#like they DONT always split uo the same way shaggy and scooby doo want to solve the mystery and help its just... so good

[broke-on-books]

Thinking about the effect that the Scooby Doo legacy and stereotypes associated with it have had on the friendships of individual gang members other than just Shaggy and Scooby.

(Some negativity and a lot of personal opinion below, also running on 3hrs sleep so do what you will)

Like this post was actually written after my rant in the tags but in newer Scooby media (with newer counting as everything after the change in art styles and entrance to the 21st century in my mind) it always has to be a spectacle when they do something against the "Laws of Scooby" like they decide to switch up the clue finding pairings for an episode? Suddenly it's the focus of the whole thing, and people are clashing, and blah blah clap the writers on the back for being so self aware!

It's like: listen. Take that one what's new episode for example, in the mall where the toys come to life. They decide to split up the pairings, putting Fred and Shaggy together, and leaving Scooby with the girls. And instead of it being a fun and interesting change, it's just... awkward. Like suddenly Fred and Shaggy can't even have a conversation together? Like they can't even find a common interest to relate over for small talk and I'm supposed to believe that they're friends? And they ARE FRIENDS! First and foremost, friendship is the strongest binding factor in Scooby Doo! These teenagers basically live together and drive around solving dangerous mysteries together. Like for Pete's sake! There's your common intrest right there! It just rubs me the wrong way honestly

This same thing was done (I think I remember) in a few be cool, scooby doo episodes although like a lot of stuff in be cool, they handled it much better, and normally presented a resolution of the gang's friendships at the end of the episode, and would occasionally break the status quo with other team ups.

But still, compared to older, hanna-barbera era (hey, that rhymes!) it felt almost performative, like they were telling us that We, as an Audience had to acknowledge that they were being Different (TM).

Just when you compare it to older cartoons, specifically those where many of the iconic hallmark gags and catchphrases of scooby doo weren't fully cemented, it's a much more chill and relaxed affair. Like Velma can go look for clues with Shaggy and Scooby in WAY, no problem! But if it happens now, there has to be some sort of reason or conflict behind it other than them just being friends, and wanting to hang out!

It's just very interesting, and while an occasional trend, It's one I can find appearing more in Scooby properties I don't like as much, and less in those I do. Like some of the more recent straight to DVD movies! (Can they still be called that tbh?) I love those, and most of them, I've noticed, puts greater emphasis and care on the friendships of the gang than other properties do.

I've especially seen this with the more "popular" or mainstream Scooby media. Like the ones like Mystery Incorporated, the Gunn Movies, etc. try and do something different with the plot (most of the time to great acclaim) but do so at the expense of the characters and their friendship with each other

Like I appreciate what they're trying to do! I do! I like branching out, I loooove changing it up plot wise! But when you don't preserve the heart of the franchise (the scooby gang) it just feels uncomfortable, or flat to me as a Scooby fan.

Like to a more casual fan I can totally see how they can LOVE Mystery inc, or the Gunn Movies, but as someone who watches old episodes and owns and loves DVD releases, it doesn't always feel like the same characters or same story. Like I adore SDMI and what it tried to do with it's plot, but I can have a hard time having fun with it when the gang are arguing and neglecting their real friendships over bullshit relationship drama for the 15th episode in a row. It just makes me a little sad and it's hard to watch as someone who cared about them. It just... I'm a fan who would take a repetitive, carbon copy scooby story with solid and considerate versions of the characters over a story with an amazing plot, but horrible characterization (to the point that you could not PAY me to believe these people are friends) any day

Anyways this got much too long plus my rants in the tags, and I STILL haven't nailed down my point here and I don't think I will so I'll just wrap it up with the fact that Scooby Doo is character driven, and it has survived off those characters for over 50 years. And sometimes it seems that executives have a hard time remembering that when the adaptations most ingrained in the public consciousness seem to show the opposite of this. But I don't know, characterization and character dynamics are something that has changed and evolved a lot over the course of the Scooby Doo franchise's lifetime, and appears in many different forms at different times, making each show and movie (nay, each episode) almost hit or miss in the mind of each fan and their own version of the characters. And I think you can get your best glimpse at what other people see in Scooby through their version of the friendships it involves and how it stands as a central theme

#just mmm YES #the old series when a lot of the tropes and in gags and stereotypes werent set so they really had freedom to explore other dynamics n ideas! #like SO GOOD #like they DONT always split uo the same way shaggy and scooby doo want to solve the mystery and help its just... so good #there arent certain points they always hit each episode its so nice #like i was watching something and i actually think it was way later than WAY bc it was scrappy era but still original art style but ANYWAYS #they had a flashback to a fred and scooby team up! JUST fred and scooby! catching a bad guy together! do you know how awesome it is! #i swear nowadays anytime they switch up the teams at all its always a huge thing the episode has to point at like SEE SEE WE'RE ORIGINAL #and theres some bs plotline abt it being hard for people to get along in the new team ups #like the wnsd episode where its shaggy and fred and they cant find shit to talk about or like the bcsd episode where scooby and velma team #up (this one was better than the wnsd ep at least) and its like NO NO NO WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THEY ARE FRIENDS #it shouldnt be awkward or played off for the studio to get brownie points for doing something different with scooby doo like no! nonononono! #just ugh the older episodes had their own little things but im just thinking about the weight that the tradition of what constitutes scooby #puts on the episodes #also this isnt a blanket statement because non classic era scooby can do gang dynamics really well at times!!! like holy shit! but i find #that it being done badly can turn good episodes into uncomfortable ones and okay episodes into boring ones #like sdmi!! the plot in sdmi can be the best thing ever but it sacrifices gang dynamics to do that and adds in artificial drama so #i have the most complicated feelings on it as a series and how it portrays the gang #same with the gunn movies! like i hate them because of the scrappy slander and shit but no matter how good they can be plot and comedy wise #i just cant believe the gang are actually friends in it and it takes a lot of that joy out of it and makes ut suffer in my eyes #SO TO SUM UP bc these tags got long as fuck for a one sentence post: the thing that turns good scooby into great scooby is defined in the #relationships of the main characters and their friendship above all else #tdlr: if they dont love each other youre doing scooby doo wrong #anyways wb hire me i would love to create character driven scooby shows and movies for you : ))) #scooby doo #this is gibberish #you can tell im sleep deorived but whatever #anyways i didnt mention the 90s quartet when talking about mainstream interpretations and that was on purpose bc its Complicated. #and honestly deserves a full rewatch and another post before going into my opinions on them #hhhhhggggggg brain mush now okey bye