he says "I'm not a chicken, I'm a dog!" (Scooby seems to have learned how to pronounce all of his letters in recent years!)

The opening credits were fun. They really put in a lot of effort to make them exciting and to include a lot of Easter Eggs from both Scooby-Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog. The whole carnival game theme was a nice idea and the way they implemented the characters into it made it really enjoyable. 

This was definitely a Courage movie with Scooby and the gang going to Nowhere and not being the heroes. I remember watching Courage the Cowardly Dog years ago and thinking 2 things...1. this show is super weird! and 2. I love the relationship between Courage and Muriel. It was such a heartwarming bond. Sadly, Thea White passed away on July 30, 2021 before the movie came out, but I am so happy she got to voice Muriel one last time. 

I was a bit sidetracked when the credits were rolling because my son came home from work and he was telling me some fun stories, but I don't recall them doing anything at the end to honor Thea White. If I'm wrong, let me know. Like I said, I wasn't fully paying attention.

A third thing stood out to me in this movie...the bond between Shaggy and Scooby. They were genuinely wanting to keep each other safe and help the other one when they were in trouble. I know we see this all the time, but it was nice to see that they didn't try to use Courage to come between their friendship to make the story more dramatic. (Ugh...like in Scoob!!)

I thought it was funny that Shaggy kept calling Courage a little pink dude and Eustace an angry old dude and Eustace was calling Shaggy a shaggy haired fella. It added a little humor to the movie.

I think crossing over with Courage was super fun, especially since Courage is as scared of monsters as Shaggy and Scooby. They fit well together! Also, Courage and Eustace sharing their love of food brought them together, even if just for a minute. Courage even had his own snacks!

Greedy old Eustace was in heaven when the people brought him all the gold and jewels, but that rap he did was a little over the top. I mean, I was laughing so hard because it was just ridiculous to see this old man, shirtless, wearing what looked like an adult diaper under his pants with this huge chain around his neck rapping. 

The one thing I didn't like about the movie was the way they treated the Mystery Machine. At least it didn't blow up, they had Eustace's truck do that, but the side swiping of the Mystery Machine was just not a fun scene to watch. It made me cringe. Though the damage was minimal when you think about it. The Mystery Machine rolls over several times, I mean it literally should not have been drivable after they were done with it, but the Mystery Machine came out looking like nothing ever happened. (For more weird things in Scooby-Doo, including the Mystery Machine being destroyed and good as new 5 minutes later, check out our latest Scooby Panel.)

The Dark Matter Meteor, also known as the disco ball as I had deemed it while watching the movie, ended up transforming everyone into different shapes. While it was a fun scene, they could have done better transformations. 

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I even called the villains at the end in a conversation I had with someone. It just made sense, knowing that the movie was taking place in Nowhere. That dance scene was a fun way to end the movie too. 

Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog was released on September 14, 2021 and is available now on DVD. 

SCOOBYMUSEUM.COM - Scooby Museum Is A New Website For Scooby-Doo Collectors

I am so bad at keeping up with my blog! It's been 19 days since ScoobyMuseum.com went live and I am just posting about it now. I guess better late than never! 

On September 7, 2021 ScoobyMuseum.com was launched for all of the Scooby-Doo community to use! The website allows collectors to keep track of their collections and the items that they are looking to add to their collections. It's also a great place to see what Scooby merchandise is out there, from vintage to new pieces. 

We started working on this website 5 years ago, and it was initially supposed to launch on Scooby's 50th Anniversary. However, life got in the way and we kept finding it difficult to make the time to work on the site. Covid didn't make it much easier as I went from working 30 hours a week to working 60 hours a week and my husband was working completely from home, which meant he was also working longer hours. Plus we moved mid Covid and we had a lot of work to do to the house. 

Somehow, we managed to get Scooby Museum to a point where we could finally launch it and I thought the 52nd Anniversary of Scooby-Doo would be the best day to do that, but then I realized that everyone in the community would be making posts that day and the museum posts would get lost in the shuffle. So we launched on September 7th. We had 1969 items added to the museum on the day of launch, which was the year that Scooby-Doo first aired. 

