#the scooby gang ​redesign …… AGAIN

[krasnyel]

can y’all watch them while i’m gone

[whiplashsquid]

I'm sorry for genuinely liking the hoodie+sweater outfit from the HBO show 💀

Its my design for her now, I call dips

[bearmemesreviews]

FotW: SDMI - In Fear of the Phantom

Welcome back to Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, and now we're getting into a problem many reboots and adaptions face - what happens when you try something different. Today's episode isn't really that special, serving as a bridging point between the next stint of episodes focused on the gang's love lives.

Except for featuring the Hex Girls of course.

Not to overshadow the main villain, which would be extra funny considering their backstory, but come on that's what y'all are here for.

Yeah, they got a bit of a redesign since their last few appearances in the two billion direct to DVD films. Fans DID NOT like this, and in a later episode they had to actually address the backlash while also scrapping these outfits for the original ones. They also steal Luna and Dusk's hair dye and gave Thorn's highlights a diminished role.

My personal opinion? Eh, I would've preferred a middle ground between the two, but for reboots I encourage designers to go all out since it's their own thing. So for Mystery Incorporated I would've either kept the redesigns or gave them completely brand new looks a second time. The OGs have a more cohesive aesthetic, but I like how MI experiments by giving each girl their own Alt style. It's probably Dusk who could probably use a new outfit though, since her Tank Girl getup doesn't mesh as well as Thorn's "Pagan School Girl" and Luna's "Lesbian Thespian" outfits do. Actually, maybe one of those Scene Kid reconstructions of School Uniforms would've worked better?

Oh yeah, this nerd.

Backstory: Like most lesbians Velma is a massive fan of The Hex Girls, snagging front row tickets for the Scooby Gang just in time for them to witness a "Phantom" try to murder Thorn on stage. As with every mystery the gang decide to take it upon themselves to do the cop's job to keep the concert going while protecting the band.

This leads to an exploration of the show's two main ships, Fredphe and Shoob - again, yes really.

This show is really good trust me on this.

Scooby outright calls Shaggy a cheater for going to prom with Velma instead of hanging out with him like they always do, and replaces Mathew Lillard with a wooden dummy much to Shaggy's chagrin.

Fred meanwhile comes out as nonbinary a teenage boy with emotions as he finally grasps Daphne's romantic interest in him. All thanks to an entire song written by Daphne where she uses Fred's special interest to get through to him.

Behold, one of the best songs made for a television show in history.

Before this spectacular moment of audio interposed with occasional Zelda CDI-level animation (to be fair are you even looking at the animation in the first place) we got some Phantom shenanigans. Mostly him responding to Scoob and Shag's ability to warp time and space by just setting them on fire, probably the most effective thing one these guys have attempted so far.

Design: Obviously a homage to The Phantom of the Opera, and as we go through the series, you'll start to notice a lot more homages that Wikipedia will kindly point out for you. Though you can also see a bit of Comic Supervillain in his design, so much so that he doesn't seem to fit with the show's own aesthetic. He wears a black full body suit with a gigantic, taller than his own head, Dracula collar and grim reaper-esque hood. He has a fabricated piece of his outfit that goes over his shoulders like Football Pads, but with a sleeker design as it attaches his cape to the main costume. His cape is black but its interior is lined with a sparkling holographic material.

His mask, belt, boots, and glovers are all made of golden mechanical pieces, as they actually allow him to charge up bolts of electricity to fire at the teens in our show. This tech is never explained, and he really only uses it a few times before forgetting he has these weapons at his disposal.

His mask is the best part of the outfit, legitimately cool while evoking a gas mask. It's almost like it was made out of several pieces asymmetrically stuck to each other with large bolts, like if C3PO was mangled in an accident and put back together with recolored bits of R2-D2. There are several short, cylindrical ports on his gauntlets, boots, belt, and mask that occasionally glow green.

Reveal: Shaggy, with an extensive knowledge of obscure musical groups as we'll be shown time and time again, recognized the shiny material of The Phantom's cape as belonging to a One-Hit Wonder named Fantzee Pantz. And once that's discovered it's pretty obvious that the other suspect, The Hex Girl's manager, is not the culprit as he was just as responsible for Fantzee's obscurity as THG.

No, the true culprit is the girl's songwriter, who first attempted to sabotage them through badly written songs but was thwarted by the girl's talent and popularity - So he then turned to just trying to kill them, and Daphne. He ends up taking Scoob's dummy to jail with him, but the original duo patch things up by then - letting us look back at Velma who got sidelined so badly this episode.

