25 Facts About Scooby Doo You Probably Didn’t Know

Posted by , Updated on March 23, 2024

Do you recall those childhood Saturdays filled with Scooby Doo and his gang chasing villains? If you don’t, you definitely missed a treat! Notably, it is among the longest airing animated series on TV. Despite some of you being unabashed fans of Scooby, here are 25 Things You Most Likely Didn’t Know About Scooby Doo!

 

25

The show was first pitched as a rock band with a dog who plays the bongos.

bongosSource: scoobyaddicts.com
24

Twelve versions of the show have been produced. The most popular versions of the show were the original "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" (1969-1970) and "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" (2002-2006).

scooby dooSource: mentalfloss.com
23

The real reason that Fred and Daphne often went off together was because the writers wanted to focus on the more interesting characters.

the gangSource: therichest.com
22

Scooby's full name is Scoobert-Doo.

really?Source: businessinsider.com
21

Scooby's name was originally meant to be "Too Much." However, while on the way to a development meeting, one of the producers was inspired by a line from Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" where he sings "doo-be-doo-be-doo."

Frank SinatraSource: curiosity.com
20

The same man, Don Messick, did the voice for Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo, and even Papa Smurf.

smurfSource: behindthevoiceactors.com
19

Scooby-Doo is actually a triplet. His identical siblings are named Skippy-Doo and Dooby-Doo.

threeSource: scoobyaddicts.com
18

The original title of the show was "W-Who's Scared." However, the writers thought it was too scary for kids, which is why they renamed it and added a dog.

scaredSource: mentalfloss.com
17

The team of mystery solvers have gone up against 392 different villains.

FirePlaceFiendSource: scoobyaddicts.com
16

Casey Kasem, the voice for Shaggy, wanted him to be vegetarian.

vegetablesSource: time.com
15

When Shaggy was in a Burger King commercial, Casey even quit the show!

burgerSource: businessinsider.com
14

Shaggy-Doo and Scooby-Doo are the only two characters to appear in every show.

scooby and shaggySource: mentalfloss.com
13

Frank Welker, Fred's voice actor, voiced him through every movie and show except for one - "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" (1988).

fredSource: imdb.com
12

The rumors about Velma being a lesbian aren't true. Writers even tried to match her up with Shaggy to put an end to them.

velmaSource: therichest.com
11

Scooby is forever 7 years old.

happy birthdaySource: mentalfloss.com
10

In spite of its crazy success, Scooby-Doo has only been nominated for 2 major awards. They were up for a Daytime Emmy in 1990 and Outstanding Performance in an Animated Program in 2003 (by Mindy Cohn as Velma).

prizeSource: imdb.com
9

Scooby's speech disorder is called rhotacism. This is when you use the letter "r" excessively.

rSource: discovermagazine.com
8

In 2013, TV Guide ranked Scooby-Doo as the fifth greatest cartoon of all time.

tv guideSource: tvguide.com
7

Initially, Scooby was going to be a sheep dog, but producers thought he would be too similar to Hot Dog from Archie comics. Thus, they decided to make him a Great Dane.

great daneSource: mirror.co.uk
6

The producers wanted to give him a floppier and cuter look than a regular Great Dane.

scoobySource: howstuffworks.com
5

Scooby-Doo was the first Saturday morning cartoon to feature a laugh track.

laughSource: therichest.com
4

As an animated series, it was the longest running Saturday morning show in the United States.

saturdaySource: bbc.com
3

Scooby-Doo was created as part of a backlash towards the "violent" cartoons of the late 60's. It's worth noting that these cartoons, like Birdman, weren't nearly as violent as shows today.

peaceSource: thethings.com
2

There was an actual police chase involving a Mystery Machine. Sharon Turman, of California, who drove a "Mystery Machine" van, was chased by police in 2016 for violating her parole.

The_Mystery_Machine_van_@_Universal_Studios_HollywoodSource: latimes.com
1

In addition to the multiple cartoon episodes and specials, there was also a live action movie. Released in 2002, the cast included Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rowan Atkinson, Matthew Lillard, and Freddie Prinze Jr. to name a few.

scooby doo movie 2002Source: imdb.com


Featured Image: Brickset via flickr, CC BY 2.0

25. pixabay (public domain), 24. wikimedia commons (public domain), 23. Brickset via flickr, CC BY 2.0, 22-18. pixabay (public domain), 17. via scoobyaddicts.com (fairuse: illustrative use only, no free images available),16-15. pixabay (public domain), 14. spadge6868 via flickr, CC BY 2.0, 13. Brickset via flickr, CC BY 2.0, 12. JD Hancock via flickr, CC BY 2.0, 11-9. pixabay (public domain), 8. wikimedia commons (public domain), 7-3. pixabay (public domain), 2. Roman SotoThe Mystery Machine van @ Universal Studios HollywoodCC BY 2.0, 1. via IMDB (fair use: illustrative use only; no free images available)