With the Scooby-Doo community growing so much over the past few years, it seemed like the perfect time to launch! If you want to know more about the history of the Scooby-Doo Fandom, check out ScoobySnax blog post A History of the Online Scooby-Doo Fandom.

I am super excited to say that as of yesterday, 1,000 items have been added to the website since launch on the 7th. That is so amazing!! It means that the community is benefiting from the site and working on using it to track their collections. That makes me so happy!!

There have even been some suggestions to the site made by users!!!! 

Bradford N Smith suggested keeping track of the number of times an item has been added to someone's collection or favorite lists. The numbers you see next to the icons do just that.

Alexa Lawlor from the Unmasked History of Scooby-Doo Podcast suggested that we create reports on the most popular and rarest collectibles. As the site grows, it will be interesting to see how much these change. 

I love that people are using the site! Speaking of which, I have a bunch of people to thank for helping to make this site happen! Thank you to:

Mike Burns - My husband! This site never would have existed without him! He coded the whole site from scratch. He took my vision and he made it a reality. I definitely couldn't have done this without him! Plus, he really supports my Scooby obsession! 

Bradford N Smith - Bradford is a writer and his goal is to write a Scooby cartoon for WB. I don't know why they haven't hired him yet! He does write Scripts and pitches that you can check out on his Instagram page! I have to thank Bradford for helping to test the Scooby Museum. He added over 1,000 items to the museum, let us know when he encountered errors, made a list of items that needed to be updated and lists of items in a group that were missing. He also wrote the script for the promo video and he suggested keeping track of the items added to everyones favorites and collections. 

Danii Meger - Danii is the Guinness World Record Holder for the most Scooby-Doo items in her collection. She is also a voice actress. Danii did the voiceover for the Scooby Museum promo video. 

Jeffrey G. Flegler -  Jeffrey is an artist and musician. He created the logo for the Scooby Museum by incorporating the haunted mansion, what looks like a Mystery Machine and a magnifying glass.

Wendy Brydge - Wendy is an artist, blogger, Scooby collector and co-host on the Scooby Panel. Wendy created the amazing artwork that is the background of the mobile version of the website. Her piece is called Scooby's Clues and it is available as a print. Just contact Wendy for more info on the print or other commissioned pieces. 

Trevor Hawkins - Trevor is a pop artist. He created the artwork that is the background of the PC version of the site. I purchased that piece from him a few years ago and I knew it would make the perfect background for the website. Contact Trevor for commissioned pieces.

Derek Queen - Derek is a graphic designer, co-host of That Groovy Scoobcast and Scooby-Doo collector. Derek added the first item to the museum after it went live and he has added over 500 items to the museum since. 

I also want to thank everyone who has signed up to become a member and everyone who has added items to the museum.  I'm excited to see more items added and what everyone has in their collections. I'm also excited to come up with new enhancements to the site! 

Now to get my collection tracked on the site so I know what I have! Happy collecting!! 

Follow Scooby Museum on social media:

Facebook

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Scooby-Doo and PMC Team Up for An Iconic Collaboration

 Pestle & Mortar Clothing are teaming up with Warner Bros. to bring us 5 Scooby-Doo t-shirt designs, a jersey and a sweatshirt! This new collection will be available on Thursday, August 19th! 

You can check out all the amazing designs on pestlemortarclothing.com. 

I can't wait for these to come out!

Scooby-Doo Closer Look Video Series

I started this closer look video series of Scooby merchandise to show items in detail. I really like the look of some of the products and I think they need to be in the spotlight. 

The first 3 videos in the series are of new merchandise that just came out in July 2021. I will be featuring older merchandise in some upcoming videos as well. 

I hope you enjoy the series! Be on the lookout for new closer look videos on Mondays at 10am on my YouTube channel. 

Review: Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery

Today is the 6th anniversary of Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery!! I have not seen this movie since it came out in 2015, on the 10th anniversary of the day my dad died. I remember walking through Walmart with tears in my eyes because that day, heck the whole month of July, was really hard for me. But I was determined to find the movie! (Oddly, I wasn't able to find my copy and I had to buy a new copy just so I could watch it again and write this review.) 