2/5 Goofy as hell design for a goofy character, probably the most "Villain of The Week" we've encountered so far. In fact, he'd probably fit in better in Miraculous Ladybug than this show. Not that bad otherwise, just not as impressive.

[whimsymosaic]

I redesigned the scooby doo gang! After the atrocity that is “Velma” released I’ve started watching the show again and wanted to try a rewrite. If anyone has a question or anything feel free to ask I’ll most likely answer.

[solo-monkeys68]

Finally came back to make this digitally, here's my redesigns for an adult Scooby Doo show. Shaggy would be a stoner and Scooby would only talk when he's super high. Shaggy would be mixed. The reason they eat so many Scooby Snack is because they won a lifetime supply. And he wouldn't be a coward as much as a realist. Loves The X-files, but can't watch while high. Fred's a typical himbo. Loves to play hockey. Has an on and off again relationship with Daph. Started his love for traps in the Scouts. Might catch him taking a hit with Shaggy some days and hanging at the mall with his team on others. Kinda goes with the flow for the most part. Daph we gotta make super into witchcraft and the supernatural. Def keeps some sage on handy and is trying to outbid someone for a Necronomicon on E-bay. Still into make up and fashion, very popular, but kind of a nerd. Has definitely written fanfic. And then we got Velma. Honestly, as long as she's nothing like Mindy Kaling's version I'm fine with whatever. If the gang plays D&D she's the dungeon master. Might make her like Scully from X-files. Honestly the whole show should be a mix of fake and real/unexplained cases.

[caught-in-a-landslide]

Redesigned the Mystery Gang again!

Updated info for a few of them too:

Name: Fred Jones.

Age: 18.

1: Popular fresh boy in school.

2: Son of the mayor, usually doesn’t talk about it due to his father being wrapped up in his own work.

3: He might be popular, but he’s willing to help others in any situation, and handle bullies.

4: Has a collection of mystery/detective films he watched as a kid, his favourite is the Sherlock Holmes ones.

5: Has a crush on Daphne, not because of how she looks, but of who she is.

In fact, he wants to confess to her, but he’s usually had other girls rejecting him and he’s scared she might do the same.

6: His father is unaware he’s part of a mystery solver gang, but he wouldn’t allow it if he knew since he wants his son to be a lawyer.

++++++++++

++++++++++

Name: Norville ‘Shaggy’ Rogers.

Age: 17.

1: Not very popular in school, but luckily isn’t bullied.

2: He’s goes to Drama Club as well as Animal Care.

Usually because he’s wanting to be a actor and help animals as his mom is works at a vet.

3: Shaggy is very good at communicating with animals, people nickname him Doolittle Jr.

4: He’s scared of almost anything, this is from a traumatic event he had when he was 9.

5: He almost eats anything, in fact, he doesn’t realise he accidentally eats dog food sometimes.

6: Met Scooby Doo when he was a stray in the subway, he gave the name to the dog when he got the idea from the cheap dog food name: Scooby Snacks.

7: Him and Fred are childhood friends, they’ve always been even whilst growing up, which explains why he never got bullied.

8: Shaggy and Velma live in the normal neighbourhood, but they never spoke to each other much as he was not very sociable with girls.

9: He doesn’t like it when people call him Norville.

++++++++++

++++++++++

Name: Scooby Doo.

Age: 7 (Dog age).

1: He was actually experimented on for purposes of illegal research, this was at the time when he was a pup. He managed to escape but ended up as a stray.

2: Shaggy took him in and considered him a friend.

3: Scooby hasn’t been able to trust humans much as his trauma from humans is that reason. (He only seems to trust Shaggy)

4: The experiments gave him the ability to speak and understand humans, but doesn’t do it much as it could cause suspicion.

5: He wears a scarf because he doesn’t like collars as he was forced to wear electric shock ones during the experiments, he seems to like it.

6: The gang are aware he can speak, but promise to not tell anyone, unless it’s those that can keep the secret for him.

++++++++++

++++++++++

Name: Daphne Blake.

Age: 17.

1: Popular girl in school, and famous model (Which is done by her parents) there is.

2: Takes martial arts classes in order to defend herself, as she hates the whole ‘damsel in distress’ memo.

3: Actually lost touch with Velma as she went to New York to do modelling for 2 years, she wasn’t quite happy to move from home for that.

4: Her family started off poor, but now they are living in luxury with her mom being a actress and her dad being a doctor, they do care about what Daphne wants but are unaware she hates modelling and wants to do artistic work.

5: She doesn’t seem to like those popular girls that would bully people for no reason, but sadly she’s friends with those popular girls, and is unable to leave them as they would threaten her.

