Why is Scrappy Doo hated in the Scooby Doo community?

Neo Ultra Mike

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I think I can pin point when people started blaming scrappy doo for ruining scooby doo
it was when the show started focus comedy instead of mysteries where it was just scooby shaggy and scrappy going on generic adventures yogi bear or mickey mouse would go on all that made scooby different was gone

I'm sure on some level that's where some people started complaining especially since after that series which was much more focused on Scrappy you had The New Scooby And Scrappy Doo show which focused back on telling mysteries and had Daphne in it again but it's pretty clear Scrappy was still pretty popular. I mean he was still given star treatment in the next run of shows and even though he wasn't in A Pup Named Scooby Doo (obviously made to cash in on the Muppet Babies trend going on in the 80's and early 90's) he was still a fixutre in the later 80's movies like Ghoul School and Reluctant Werewolf. So honestly the hatred wasn't really from that period but I think due to the more cynical and jaded view people had in the 90s, especially in the later 90's that made a bunch of people who grew up on Scooby Doo look back on the character with dislike due to how the formula in Scooby changed and finding the character obnoxious and grating. It was really only in the late 90's that Scrappy Doo hate became a thing as the franchise itself started doing jabs at the idea in some of the specials released at the time (like CN's own Scooby Doo Project and Night of the Living Doo) and as Scooby became a franchise again and fully reestablished the identity it had in the late 60's through earlier 70's it had more thrown away through the later 70's and 80's, that just became a thing people vaguely familiar with the franchise would pick on and yeah has become a stigma that is still in effect.

Even though it really shouldn't be. I admit I could be a bit bias since like TheVileOne and others I never hated Scrappy Doo; like I remember actually really liking him as a kid because I liked the idea of someone who would actually want to FIGHT the monsters instead of just running around scared of them and actually not being annoyed even by his original voice. I mean there are some series where having a Scrappy kind of character doesn't work (Dragon Ball GT did this with Pan for example) but this was a case where that idea wasn't without merit. Plus yeah Scooby Doo as a series had gotten really stale at that point and didn't have the writing or modern wit to make it work plus spins had already been tried on it so the fact Scrappy did save the show for it to be around nowadays should be more firmly established in pop culture to make Scrappy a punching bag. So really the fact that Scrappy has been shunned for so long as either a joke or an annoyance or just something to ignore is really uncool. Especially when they wouldn't even bring Scrappy back for the Scooby Doo And The Curse Of The 13th Ghost Movie. Like Seriously Scooby team you made a film to cap off and give an ending to one of your old series which I greatly appreciate but you do so by trying to ignore one of the major elements from it just because you don't want to deal with THAT part of the mythos history even though you're diving back into that era; that to me is just pathetic and cowardly and shows the team behind Scooby Doo projects can't ever fully celebrate their own history if they just want to wipe away pieces of it. And not even offensive pieces or anything just things they think are just jokes which yeah aren't and should be seen as such.
 

powerjake

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Especially when they wouldn't even bring Scrappy back for the Scooby Doo And The Curse Of The 13th Ghost Movie. Like Seriously Scooby team you made a film to cap off and give an ending to one of your old series which I greatly appreciate but you do so by trying to ignore one of the major elements from it just because you don't want to deal with THAT part of the mythos history even though you're diving back into that era; that to me is just pathetic and cowardly and shows the team behind Scooby Doo projects can't ever fully celebrate their own history if they just want to wipe away pieces of it. And not even offensive pieces or anything just things they think are just jokes which yeah aren't and should be seen as such.

In the movie " Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost" Flim-Flam was asking the Mystery Inc gang on the whereabouts of Scrappy, only for Velma Dinkley to say "What's a Scrappy?".

I can see why the writers make alot of jabs at Scrappy as thats fair game, That character ruined the franchise for 9 years total. It's a good thing his final canon on screen classic appearance was from the TV movie Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf.
 

Neo Ultra Mike

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In the movie " Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost" Flim-Flam was asking the Mystery Inc gang on the whereabouts of Scrappy, only for Velma Dinkley to say "What's a Scrappy?".

Which yeah IS STUPID AND JUST INSULTING. Like okay most Scooby Doo continuity doesn't connect and exists in their own universe which let's face it has been a thing since at least The Scooby Doo show even BEFORE Scrappy. So if you want to say "okay ghosts don't exist in this universe for Scooby Doo because we don't count these series" that's fair enough and totally understanding. There's no way of connecting every Scooby Doo property together and this point you shouldn't. But if you're going to go to the trouble of actually making a LEGIT SEQUEL of 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo and bother actually trying to not only explain how it fits in with the framework of your movie and even bother trying to give explanations as to why Fred and Velma weren't around then you just can't pretend Scrappy ISN'T A THING! 13 Ghost of Scooby Doo clearly states like other properties he is Scooby Doo's nephew and Scooby Doo took care of him and he was part of that whole series and helped a lot in it. So acting like "LOL Scrappy wasn't in that" is just plain aggrevating since again that movie was done to tie into that series so actually TIE INTO IT AND ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT HAPPENED IN IT! Sorry not yelling at you powerjake just the siutation honks me off personally about that.

I can see why the writers make alot of jabs at Scrappy as thats fair game, That character ruined the franchise for 9 years total. It's a good thing his final canon on screen classic appearance was from the TV movie Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf.