I have pretty much claimed that this is my least favorite movie, but I could not remember exactly why. It has been 6 years since I saw it, but I know that there was a reason...

Near the beginning of the movie, the gang are in the Mystery Machine dressed up like Kiss, all but Fred anyway. He wasn’t a fan of Kiss. The Ascot Five was more up his alley! It was kind of cool to see them dressed up and wearing the makeup. 

The cartoon intro of Kiss playing a show and the gang walking around aimlessly was kind of weird to see because the gang wasn't reacting to Kiss at all in the intro. They felt disconnected from each other. It was kind of weird.

Before I continue with the movie, let me just say that I like Kiss' music. I'm not a huge fan, but I have seen them in concert, and I enjoyed the show, with the exception of meeting Sebastian Bach from Skid Row at the show. It was at a time when they did half the show in makeup and the other half without. They were showy and larger than life in the makeup and without it they were laid back and played an acoustic set. It was kind of like night and day. 

Back to the movie…Can it be any more over the top? Confetti bombs every time Kiss enters and exits, the costume change sequence, their own theme park, the way they basically glow and the super powers that they had. Not to mention the huge guitar ship (which was also really cool) that came out of the ground when they started playing I Was Made For Lovin’ You and the Ferris Wheel being a portal to Kissteria. It was clear in this movie that Kiss (or at least Gene Simmons) have some huge egos!

I can get past the egos. I was enjoying the music and the over-the-top storyline, sort of. It was rubbing me the wrong way that Gene Simmons character, The Demon, was mean to the gang, especially Scooby and Shaggy. Pretty much as soon as they met, Gene Simmons told the gang that Kiss were the best mystery solvers, and the gang should scram. Simmons said to Scooby “Beat it mutt before you dent my armor” just because Scooby was trying to give him a hug for saving their lives.

There was a point when I thought that Gene Simmons was finally warming up to Scooby and Shaggy. He told them that the secret to breathing fire was swallowing your fears. Shaggy and Scooby ended up getting cornered by a statue that the Crimson Witch brought to life, and they thought about what Gene had said, and they swallowed their fears, and they were able to breathe fire and destroy the statue! It was their shining moment! Nothing could ruin this fo…no wait! Gene Simmons could ruin this for them, and he did! He showed up, gave them a thumbs up and he said, “well done, pathetic scum!” Let me type that again…Gene Simmons said to Shaggy and Scooby “WELL DONE, PATHETIC SCUM!” And that was the line that ruined this entire movie for me!

That line and the inappropriate flirting between Daphne and The Starchild had me not very thrilled about what I was watching. The gang are teenagers, Daphne being about 16 and a minor. At the time the movie was released Paul Stanley (The Starchild) was 63 years old. 63!!!! So we have a 16 year old and a 63 year old flirting throughout the whole movie, and no one thinks this is a problem? There was no outrage over this…but everyone practically lost their minds when Daphne was upset about being a size 8 in Frankencreepy. Daphne and The Starchild kissed at the end of this movie. Not just a little peck either. 

Yes, I am aware that this is a cartoon. However, I don’t think inappropriate relationships have any place in the Scoobyverse or in kids shows all together. We have talked a lot on the Scooby Panel about relationships within the gang and I have said that I don't like them at all. I felt like this crossed the line though. I can handle a Daphne/Fred relationship or Velma/Shaggy, but this Daphne/Starchild relationship creeped me out!

One other things annoyed me about this movie, though it was kind of funny at the same time. All the Kiss product ads! I know Gene Simmons will put the Kiss logo on just about anything to make money, so I got that it was a joke to put the ads all over, but it made me feel like I was watching a very long infomercial about Kiss products.  

My original assessment of the movie stands, and now I remember why I felt that way. I do tend to hold the unpopular opinion about this movie, and I’m ok with that. I just can’t allow anyone to call Scooby and Shaggy pathetic scum! Or have Daphne taken advantage of by a 63 year old man! These things go against everything I believe in! 