6: Joined the gang 3 weeks after their first encounter with ghosts.

7: Daphne has a crush on Fred, but she doubts herself if he doesn’t want to be with a ‘richgirl’ like her.

++++++++++

++++++++++

Name: Velma Dinkly.

Age: 16.

1: Smart grade-A student in science and biology class, not very popular though.

2: Met Fred when she was getting bullied, she watched his mystery/detective films and both came up with the idea of being mystery solvers themselves.

3: Was childhood friends with Daphne, but both lost touch as they were focusing on other things as they were growing up, but they still get along.

4: She and Fred met Shaggy and Scooby at an abandoned train station, the same place where they encountered their first ghost.

5: She doesn’t make a big deal out of her intelligence, and usually helps people with their grade problems.

6: Seems to question her sexuality sometimes, as she has a thing for girls and boys.

7: Velma loses her glasses sometimes, luckily the others help find them.

[thealmightyemprex]

Halloweenathon: The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo

It aint the spooky season without talkin about everyones favorite mystery solving dog ,and why not talk about the series where he first encountered real ghost and teamed up with Vincent Price

This 1985 series follows Scooby Doo (Don Messick) Shaggy (Case Kassem ),Daphne (Heather North ),and Scoobys nephew Scrappy (Also Don Messick ) as due to the manipulations of two ineffectual ghosts who wish to gain respect , Weerd (Arte Johnson ) and Bogel (Howard Morris) , Scooby and Shaggy have let loose 13 evil ghosts who seek to use the Chest of demons to rule the world ,and with the help of a con artist named Flim Flam (Susan Blu ) and a powerful mystic named Vincent Van Ghoul (Vincent Price),the gang must capture the malevolent ghosts

So my relationship with the Scooby Doo franchise is....Odd .For years I have said I am not a fan ,but realized I kind of am one .Specifically I am I find the Scooby Doo formula kind of a slog ,of the villain just being some greedy captalist dressed up as a monster(Cept for Pup Named Scooby Doo that show rocks ) .....What I love is when the monsters are real ,hell when I was a kid it was a huge deal to see Scooby Doo on Zombie Island where the villains are legit life force eating cat monsters...But older Scooby fan s will know that this was not first time he faced real monsters :There were the movies Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf(Which I like but I know people dont ) .....And of course The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo

Now while I grew up on reruns of various Scooby shows like the original Scooby Doo Where Are You,The New Scooby Doo Movies ,A Pup Named Scooby Doo and so on......This is one I never saw in reruns,and honestly I only heard about it cause one of my favorite horror actors Vincent Price was a main character ,so for Spooky month I decided to watch all 13 episodes

Now .....THis show might be the weirdest Scooby show I have ever seen .The show was developed by Tom Ruegger ,who would go on to do Animaniacs,Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid and you can kind of see some of his sensibilities in this show,in that it runs on rule of funny ,and there are a lot absurd and fourth wall jokes(The weirdest one involving a woman complaining about fire being used in a kids cartoon in a scene involving a dragon,which then becomes Scrappy calling her racist against Dragons ....This is an actual scene ) ..You also get aesthetic things like to modern fans this show to watch.....Cause Fred and Velma arent in it ,of the main group its just Daphne , Shaggy and Scooby.Also since its the 80's they have their 80's redesigns (I refer to this era as the Red shirt Shaggy era )

As for character depictions Shaggy is pretty much himself,scared of monsters and loving food ,and Casey Kasem is great as always .I think this might be my favorite use of Daphne who is kind of the voice of reason and sort of leader . SCrappy makes his fnal appearence in a Scooby show and I am just gonna say it....I .DONT.HATE .SCRAPPY.I think he has his fun moments and I think this might be the best use of him ,as he really works as a double act with the equally overconfident Flim Flam

Scooby Doo is himself....But this might just be the most interesting depiction of Scooby ,because his fear of ghosts is depicted in a few episodes like crippling PTSD ,like facing real ghosts is taking a toll on poor Scooby .Also....WE MEET SCOOBYS PARENTS !!! I dunno that just blew my mind

Now lets talk about the new characters we meet a kid con artist named Flim Flam ....I think I hate Flim Flam .Not entirely hat,mind you ,he has some funny moments ,Susan Blus vocal performance is good and again I love his double act with Scrappy ....But he is so smug and cocky you just want him to shut up sometimes.Add to that he was a network addition and the writers hated him,and I dont blame them

We also have recurring villains in Weerd and Bogel who basically latch on to which of the 13 Ghosts is the big bad of the episode,and are the comical villains in juxtaposition to the often more serious 13 Ghosts. Not much to say ,they are fine though comedians Arte Johnson and Howard Morris deliver great vocal performances

