‘Scooby Doo, Where Are You!’ is an animated TV series that aired from 1969-1970 for three series. The programme followed a group of diverse teenagers as they found themselves in mysterious circumstances. These adventures usually comprise of a strange mystery leading the gang to assume the roles of detectives to discover the perpetrator. Although this series only aired for a year, there have been many spin offs and a series of movies following the Scooby Gang as they find themselves in the midst of countless mysteries. The stories and loveable characters branch generations and are a staple in many households.
The episodes follow a similar storyline; the gang go on a trip and learn of a legend or tale of some kind, a series of unusual circumstances take place leading the gang to split up and look for clues, finally the gang catches and uncovers the villain that has been using the legend for their own personal gain. The similar story and setup allows for the animators and writers to work quicker so more episodes can be produced at one time. The characters within Scooby Doo franchise are; Fred the jock, Daphne the fashionista, Velma the brainiac, Shaggy the hippie and Scooby Doo the lovable pet. The show features a diverse range of high school stereotypes. Each character is well developed and has their own unique features. And personalities, even their own catchphrases. These set of characters are extremely recognisable and identifiable due to the level of development that went into designing the characters to create a range and contrast between each. The characters are compatible and work well with each other and allows the audience to connect with a certain character.
It was animated primarily by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna. It was developed because of the demand for non-violent Saturday morning TV programmes due to the protests and backlash from parents because of the violent nature of superhero TV shows. It was a limited animation process. This process doesn’t require a new drawing for every frame of film rather only the part of the character that absolutely has to move, e.g. the mouth, actually is animate whilst the other parts remain stationary. This was a relatively new way of animating and it worked well in the case of Scooby Doo. This method of animation is done through splitting the character up into cels onto sheets of acetate e.g., piece of acetate for each limb and moving the sections of the characters according to the story. Most characters in the show wear a collar or necktie to disguise the separation between the head and body cels and meant the spilt wasn’t as apparent.