What did you think of the movie?

Getting a Little Personal...It Probably Won't Happen Again!

I don't usually post anything personal here, but I ate a fortune cookie today and I got this fortune and it made me think about how true it is.

"The small steps you take will ultimately bring you great fortune."

I have always been very shy and I don't typically put myself into the spotlight in any way, which is why I remained mostly anonymous for so long on my pages and why I didn't really do much with my YouTube channel. I've always felt like people won't care about what I have to say. Add in anxiety with talking to people I don't know or public speaking, and I have myself a recipe for holding myself back from doing the things I want to do. 

I have had so many ideas for so many years, Scooby Panel being one of them, that I kept saying how fun it would be or how cool it would be to do, but I'd always talk myself out of it. I'd tell myself that no one is going to care about my opinion or I'll never find people that would actually want to talk about Scooby-Doo with me. I even went as far as to write down a ton of topics that I'd want to discuss with people, thinking that I'd never really do anything with them. 

At the beginning of 2021, my husband convinced me that I should just start Scooby Panel, put myself out there, enjoy myself, and not worry about if anyone will care. So I reached out to a few Scooby friends (Wendy and Cameron) to see if they'd be interested in doing the panel, and they were super excited about it! As I reached out to other people, I was actually surprised how many of them were interested in doing the panel! 

I had thought all these years that the idea probably wouldn't go over too well and it would take me way out of my comfort zone, and here I am getting people excited about being on the panel. It was really fulfilling for me because I finally put myself out there and I didn't fall flat on my face. 

So how does the fortune from the cookie come in? The small steps I took - coming up with the idea, writing down topics, asking people in the Scooby community to be a part of it, actually recording episodes, and releasing those episodes - have brought me great joy and have helped me to be a bit more confident about my ideas. Plus, I have gotten to talk to some amazing people and even made some new friends in the Scooby community. 

Today, not only is Scooby Panel a YouTube web series, it's also available as a podcast on platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Deezer, and more. And while I still get nervous before we record, I feel great that I have finally made my idea a reality! 

If you have ideas, work at making them a reality. If I can do it, so can you!

Click here --> To listen to Scooby Panel as a podcast

Click here --> To watch Scooby Panel on YouTube 

Click here --> To support Scooby Panel

Press Release & Trailer: Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog

We got confirmation today that Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog will be released on DVD and digitally on September 14, 2021 for $14.99. Check out the trailer and press release below.

A bunch of people leaked the DVD cover the other day, and it appears to be official! The box art image and other images were sent to me by WB today.

STRAIGHT OUTTA NOWHERE:

SCOOBY-DOO MEETS COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG

AN ALL-NEW ORIGINAL ANIMATED FILM

AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL AND DVD

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

FROM WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Twitter Pitch: Teamwork makes the dreamwork as top dogs Scooby-Doo & Courage the Cowardly Dog join forces to uncover what makes the town of Nowhere so weird in STRAIGHT OUTTA NOWHERE: SCOOBY-DOO MEETS COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG. The all-new animated film from @WBHomeEnt is coming to Digital & DVD 9/14

BURBANK, CA (June 22, 2021) – Comedy is unleashed when two of animation’s most lovable canines team up in Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog a brand-new, full-length animated family film set for release on Digital and DVD on September 14, 2021 by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.  Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog finds our favorite teen sleuths in the town of Nowhere, where they meet Courage the Cowardly Dog and investigate what makes Nowhere one of the weirdest places on Earth. The release includes three bonus classic Scooby-Doo! episodes. Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog retails for $14.99 SRP ($19.99 SRP Canada) for the DVD.