The best part of the series however is Vincent Van Ghoul,a powerful sorcerer who guides the team .Part of why he works is he is played by the legendary Vincent Price.Much like Flim Flam the inclusion of a big name celeb was a network but which one was up to the creative team,The choice of Vincent Price I think was a brillaint one .Personally I like to describe Vincent Price as a master of Cozy horror,he's spooky but there is sense of fun and comfort to him and the honestly the same goes for Scooby Doo even at its creepiest .He is also just a genuinely good voice actor with a wonderful sense of humor so he is a perfect fit for the show .Now the show could have coasted on being a saturday morning cartoon starring Vincent Price (The character is even designed to look like Price ) but truthly Van Ghoul is a fun character on his own.Van Ghoul is both the wise expostion guy ,but he is also the team dad who will just hang out with the gang .He also has his faults that make him more endearing ,he gets grumpy and one of my favorite moments he's revealed to be an obnoxious house guest .He's truly a funny character and he adds a bit of spice to the show

The shows humor is mixed ,sometimes it is really funny,mostly when they just go off the rails or show off the comedic timing of both Casey Kasem and Vincent Price ......Other times,especially when its Flim Flam it can be annoying .Animation is ....Well its both a Hannah Barbera cartoon AND it was made in the 80's so its not great though there are some good designs

Now my top 5 episodes are

5.Its a Wonderful Scoob-Scooby quits the gang and is shown what the world will be like if villain of the week Time Slime won .Its one where Scooby truly is a hero have to have it

4.The Ghouliest Show on Earth -A circus themed adventure with my favorite the 13 Ghosts ,Professor Phantazmo played by the amazing Alan Oppenheimer

3.Scooby in Kwakyland -The gang are trapped in a newspaper comic ,theres is some great art direction and I adore the side plot about Vincent being a house guest

2.A Spooky Little Ghoul Like You -Vincent is placed under a love spell by the seductress Nekara who plans on draining his power .Good plot and just fun

1.Thats Monstertainment -The gang is sucked into a old Frankenstein movie and must play the parts till they can find a way out.What can I say I love old monster movies and this to me was the funniest episode

Overall its not a perfect show ,but if you like Vincent Price,Scooby Doo and bonkers cartoons I reccomend it

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @angelixgutz @princesssarisa @filmcityworld1

[artistic-mathematics]

season finale of Velma

honestly? it was actually not bad. the ending actually tied things together pretty well, though it makes me wish we’d spent more of the season actually working on solving the mystery instead of just the last 3-4 episodes, but it is what it is

last two episodes get an 7/10, season as a whole I’d give a 5/10 (and only bc of the Daphne/Velma representation. sue me.)

overall as soon the first two episodes were over and stopped making the show as... inappropriate...... it was much better. the last two episodes had much less cringeworthy moments and was actually really interesting to watch.

I still wouldn’t recommend watching the season (bc let’s be fair.) but as I said a ton of times before, if they just stopped leaning on the nsfw stuff this show would be SO much better. the writing just needs to be better, but the voice acting, art style, and animation are still good.

it has an amazing set-up and at least the mystery-aspect of the first season was pretty good, just.... please do better with the writing and the other dialogue.

spoilers below with a much more detailed review, including my takes on the characters

they actually ended up tying the four (obviously without Scoob) core members of the gang together, which is cool, and it’s especially good that they’re all fighting over each other for some reason. they introduced a reason for Shaggy and Fred to actually like interact with each other with Shaggy killing Fred’s mom. they started fighting over it in the end and I smell some enemies to lovers in that direction

there’s some weird love triangle that got yeeted into play during the last episode which is just,,, pls let Daphne and Velma be together fr,,, why is Shaggy in this picture at all LOL??? Velma was legitimately such a shit friend to him idk why he’s still on that train

(oh and I stg if Velma ends up like, actually developing a crush on him I’m going to throw hands BC SHE LITERALLY USED HIM ALL SEASON??? THIS IS NOT HEALTHY)

(I should mention that they confirmed season 2 was greenlit despite the bad reviews LMFAO, I mean the show really isn’t as bad as most people have been making it out to be but I 100% understand the controversies,,,,,)

so Velma’s mom was technically the culprit (so I was teeeechnically right), but it actually being Fred’s mom makes so much sense??? it never occurred to me that the brain-swapping shit wasn’t just to yeet people from existence, but to possibly make a living person more likable. it was good though, they did drop a shitload of hints and the mystery actually made sense, not to mention there was a good ol’ unmasking (which also got interrupted! the villain actually had a backup plan!)

