The character of Scooby-Doo is one of the most important figures in the history of animation. The show is an integral part of the history of cartoon storytelling and a monument to a forgotten era.
Recently, Tumblr user onechillednerd posted a visual timeline, depicting the storied history of the show.
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It’s as hilarious as it is insightful – take a look and see!
*Scooby-Doo* is one of the most celebrated cartoons of all time.
This Hanna-Barbera classic has the distinction of being the longest-running cartoon in the history of television.
Since first premiering back in 1969, Scooby Doo has appeared in over 300 different animated episodes.
The show revolves around a gang of mystery-solving teenagers and their giant talking Doberman, Scooby-Doo!.
Every week, the gang would hop in the Mystery Machine and drive around solving supernatural mysteries!
Some of the earlier episodes are actually pretty frightening.
Recently, Tumblr user onechillednerd posted a hilarious visual timeline of the show’s history.
It’s been more than 50 years since the air date of the pilot episode.
Since that time, Scoob and the gang have undergone some pretty serious transformations. Some good, others not so much.
“1969-1971: Let’s see if we can make a show on a budget of 3 dollars.”
The show began on a dream and a prayer. It was originally intended to emphasize more of the horror element.
Also, Scooby was slated to be a secondary character , not the show’s focus.
“1972-1973: Hey! We have a real budget now! Let’s use it to hire movie stars to make cameos!”
The show was an instant hit.
For the next incarnation The New Scooby-Doo Movies celebrities lined up in droves for a chance at being featured.
There were countless celebrity cameo appearances that took place on the show.
Stars like Dick Van Dyke, Sonny and Cher, and even Don Knotts lent their vocal talents to help out Scoob and the gang.
Even Batman & Robin guest-starred!
And of course, who could forget the great Mel Blanc?
Mel Blanc was affectionately known as ‘ The Man of a Thousand Voices ‘.
He turned in over 1000 different screen credits and is said to have adapted over 400 unique character voices.
“1988-1991: Let’s give parody and quality animation a whirl.”
Next came A Pup Named Scooby Doo . The show depicted pre-teen versions of the Shaggy and the gang as well as a pupper-sized Scooby-Doo!
In order to make it more appealing to a new, younger audience, the animation changed drastically during this time as well.
“1988-2005: Guys. Guys. Guys. What if… We put actual effort into this?”
From the late 80s up until the very early 00s, there was a slew of different variations and incarnations of Scooby Doo .
My personal favorite is The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo .
“2002-2005: That was haaaaaaaaard. Let’s just bank off the previous movies.”
If something isn’t broken, there’s no point in trying to fix it – right? That seemed to be the mentality in rebooting What’s New Scooby Doo back in 2002.
It’s almost a shot-for-shot remake of the original, just with a more 21st-century spin.
“2006-2008: WHAT THE [EXPLETIVE] IS A SCOOBY?”
Things took a bit of an odd turn here for awhile with Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue! .
The show focusses almost entirely on Shag and Scoob as they circle the globe solving crimes.
“2010-2013: Let’s reinvent ourselves here. Let’s break the mold. Let’s focus on story lines and character development…”
“OK – that all sounds great! Maybe Scooby-Doo, Mystery Incorporated! will be the return to form that fans everywhere had been hoping for?”
“With less focus on the monster of the week and more focus on an over arching story line.”
Maybe not. The show completely lost sight of what made Scooby-Doo great in the first place!
We don’t want to see Shaggy grow and develop as a person, we want to see him scarfing down hero sandwiches!
“2015: Let’s see if we can make a show on a budget of 3 dollars”
“I am Ozymandias , king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
The only permanence is impermanence. Inevitably, we all return to the sands from whence we came.
Thus proving, that everything inevitably comes full circle.
Were you a fan of Scooby-Doo as a kid? What was your favorite version of the show? Or were you a bigger fan of the movies?
Leave a comment below and let us know!