An original animated feature so exciting it’s scratching at the door! Comedy is unleashed when Scooby-Doo, your favorite mystery-solving mutt, teams up for the first time with Courage the Cowardly Dog. The canine colleagues sniff out a strange object in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas, the backwoods hometown of Courage and his owners, Eustace and Muriel Bagge. Soon, the mysterious discovery puts them on the trail of a giant cicada monster and her wacky winged warriors. Fred, Velma, Daphne and Shaggy know that this job is too big for a flyswatter. They’ll need the help of the doggy duo to piece together the puzzle. Can Scooby and Courage overcome their jitters and defeat the insect army before the whole world bugs out? Try not to get scared. We double-dog dare you!

Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog features the familiar voice talents of Frank Welker as Scooby-Doo/Fred Jones, Grey Griffin as Daphne Blake, Matthew Lillard as Shaggy Rogers and Kate Micucci as Velma Dinkley. The film also features Jeff Bergman as Eustice Bagge, Marty Grabstein as Courage the Cowardly Dog and Thea White as Muriel Bagge. Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo  Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog was executive produced by Sam Register. The film was produced and directed by Cecilia Aranovich and was written by Mike Ryan.

Bonus Episodes:

• Scooby Doo, Where Are You! "Decoy for a Dognapper"
• The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour, "The Gruesome Game of the Gator Ghoul"
• The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, "Chiller Diller Movie Thriller"

Digital

Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog will be available to own on Digital on September 14, 2021. Digital purchase allows consumers to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on their favorite devices. Digital movies and TV shows are available from various digital retailers including Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu and others.

The Basics

Street Date:	September 14, 2021
SRP (United States):	$14.99 (SD)
SRP (Canada)	$19.99 (SD)
Running Time:	72 min. approx. (feature)

 

About Warner Bros. Animation

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. WBA’s current series include Animaniacs for Hulu, Green Eggs and Ham for Netflix, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Batman: Caped Crusader, Batwheels, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Harley Quinn, Jellystone!, Little Ellen, Looney Tunes Cartoons, My Adventures with Superman, Tiny Toons Looniversity, Tom and Jerry in New York, Velma and Young Justice for HBO Max, DC Super Hero Girls, Teen Titans Go!, ThunderCats Roar for Cartoon Network,  Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who?, The Tom and Jerry Show and Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! for Boomerang.  The studio is currently in production with New Line Cinema on the upcoming original anime feature film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.  WBA’s full-length theatrical film, Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, was released in summer 2018. As home to the iconic animated characters from the DC, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Movies — for DVD, Blu-ray^® and digital media. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 35 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, a BAFTA Children’s Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

                                                                                                                             

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

Scoob 2 Coming Soon

Image from Screenrant.com

Yesterday, comicbook.com posted that SCOOB! 2 is in the works, and we all posted that SCOOB! 2 has been confirmed. 

In an interview with ComicBookMovie.com, Tony Cervone, Director of the original SCOOB! movie, said:

"Actually, we are kicking the tires on a follow-up to Scoob! It hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s something we’re all excited about. The whole creative team that made the first movie is still around and back and working on something new. It was neat to create this Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe, and it’s exciting to return to it."

This isn't the first time there was talk about making a 2nd film, and the possibility of a whole Hanna-Barbera Universe. In an interview with Den of Geek May 15, 2020, Bill Haller, head of animation for SCOOB! said:

"I think Brian, Dynomutt, and Dee Dee could have their own series. I want to see more of the Falcon Force. I want to watch that team grow because there’s definitely, even in the credits at the end, you could see that the team is growing."

What do you think about a 2nd SCOOB! movie? Are you looking forward to it? 

New Velma Series Starring Mindy Kaling

By now I'm sure you have heard about the new not-for-kids animated Velma series coming to HBO Max. There has been a lot of speculation as to how the series is going to be, if it will be any good, and what we can all expect. 

Image from Shape.com

I'm not going to go into my thoughts on the show, as I really need to see it to know what it's going to be like. So I'm just going to stick to the facts and let you decide how you feel about it. 

In February, 2021, it was announced that Mindy Kaling would be executive producing a show called Velma, and that it would be an adult animated comedy series that tells the origin story of Velma Dinkley. 

The 10-episode series is described as "an original and humorous spin that unmasks the complex and colorful past of one of America's most beloved mystery solvers."