(they also had a semi-traditional Scooby chase scene a few episodes back that I forgot to mention, but the amount of 4th wall breaks that happened in it...)

I honestly wish all iterations of Daphne moving forwards are as vocal and genuinely badass as the one in this current show. her redesign and character are SO much better (she’s also the only one who genuinely improved) and while yes, the whole drug dealing thing wasn’t great (AGAIN THAT WASN’T A PERMANENT THING, stop acting like it IS, she wanted to know who her fucking biological parents were and didn’t have the funds), she acted almost exactly as I’d expected a past Daphne would have acted (aka I lowkey??? characterized her that way in my chapter fic???). people have been complaining about her the least and so I think there’s at least some sort of a consensus that her character works.

I hope that this is a good direction to make Velma less... rude. honestly, it feels lowkey like a riff on MI Velma where she’s constantly sassy, but like this isn’t even just sass, it’s just her being shitty to friends as a whole and pretending it’s not an issue. I hope they actually give her character development bc so far it just feels like people are liking her despite her rudeness and it’s like,,,, in what world does this work???? I feel like the only thing she’s learned is that her ignoring Shaggy is what set him off, but it still feels like she’s just. Using Him. and I hate that the only way they can portray understanding other characters is through romantic love. like no Velma and Shaggy can still be best friends for Velma to love him. but this show’s Velma would need to fucking fix herself first like

Shaggy is just. man. they gave him some character development only to literally undo it in the matter of five seconds bc Velma had a revelation. ALSO his redesign was just not needed, like they honestly just shouldn’t have changed him so drastically??? he was iconic and it didn’t need fixing, not to mention that everyone else’s redesign actually looks like the original. Velma’s skin color got darker as a result of her being South Asian and Daphne’s eyes were changed to reflect the fact that she’s Asian in the show, but that was it, so idk why Shaggy became a whole new person entirely. Shaggy’s dad looks more like Shaggy and that’s depressing. he looks and acts more like an OC than anything and most of the time I don’t even register him as Shaggy, he’s just another guy. I can’t even talk much ab him bc it’s just.... not it.

Fred???? dude idk why back when the show started airing everyone was talking about how Fred was the funniest part of the show bc. he WASN’T. he literally made the show so much worse, like they literally made him incapable of anything and he embodied toxic masculinity sm that it was painful to watch. he did, however, get a decent amount of character development, and it was at least an interesting turn of events to watch him actually stop being as much of a goddamn wuss and someone who literally could not exist for two seconds without someone taking care of him (only for his own mother to use that against him in the next scene, but we’ll just ignore that.) they did start taking steps in the right direction where Fred started actually learning to do things on his own, but I feel like a big reason as to why he ended up becoming this way is BECAUSE of his own mother. not that’s an excuse for the way they absolutely butchered his character but honestly I hope they fix it.

anyway if season 2 actually doesn’t get cancelled and makes it out, just. writing. focus on the goddamn writing. please.

[valmos]

13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo 11-13 + End Thoughts

Episode 11: Coast-to-Ghost

Monster: Rancor, SAPS, B&W

Interests: Gang is headed to California has there is high ghost activity. It is initiation night for SAPS: Spooks and Poltergeist Society. Vitncent is tricked into looking into the Eye of Eternity and turns to stone in 24 hours. Rancor was sealed in the chest, thus one of the most horrible ghosts, but he had to preform to get into SAPS. B&W are trying to turn parade float flowers into monsters. Two security guards think faux-gang 3.0 are stealing flowers... they.. they identify as FBI? (I am waiting for it to be revealed that FBI stands for Flower Bodyguard Initiates or something). W thinks if they save Vincent they can still get into SAPS?? B&W help faux-gang 3.0 Eye of Eternity can be negated by looking into the Mask of Mooma. B&Ws real plan is to get close enough to steal the chest. Flim Flam made ghost proof handcuffs. .. Daphne just called the red van the Mystery Machine. ‘FBI’ guys have a helicopter that says Police. Rancor because a fart cloud... erm green storm cloud. Hallway gag. Rancor is losing his power do to the sun, Flim Flam and Scrappy trick him to jump into the nice dark chest. 

