September 3rd, 2019 
Jackson Murphy 
2019 marks the 50th Anniversary of Scooby-Doo. To celebrate, Warner Bros. Animation is unveiling a new movie, Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island, which is now available on Digital and on DVD exclusively at Walmart. I recently talked with the makers of “Zombie Island” and two of the longtime “SD” voice actors about the impact and legacy of the franchise.
Jackson Murphy: How have you seen the evolution of your characters over the past 50 years?
Kate Micucci (Velma): I feel like nerds and geeks are now the cool kids running the world. She’s finding her own, probably. She’s now like, “Yeah – I knew it all along!”
Grey Griffin (Daphne): And Daphne went from being the cute girlfriend of Fred who didn’t really talk much – and now she’s doing expositions. She’s talking about how they solve the mysteries. Daphne has completely changed. And much more snarky since I started.
JM: “Scooby-Doo” is kind of like “The Muppet Show” where people remember it for the core characters but also the guest stars interacting with the core characters.
KM: And I think even more now so with the crossover movies that people are excited about, like the “Supernatural” special.
JM: How do you keep Scooby fresh after a half century?
Jim Krieg (Producer): When you come to “Scooby-Doo” as a creator, writer, producer, animator or voice artist, it’s new for you. What are the things I wanted to see in “Scooby-Doo” that I never got to see? When we did “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” all those years ago, the first episode is a snowboarding episode. Snowboarding didn’t exist in the original world. And there’s a part where Fred breaks his leg and he’s watching Daphne rescue him, and it’s just like “Rear Window”. You can start doing homages to other movies.
Jeremy Adams (Writer): The first “Scooby-Doo” thing I did were those LEGO shorts that Stoopid Buddy Stoodios did. Jim and I sat down and… there are things you just think about. We just listed a bunch of things we wanted to do.
JK: And on top of that, because it was a different medium, we thought, “What would they build?” and what could they assemble and disassemble?
JA: It’s interesting because you are dealing with a product that has been around for a long, long time. I think one of the more fun aspects is trying to figure out what they haven’t done. With “Zombie Island”, we tried to figure out new ways around the same old problems – and that’s part of the fun.
JM: How have you watched the look of the animation evolve and change?
KM: When I came in, there was a drastic change in the look that was for Be Cool, Scooby-Doo.
GG: And everybody hated it. I don’t think people gave it a chance because they were so turned off by the look of it.
KM: Many comedians that I really admire… their kids were watching it and it was so funny. I came in right when there was a drastic change in the look. And now it seems like it’s gone back.
GG: I feel like it’s gone so far back. Now, it actually looks like the ’70s ones. It even has a wonky soundtrack.
KM: And even with our dialogue it’s gone back… I say “Jinxies” a lot more.
JM: How do you think the next generations over the next 50 years will look at Scooby-Doo and your characters as a whole?
KM: Maybe… we need an electric Mystery Machine.
JM: That sounds like a good idea! What amazes you about the 50-year legacy of this franchise?
JA: What amazes me is that it still elicits laughter. I have two daughters and the first time they saw Scooby-Doo, it was an instantaneous “They get it”. There is that slapstick quality… there’s something so kinetic and physical that everybody gets internationally. It’s not like it’s a nuanced monologue. Everybody understands.
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