Image from HBO Max

Yesterday, we got a little more information about the new Velma series when Tom Ascheim, president of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, revealed new details at the TV Kids Summer Festival, a very odd place to reveal new information on a series that is not made for kids. 

“We have a not for children, Mindy Kaling project called Velma because she was excited to reimagine what Scooby-Doo would be like if Velma were of East Asian descent and lived in a different world. And in that version, which is going on HBO Max first, there’s no dog and no van but we have our 4 key characters through a different lens and I think it’s great. Allowing our creators to play with our IP is super powerful.” said Ascheim.

When Mindy Kaling was referring to the new Velma series, she said “I’m so excited about that. I’ve been wanting to do an animated show forever. I think I sound like a 15-year-old girl when I talk, so it’s great to finally be able to use it in a show. She is such an amazing character because she has this cult following,” Kaling added “She’s a queer icon for so many people. She’s the brains behind the Scooby gang. I just love her. She’s not skinny. She’s a huge nerd. She’s smart and unabashedly so. So I’m excited. I feel honored to portray her in an animated show. And it’s fun to play.”

That is all the information we have so far on the series. What are your thoughts? Are you excited for it? 

Is Frank Welker Retiring Soon?

 Let's talk Frank Welker! I mean, this man is a legend! With over 800 characters roles to his name, Frank is the most notable voice actor I know!

Frank Welker has been an active voice actor since 1962 when he voiced Orbity and Cosmo Spacely (as a child and teenager) in The Jetsons. In 1969, he took on the role of Fred Jones in Scooby-Doo! Where Are You! and he has voiced Fred ever since, with the exception of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, the live action movies and SCOOB! Frank has also voiced Scooby-Doo since 2002 and he has done additional voices for the series through the years.

He is the original voice actor for Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, which has me asking why wasn't he voicing Dynomutt in SCOOB!? They had him right there in the studio and yet they let someone else voice him. Big name actors aren't worth the money to me if they have the person that voiced the character in the beginning. Sometimes I wonder what WB is thinking. Oh, right, $$$. 

Some other notable characters Frank Welker has voiced are Jabberjaw, Hefty Smurf, Megatron, Slimer, Abu and so many more. I know I am missing some of his key roles, but you can find all of his credits on Behind the Voice Actors. 

I recently was able to watch the Scooby-Doo! and Guess Who? episode A Haunt of a Thousand Voices and it was a fantastic episode. I'm not going to do a review at the moment because I know a lot of people haven't seen it yet and all of the pictures that people posted online gave a lot of the episode away, which was a little disappointing. 

Anyway, I loved this episode, but it really made me think that maybe Frank Welker is looking to retire. (I mean, he is 75.) I say that because I felt like the episode was a tribute to him. There were so many amazing things said about Frank in the episode and it just felt like we were saying goodbye to the only Fred we have really known! It will be a sad, sad day when he announces his retirement. 

So what happens if Frank Welker does retire? Who would voice Fred? Scooby is easy, they could bring back Scott Innes. But Fred has been voiced by Frank for over 50 years and I can't think of anyone that could take over the role. 

I don't think Robbie Amell made a good Fred. He wouldn't even dye his hair or wear a wig. No offense to Robbie, but I have to say he doesn't fit the role for me. I didn't buy him as Fred in the movies. 

Zac Efron was just ok, but I don't think I'd want him to voice Fred either. It was hard for me to get used to his voice in the movie, but I guess that is normal because I'm so used to Frank.

Would Freddie Prinze Jr. come back to voice Fred, much like Matthew Lillard took over for Casey Kasem as Shaggy? I guess I could live with that, though I'm not sure if he is the best person for the job either. 

Fifty years of voicing a character is a long time. Frank put his heart and soul into Fred, he has a strong connection to the character and you can hear that in the series. Frank understands Fred. Anytime you bring in someone new, that connection is missing and the character isn't as lively. I felt that way with SCOOB! The voices sounded so off and I didn't feel like the actors really put much effort into the voices. I mean, WB only hired them for their names to draw in more of an audience and more money to the box office (which ended up being everyone's couch as the pandemic caused the movie to be released digitally.) 