Episode 12: The Ghouliest Show on Earth

Monster: Professor Fantazmo, B&W

Interests: Dooville is welcoming home Scooby. Scooby’s parents are older then they were two episodes ago, but not as old as they were in past series. Scooby’s Mom made a double batch of Scooby Snacks.. that look like little bones? Scooby’s mom and dad run off to Fantazmo’s circus, instead of waiting for Scooby. B&W are still trying to get into SAPS. ... A guy is in relations with a talking cow?? Flim Flan and Scrappy stack together in a trench coat to try to get in the circus for the price of one, but tickets are free. They find Scooby’s parents with ice cream, they quickly eat it before embracing Scooby. The circus’s calliope seems to be magical in nature. Okay, yep is is magical, everything at the circus is demons and the food is sludge. Faux-gang 3.0 get away but Flim Flam ditches them and returns to the circus, signing a contract. Daphne gets put under a spell. (The man and the cow have appeared together a few times now) 

Episode 13: Horror-Scope Scoob

Monster: B&W, Zimbubu,  Zombies

Interests: Scooby Snacks bribe, but no payoff till after the show. MEDDLING KIDS! Not the line, but still meddling kids. MEDDLING KIDS! Again! Opening the chest on the winter solstice grants the opener unlimited power. Scooby Snacks bribe and they get to eat them on the way to a graveyard. Daphne just said there is no such things as zombies??? ???? ? Some random ass ghosts fly out of the chest when it is opened.

End Thoughts: Man, that was enjoyable. It is very different from the normal Scooby-Doo format, but they have been trying to redo the format for several series now and I think they finally hit something with this one. 

This series had so many great monster designs! The redesigns for Shaggy and Daphne, not so much. I don’t know if they changed Daphne’s face, or if its the new hair, or maybe it is just the fact they colored her sclera, but gosh she doesn’t look like Daphne.

The comedy was both very traditional Scooby-Doo like, but at the same time not? Like it at time feels super different, but somehow retains the feeling like it was a natural evolution of it? Like a more grander over-the-top version of it all. 

The writing of this was also bringing back something that felt like it was missing for a long time, it brought back the ‘connective tissue’ of the gang. Simple things like Daphne and Shaggy hugging after she was a werewolf make such a huge difference to making it feel like these are actually friends and they have a reason for traveling together. The series had not just one, but two episodes dealing with the mental toll of hunting ghosts, and each time the gang was supportive and caring. It’s ... it’s just good y’all. 

I just wished the series was able to finish, but it seems one of the home video releases does come back to this and finish it up. So something to look forward to in a year or three. haha.

[bearmemesreviews]

FotW: SDMI - The Grasp of the Gnome

Today's Freak of the Week is a more serious take on a creature type seldom seen outside of Children's Fantasy, Gnomes!

Yep, for years the fair folk and their kin have been delegated to just tiny humans with magic - ignoring years of folklore and cautionary tales that describe these creatures as actual monsters born from the earth with all sorts of nasty plots in their minds.

We have since turned around once again, around the same time superheroes started to scoff at tights in their shows and movies to an annoying degree, and as we get more public domain horror movies expect ANOTHER switch back to sincere fairy tale fodder.

But until then, let's talk about this parkour elf and his blue cheese touch.

Backstory: Crystal Cove has a Reneissance Faire! Which the gang attends, displaying all their personalities in the costumes they chose to dress in. Notice how Shaggy and Scoob are dressed like pirates? Well that's plot relevant!

An Evil Gnome has been terrorizing the faire, attacking those who come as pirates despite the medieval themed dress code. I don't know why, I'm pretty sure by 2010 pirates as a fandom were already petrified by a certain Disney Franchise's later films.

Yep, Petrification! A really cool power that's seldom used, but when it is doesn't it look cool? I love the iridescent glowing blue veins that grow on the victims as they freeze in place. Neither freezing them in ice nor encasing them in stone, but still immobilizing them in a way that would be indistinguishable from "real" magic.

As for the rest of the plot, you may have started to notice that almost every gang member has been getting kidnapped at some point to give the gang something to act irrational over - Velma and Scooby fighting over the parrot from Shaggy's pirate costume when he's taken for example, giving Daphne some reprieve.

Mr. E offers his two cents on Shelma at the end of the episode, for reasons that'll become apparent later.

As the day goes on and the suspects, all dwarves or otherwise very short people, are dismissed, the gang finally trap the athletic Gnome with a good old pit. But not before Daphne actually gets to one up the gnome, using the one thing all fairies and other anklebiters fear - steel!

Design: The Gnome is a classic fairy tale creature, and I love how MI's version has been redesigned to keep all the goofy, fantastical elements in place without straying too far to make it scary. It wears tattered clothing barely held together by some stitches where the sleeves connect, consisting of a simple tunic with red pants. It has boots, though it could also just be black wrappings around its feet. It also wears black gloves, metal arm bracelets with large bolts attached to them, a buckled sash, and a large, stitched-up red gnome cap.