Again without Scrappy there would not BE a Scooby Doo series at all right now as the franchise would of just died in the late 70's and been likely only a bit more remembered the Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan or Goober and the Ghost Chasers are now. Since again due to how polluted and toxic most 70's cartoons are a good majority of series and franchises didn't really survive that time and the ones that did had to have some relevance going forward which Scrappy allowed Scooby Doo to have into the 80s. And again you can not like those years if you want but... is the Scooby Series really held up that high that the Scrappy years "ruined" it? Again people majorly overly hate this character and this era and I really wish the series itself wouldn't constantly indulge in that. And I have a feeling one day someone in the franchise will wind up moving past that if only because there won't be anything else for the films to milk but seriously lame it is still such a thing.
 

MegasMilo379

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Completely agree with @Neo Ultra Mike.
No one has to to love or even like Scrappy, and I'm totally okay and understanding with him as a divisive character.

But it's extremely unfair for many to straight up put all the vitriol and blame on Scrappy for "ruining" the Scooby-Doo franchise - which actually makes me physically ill. He didn't do anything to deserve it, and the franchise would've died off if it weren't for him (and by extension, the people who created him). The ratings and script quality prove it. And a nostalgic reboot special or movie probably would've been seen by some as mediocre anyway.

Those in the camp who write posts about their dislike about Scrappy without giving any explanation as to why anger me the most (no, just "because he's annoying/obnoxious/irritating/etc." should not count). I'm not telling them to stop it, but honestly it all sounds petty and ridiculous. And all the contributions of the writers of the shows, movies and specials that mention him are just as bad (if not worse). They are desperately pandering to a small group of people with one line or joke to further vilify him in an attempt at word-of-mouth and approval to get them to watch the shows shows - making them forever vindicated in their over-the-top hatred.

If anything, Scrappy should be thanked and celebrated at least for keeping Scooby-Doo alive as a television institution, and not vilified as the ultimate nuisance with targets on his back.

And he's not even all that annoying.
 

hobbyfan

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As I said before, ABC suits saw the ratings for Scooby Goes Hollywood, Scooby's 1st prime-time special (and the only one for ABC), which was more slapstick comedy based, and without Scrappy, mind you, and thought they could tweak the format by sending Fred, Velma, & Daphne on an extended vacation. They just weren't prepared for the haterizing that came years later.
 

Yojimbo

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I was more curious about why Scrappy's father never appeared or was mentioned. Well, to my recollection. They got pretty extensive with the Doo family but not the in-laws I guess.
 

aegisrawks

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That is because the whole point is that Scrappy's parents are deadbeat and want nothing to do with him. That's why Scrappy is with Scooby after all.
 

powerjake

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The Scrappy Doo era had one big thing in common with modern SpongeBob SquarePants, Making Shaggy and Scooby suffer from extreme abuse and torture from another thing/person throughout the episodes just like the modern flanderization of Squidward, the writers were just very lazy and ran out of ideas quickly.
 

CoolCaper

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The Scrappy Doo era had one big thing in common with modern SpongeBob SquarePants, Making Shaggy and Scooby suffer from extreme abuse and torture from another thing/person throughout the episodes just like the modern flanderization of Squidward, the writers were just very lazy and ran out of ideas quickly.
It wasn't all about that. "Scooby-Dooby Goo" is quite a nice reversal of that with some character development from Scrappy. THIS is what Scrappy is like when he realizes that he's goofed up on someone else? He's genuinely contrite and does his best to fix things, even when it's hard.
Like the first episode when he and Scooby had to stowaway on an alien spaceship to rescue Shaggy ("This calls for the scientific method of selection," Moonlight Madness was great, Scooby's Luck of the Irish had the leprechaun screwing around with all the guys, with Scrappy's gullibility (leprechauns are NOT NICE. Whoever wrote the short got that down pat and I respect him/her for it) and Shaggy and Scooby's fear.
 

Asa

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The4thSnake came up with an interesting way to reinvent Scrappy for a modern era that isn't just another jab at him.

Maybe a DTV film where a character that's based on James Gunn (the person who despised Scrappy and urged Warner Bros to portray him as a villain in the 2002 live-action remake and remove him from future installments) was the real culprit behind the anti-Scrappy campaign and antagonized the poor pup to death that Mystery Inc. finds out his true colors and they snap out of it?
 

powerjake

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The worst of all, those dreadful Scrappy-Doo adventures where all Scrappy does is annoy some large man who precedes to chase Scooby and Shaggy around for 7 minutes and sometimes even unfairly beating up both Shaggy and Scooby for the pettiest of reasons. Those are some of the worst episodes of all time.

In the What's New, Scooby-Doo? short called "An Evening with the Scooby-Doo Gang" When Fred starts talking about a "sixth member", Daphne and Velma look really worried, Scooby Doo covers his ears, and Shaggy makes a timeout with his hands saying "I thought we weren't supposed to talk about Scrappy", showing the dislike for Scrappy. In Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, both Fred and Daphne are very critical of Scrappy and never want to speak of him ever again.
 
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Eric B

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Maybe a DTV film where a character that's based on James Gunn (the person who despised Scrappy and urged Warner Bros to portray him as a villain in the 2002 live-action remake and remove him from future installments) was the real culprit behind the anti-Scrappy campaign and antagonized the poor pup to death that Mystery Inc. finds out his true colors and they snap out of it?
That was sort of my thinking when producing this attempt at a meme (didn't know about Gunn then, but he is the one who fits the bill):

 

harry580

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I would like to see a dtv film that asa proposing, that Would tell the truth about the hating of scrappy
 

Moe

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I would like to see a dtv film that asa proposing, that Would tell the truth about the hating of scrappy
Scrappy remind me of Scrat from Ice Age.

Scooby Doo and Ice Age crossover will look great lol.
 

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