So what do you think? Do you think Frank Welker is going to announce his retirement soon? Who would you want to hear voice Fred? 

Scooby-Doo Panel #2 - Collecting Scooby Merchandise & Why I Collect

We had an amazing discussion for Scooby Panel #2. It was so much fun talking about collecting merchandise. 

As a collector, most people don't understand why I collect, why I spend money on these items and what is so great about having all this Scooby stuff. Sometimes I feel like showing people my collection is a negative thing because people look at it and me as if there is something wrong. 

I touched very briefly on why I collect Scooby stuff in the discussion. I went through some traumatic experiences when I was a kid and into my teens. While these events have helped to shape who I am today, they also started my Scooby fascination. Scooby-Doo made me feel comfortable. While the show was on, I was able to focus on it, to feel safe and feel like I was in my own little world where I didn't have to care about what was going on in reality. 

As I got older, I started collecting Scooby merchandise and those items made me happy. I would display them all, which at the time fit on a couple shelves, and I'd be able to feel that happiness when I looked at them. Now, have a Scooby room and a ton of Scooby stuff that I have collected over the years. 

In the discussion, everyone agreed that collecting makes them happy. And Wendy pointed out that every person has their thing, whether they collect something, go to concerts, buy specialty foods, etc., everyone has that thing that they enjoy, that makes them happy and that they feel is worth their money. With us, it just happens to be collecting Scooby-Doo stuff. 

I hope you all enjoy Panel #2 as much as we enjoyed making it! And remember to do what makes you happy!

The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special

 

A new Scooby-Doo Reunion special was announced on May 25. It will be a one hour special that airs on The CW later this year.

According to Variety:

In “The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special,” the Mystery Inc. gang reunites at Warner Bros. Studios to reminisce about their favorite cases and how they were filmed. But it turns out that the backlot may have its own monster problem. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo investigate this mystery while celebrating the legacy of the franchise during this one-hour special.

Jonathan Stern will executive produce the special, which hails from Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and Abominable Pictures.

According to MovieWeb, the reunion special is going to be a spoof of the reunion shows that have been coming out over the past year.

I'm hoping to see the gang as adults and I really would like to see them do this tastefully. This should be an awesome way to celebrate the characters and the voice actors through the years, especially Frank Welker, who has voiced Fred since the beginning. 

It will be a great opportunity for them to bring back some of the characters everyone loves too, like Scooby-Dum, Scooby-Dee and Scrappy. 

This could be amazing or it could be really bad. It will depend on how much Scooby knowledge the people working on it have, or at least how much research they do. I do feel with it only being an hour it may be rushed. With 50+ years of content, there is enough to make this a series. They could focus on the past mysteries in addition to showing the gang as they are now. 

I wonder what animation style they will use? What mysteries they will focus on? Why they even chose to do a reunion special at all? Is it possible Frank Welker is retiring? Could this be another tribute to him like it seemed that the Guess Who episode A Haunt of a Thousand Voices was? I couldn't even imagine him not voicing Fred anymore. Who would replace him? 

Ok, now I have so many more questions! I guess we'll just wait and see how the special turns out.

 

New Scooby-Doo Funko POP Figures Announced on May 24th

 

This week is Funkoween and we got a treat yesterday from Funko! They released The Hex Girls 3-pack POP Figure set! People have been waiting for this! There had been a whole campaign to get Funko to make these POP Figures and they finally came through! I'm excited that Dusk, Thorn and Luna are finally POP figures. 

They were released out of the blue yesterday as Hot Topic exclusives and they sold out in about 9 minutes. I thought they would be posted on eBay for $100, being that they were sold by Hot Topic for $36.90. To my surprise, more like horror, people were listing them on eBay for $300! Nothing like taking advantage of people! But, have no fear...if you didn't snag the set yesterday, Hot Topic and Funko have confirmed that they will be available again to order at some point. So please don't give the scalpers the satisfaction of making an insane profit on these POP figures. Wait it out and get them when they are a decent price. 

