Maxwell Atoms is the writer/director of the new Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! movie, available on DVD this Tuesday October 6th. This latest chapter in the long-running franchise sees the Mystery Inc. gang entangled in an All Hallows’ Eve caper… featuring some big-name stars and even an iconic DC Universe character.

Jackson Murphy: What kind of influence has Scooby-Doo had throughout your life?

Maxwell Atoms: I guess it’s been pretty big. I always woke up and watched Saturday Morning Cartoons with my sister. We would wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning. Scooby-Doo was definitely a big part. All the Hanna-Barbera stuff was a big part of those early years. As a kid, I really both loved and feared monsters. As far as Scooby-Doo goes, that was one of the cornerstones of my love of the horror and supernatural and science, logic and reason.

JM: This direct-to-DVD franchise has been so successful. We’re now about 30 movies deep. What were some of your goals for putting your stamp on this series?

MA: Mostly, I wanted to push the boundaries without crashing anything. I love Scooby-Doo and the Scooby-Doo characters, and there are boundaries there that I don’t want to break. But at the same time, they’ve had 50 years of adventures. So you do kind of want to keep them in modern times so kids who were the age I was back then can watch them now and get something out of it.

JM: Were there any hesitations from Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, as far as doing the self-deprecating humor in the film?

MA: No. Not at all, really. She was fantastic. When I was writing it, I went back and watched a bunch of her stuff. I watched her movies and some of the show. I just tried to write her like she would write herself, for the most part. There’s a lot of self-deprecating her in her own work. There’s a moment at the very, very end – a fun surprise. I think Warner Bros. was like, “I don’t know, man. She’s not gonna like it.” Thankfully, I got a chance to ask her if it was okay, and she was like, “Oh yeah. Definitely.” (laughs)

JM: And I’ve had the chance to meet Bill Nye. He’s obviously an entertainment icon, too. Did he provide a lot of the facts that he gives in the movie – about Crystal Cove and Aquaman?

MA: Yeah, actually. I love science and I try to stay somewhat current. But I knew when I was writing it, no matter how much research I did, I was not gonna be as savvy as he was. Before we started, I was like, “Look if anything comes-up that isn’t accurate and you wanna change it, just let me know.” Especially with a lot of the Aquaman stuff… I think I had bars as a unit of measurement, and he was like, “No. We haven’t used those since the ’90s. Now we do kilopascals!” And I was like, “Alright man. Whatever you say!” (laughs)

JM: I like a lot of those moments of [Nye] giving out all the facts to the trick or treaters. How was it designing the Mystery Machine X? What did you know that you wanted to incorporate right away?

MA: There’s a technology vs. using your wits scene. I knew I wanted it to be the Apple version of the Mystery Machine. I hate drawing cars. Fortunately we had this great vehicle designer, Damon Moran. I was like, “Look, it’s gotta kind of look like the Mystery Machine but it’s made by Bill Nye and I want it to be a white piece of plastic.” Really he did all the heavy lifting on that thing including all the transformations and gadgetry.

JM: Here’s what really impressed me: much of the film takes place on the highway. How difficult was it for you and the animators to constantly have the animation be in motion?

MA: It’s got its pluses and minuses, I guess. It’s something I really wanted to do. I wanted this to be a juggernaut from beginning to end. Once I landed on the car chase, it just became a technical thing of “How are we animating this?” I had to sort of dream at the beginning that we were going to do everything really 1969 style. If I was going to do that, I would’ve needed more time. To do that and to make it look good, you’d have to really plan out your angles and really be on top of board artists. But the way it ended-up looks great, and there are CG vehicles, which are a lot easier to deal with when you’re in a crunch.

JM: What appealed to you the most about exploring Velma’s mind palace?

MA: I guess it was just sort of exploring her as a character and what she cares about – a little bit about why she is the way she is. She has this place [where] she stores things, and she enjoys it with her friends.

JM: DC fans will like the Scarecrow in this. What kinds of things did the folks at DC, who I’m sure are very protective of their characters (just as much as Hanna-Barbera), want to make sure you portrayed with that character in order for it to stay true for the diehard fans?

MA: I actually wrote to them a little letter saying what my intent with Dr. Crane was, and they really didn’t have much pushback on it. Which is not what I expected at all. I actually expected at least a little bit of a fight – just because even though they’re both owned by Warner Bros., it’s sort of like mixing different flavors sometimes. In this case it worked out. And I’m glad it did because he’s an important piece in it and putting somebody else in that spot would’ve been strange.

JM: Did you grow-up with this character?

MA: Oh, sure. I definitely remember Scarecrow from when I was a kid. A lot of the Batman stuff has really blossomed since the late ’80s and the ’90s animated cartoon, especially. I don’t really feel like I understood Scarecrow until I was an adult.

JM: And what does it mean to you to have this Scooby-Doo installment be out for families for Halloween during this time when… who knows if families are gonna be Trick or Treating in a couple weeks?

MA: I hadn’t really thought about the whole lockdown thing. I guess I’m a little bit sad that there’s no real Halloween this year. So hopefully this brings a little bit of Halloween joy to people who can’t get out.

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Jackson Murphy

Jackson Murphy is a movie critic and entertainment columnist. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

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