Its face is where it gets really good, with regular humanoid features exaggerated as they would be for a regular gnome - mostly a large nose and ears that stick out - but made extra freaky with beady yellow eyes with no irises, only red pupils. Its skin is also warty and a decrepit, green-tinged blue. Its eyes are even sunken in, making it look more like a corpse that's begun to mold.

Its powers include the ability to run and hop like a trained athlete, leaping around so fast he can't be captured or evaded, alongside a touch that paralyzes. This actually makes him one of the more physically threatening foes the gang's faced. And I like that the applies to a goofy man with a cowboy mustache and long beard tied into pigtails.

Reveal: Daphne evades the paralysis touch by hiding steel gauntlets under her dress, catching the gnome off guard. He then tries to escape but only ends up trapping himself in a previously failed spike pit. Once captured it's revealed that of the three main employees of the ren faire, it was actually the pirate-supporting jester Gill Littlefoot all along. He tried to frame his wife, the pirate-hating queen, in order to get control of her money.

I am not qualified to discuss any protentional ableism displayed by Patrick Warburton in Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated.

5/5 Really cool take on a classic archetype seldom used for Horror, and so well executed that I think it'd actually work well for its own folk horror movie like The VVitch. I am genuinely surprised by how much I like The Evil Gnome.

P.S. I love the explanation that the petrification was caused by the toxin of a made-up species of Jellyfish. I love when shows tries to explain away gimmicks by using an exaggeration of real-life biology, like how Pufferfish toxin can be used to create "zombies".

[valmos]

13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo 1-5

Episode 1: To All the Ghouls I've Loved Before

Monster: Bogel and Weerd (Henceforth known as B&W), Werewolves, Amalgamation of the 13 Ghosts

Interests: Gosh I still love that chest design. Mystery *Flying* Machine. Shaggy is flying, they were aiming for Hawaii, end up over the Himalayas. I remembered Shaggy’s redesign, forgot Daphne got one too... it is not good. Daphne and Scrappy to to land their crashing plane . A very eastern european town in the middle of the Himalayas. Show really wants you to know what kind of character Flim Flam is, with both the name and a Music Man reference. Flim Flam is selling Lotsa Luck Joy Juice. Removes unwanted curse, jinxes, and evil spells (but not the wanted ones I guess). Also great rocket fuel and dandruff remover. The 13 Ghosts cursed this town to turn into werewolves every night. Townsfolk don’t want faux-gang 3.0 to leave with this knowledge? So they try to force the gang to stay. A vampire named Ghoulio sings a song. Daphne drinks a mug of the house special ... freshly squeezed wolf’s bane... (Okay pause. Squeezing a flower for juice? Also... super poisonous. Also ... WHY ARE WEREWOLVES DRINKING IT? BANE! TO CAUSE STRESS, HARM, OR RUIN TO! I don’t know why this has tilted me so much, I need a break) “That’s the stuff that turns people into werewolves” No Scrappy. No it isn’t (I need another break... came back for exactly two sentences) Vampire turns into a werewolf, whole bar turns into werewolf, including Daphne. Flim Flam’s juice cured Daphne of her werewolfness; Shaggy and Daphne hug. (After getting to the temple the sky is blue, but the towns people are still werewolves) Flim Flam juices some townsfolk, even an ox was werewolfed. Years ago, the townsfolk are the ones who locked the 13 ghosts away. B&W puts on a Lets Make Em Squeal show, which is Scooby and Shaggy’s favorite. Trade in a new car for their Mystery Flying Machine, a doggy dreamhouse, or THE BOX! (Lets see whats in the box. Nothing! Stupid! You are so stupid!) 