Also announced on Monday, May 24th was a new Scooby-Doo Funko Soda POP Figure. This one is called...Space Ghost? I think they mean Space Kook! Space Ghost is a totally different Hanna-Barbera character!

The Soda figure will have a regular version and a glow-in-the-dark chase version. It hasn't been revealed yet how we can get this POP figure, so keep your eyes open for the announcement!  With only 7,500 being made, it will surely sell out quickly and be listed on eBay for an astronomical amount of money! 

I spent my day today watching the Funko page, refreshing it every few minutes, stressing over whether this figure would be released today, just to have it not be released and now I have to go through that again tomorrow. It can be quite tiring to deal with exclusives and I go back and forth with "is it worth it or not?" My problem is that I have every Scooby-Doo POP figure that has been made so far and I feel like I need to get all the new ones that come up to keep my collection intact. 

Thinking about new POP figures, I wonder if any other Scooby-Doo figures will be released this week or if we will only see The Hex Girls and Space Ghost Kook?

Good luck to all the collectors that really want this item because they feel it will add to their ever growing collection. Keep an eye on Funko's social media pages and on my social media pages for updates! 

New Scooby-Doo FigPins and My Dislike for Exclusives

 The Scooby-Doo FigPins were released at 1pm EST today and it was so very stressful for me! 

We learned about the FigPins release date 6 days ago and I've been a little stressed out since then! I'm not a big fan of blind packs or exclusives! I don't like having to fight to get something that I want to add to my collection. 

With the Funko exclusives, you usually have seconds to log on, add it to your cart and check out. How many times have you waited for the order to go through just to get a message that says they are all sold out? Then you know that within minutes you're going to see the same item on eBay for 3-4 times what Funko was selling it for. 

Being that I have never purchased FigPins before, that was what I expected, especially with Velma and Shaggy holding Scooby being so limited, with only 3,000 and 2,000 being made. 

I was ready to log in by 12:45pm so I could get all the pins, the full set! I had my hubby on a page to get Velma since she wasn't on the FigPin site. Come 1:00pm I refreshed the page and set out to buy them all. I was almost in panic mode as I added them to my cart. I had to enter a credit card for one of the sites I bought them on, and as I did, my hands were shaking. I mean, these are Scooby pins, not life or death if I don't get them, but I was so stressed out that I was shaking. It didn't get much better as I hit the button to complete my order as I anticipated the sold out message. 

To my amazement, there was no sold out message. My orders were through and the pins will be mine once they ship. I sat back in relief that the process was over. My hubby texted me and let me know he got Velma. I felt like I was able to breathe again!

I am not a fan of exclusives! The stress that I go through to get a Scooby related item is so intense. The worst part is seeing collectors that weren't able to get that item and then it is overpriced on eBay by someone that was just out to make a buck. I prefer preorders so it's fair for anyone that wants to buy it. 

I'm happy to say that the FigPin crisis is over and I can relax now knowing that eventually they will be shipped to me and in my Scooby case. 

By 1:40pm, Velma was starting to sell out on some sites, Shaggy holding Scooby was still available though.

Scooby-Doo! Yahtzee Score Card

Growing up, Yahtzee was one of my favorite games to play. I loved it so much, but I always thought there should be a Scooby-Doo Yahtzee. 

Since there was never a Scooby version made, so in 2015 I had a woodworker near me make me wooden dice that I could use to play Scooby Yahtzee. 

The wooden dice turned out awesome! Hand made! One of a kind! But they were too light to use to play Yahtzee and I didn't want to ruin them. 

In 2020, USAOPOLY released these Scooby-Doo dice, which are perfect for Yahtzee!! I bought 2 sets so I could open one and keep the other sealed. These dice were screaming YAHTZEE! 

All I needed was a Scooby-Doo! Yahtzee card, which I finally made yesterday to go with the dice. I'm so excited to play Yahtzee now! I just need someone to play with! Virtual game of Yahtzee anyone?

You should be able to click on the score card and save it or print it for yourself. If not, let me know and I can send it to you.