Episode 2: Scoobra Kadoobra

Monster: Maldor the Malevolent, Trees, Dragon, Rat Guards

Interests: Also forgot that the Mystery Machine is gone and replaced with bland gadgety red van. Chest has a seat belt on. Faux-gang 3.0 is approching Maldor the Malevolent, master of black magic from the Dark Ages, he seeks the Wand of... Zaggraz? to amplify his magic so he can rule the world. Wand looks like a spoon, and is located in the castle of princess Esmerelda. Maldor looks like a warp digivolved version that one He-Man character, (Orko, had to look it up). Scooby and Shaggy decide to have a picnic in the middle of a haunted forest, instead of staying i nthe van. They both eat a chicken leg and fix a sandwich. A wet crystal ball can short circuit. Giant inflatable duck makes a return from last episode. Sing-a-long of Row Row Your Boat in Scooby’s speech pattern. A lot of 4th wall breaks from Vincent. Rabbit transformed into a dragon. Dragon breathes fire and... SPECIAL EDITORIAL FROM THE SCOOBY DOO SHOW. Shaggy is a news anchor. Scrappy is reporting from the Department of Television No Nos, interviewing Loretta Cutitout. She cautions about the fire in the last scene. Scrappy presses her saying she hates dragons. Dragon is crying, Scrappy continues to say she wants to the poor dragon to be out of work. (wait.. is the voice of Maldor Peter Cullen? IT IS!) Zaggraz: “There is no way out of here” Flim Flan “Have you tried the exit?” *camera pans over to a door the two large Exit signs, one flashing saying This Way Out* *Zaggraz takes off and cleans his glasses* “ I never noticed that before” The party gets separated, Scooby and Shaggy land in the kitchen and deside now is a good time to make Scooby-Doo Stew. Scooby sings part of the intro from New Scooby Movies. Scooby uses the want to stir the stew, Causing animals to jump out of the stew, and when Scooby taste test causes his head to change to a bunch of different animals.Daphne gets capture. “Spell of darkness. Trance so deep. Now and forever sleeEEEEEEeeeEEEEP” Scooby and Maldor have a wizard battle. Scooby-Doo Where Are You. The sleep spell can only be broken by a great danish prince “Hey my uncle Scooby is a great dane!” ... What do you think you are Scrappy? Princess Esmerelda was also a great dane, with a speech pattern like Scooby, she chases Scooby as the episode ends. 

Episode 3: Me and My Shadow Demon

Monster: Shadow Demon, Griswold (A giant spider), Queen Morbidia, Monsters of The AFLCIM.

Interests: Shadow demon breaks a cystal ball in Vincent’s house. Faux-gang 3.0 have a specter detector, Coal Mine is loaded with ectoplasm. Shadow Demon steals the chest, which is bad because tonight the powers of darkness will be at their strongest ever, strong enough to destroy the chest. They must travel to the foot of Bald Mountain to Befuddle Manor. Scooby, Shaggy sing Me and My sHadow Demon. AFLCIM: Associated Federation of Crazy and Irresponsible Monster, so irresponsible and crazy they throw in an L that doesn’t stand for anything. Queen Morbidia looks like a cross between Lily Munster and Elvira (.. actually Elvira wouldn’t have been a thing yet? It is only 85 and think that was a late 80′s thing?) Shadow Demon isn’t with Queen Morbidia. Jail cell with massive space between the bars. Shadow Demon saves Scooby. Faux-gang sing Goodnight Ghoulies in an effort to delay for the sun to rise (I can’t quiet figure out what melody this is, I am a dumb. Kinda sounds like Oh Susana?) Scooby holds final note till the sun rises and Queen Morbida turns into just a pile of her clothes, that is put in the chest. 

Episode 4: Reflections in a Ghoulish Eye

Monster: B&W, Mirror Demon

Interests: Vincent sent a telegram, instead of just normal crystal ball. Scooby-Doo is famous. Paranormal Convention. Oh the telegram was faked by B&W. A mirror eats a maid. Scooby-Doo Where Are You. Faux-gang 3.0 must find the Amulet of... Ishkabibble? Flim Flam sings a song. Two more people get sucked into the mirror. Faux-gang 3.0 sing Auld Lang Syne to trick someone into thinking it is New Years, while in reality it is June. Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby are sucked into the mirror, it is very M.C. Escher. The Amulet opens a portal that spits everyone back out. Unnamed Mirror Demon gets suck into a vacuumed and the mirror melts. Reprise of the earlier Flim Flam song. 

Episode 5: That's Monstertainment

Monster: Zomba, Frankenstein’s Monster

Interests: It is 2am, Daphne decends from the stairs in a robe, rest of faux-gang 3.0 are up watching a scary movie. Tonight’s move on Spine Tingling Movies is The Son of the Bride of the Ghost of Frankenstein. Scrappy’s favorite movie, Flim Flam’s too. Everyone gets zapped into the movie. Zomba eats some popcorn. Frankenstein and Egad pass their roles over to Scooby and Scrappy because they are sick of doing this over and over. Gotta heat up the crystal ball. Daphne is the bride of Frankenstein’s monster, but also the fiance of Frankenstein? Shaggy is the lawman. Dog version of Frankenstein’s Monster. They overheat the crystal ball’s mystical fluid, causing massive explosions, trapping the Monster. Monster asks for help and Scooby eats some Scooby Snacks (again spelled Scooby Snax) and the Popeye theme plays and a spinaches effect happens. Monster now calls Scooby momma. Zomba’s spell was broken when she got boxed. The Monster follows them into the real world.