In October, we’re back to a variety of different interviews after September’s Mystery Incorporated themed month. In this episode, Alexa chats with writer Jeremy Adams. Jeremy was one of the writers on Scoobynatural, and wrote the 2019 direct-to-video film Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- A brief chat about the LEGO Scooby-Doo shorts.
2- All things writing for Scoobynatural.
3- The writing process for Return to Zombie Island, and what it was like to write a sequel to the original Zombie Island.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
If you want to follow Jeremy, you can find him on Twitter, @spacekicker.
In the fourth and final episode of September’s Mystery Incorporated themed month, Alexa speaks with director/producer Victor Cook. Victor also worked on the direct to video special episodes on the 13 Spooky Tales DVD releases, and the 2013 movie Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- Victor’s path from wanting to be a print cartoonist, to directing in animation.
2- How Victor came to work on Mystery Incorporated, and his experience on the show.
3- Chatting about not only Mystery Incorporated, but also the direct to video specials, and Stage Fright.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
If you want to follow Victor, you can find him on Twitter, @Victor_Cook1.
In the third episode for September’s Mystery Incorporated themed month, Alexa chats with lead character designer on the show, Derrick J. Wyatt. Derrick has done character design for not only Mystery Incorporated, but also for Transformers, Teen Titans and Ben 10.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- What the design process was like for various Mystery Incorporated characters.
2- How Derrick’s attempt at Iwao Takamoto’s style turned into the design for Mystery Incorporated.
3- The importance of character design.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
If you want to follow Derrick, you can find him on Instagram and Twitter, @DerrickJWyatt.
Derrick also sent me some photos, which you can scroll through below!
Vincent Van Ghoul. Photo courtesy Derrick J. Wyatt.George Avocados. Photo courtesy Derrick J. Wyatt.Teen Titans as Mystery Inc. Photo courtesy Derrick J. Wyatt.Scrappy-Doo statue. Photo courtesy Derrick J. Wyatt.Photo courtesy Derrick J. Wyatt.Original Mystery Incorporated yearbook photo. Photo courtesy Derrick J. Wyatt.
This episode marks the first of a month full of Mystery Incorporated themed interviews! To kick off the month, Alexa chats with producer and head writer of the show, Mitch Watson.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- Some fun behind the scenes stories from the show.
2- What it was like to develop an overarching story for Scooby-Doo, and discussions about the timeline.
3- Chatting about the development of the characters, especially about the direction they went with Velma and Fred. Also, how setting the show in one town gave them the ability to give the gang parents, and to develop so many other recurring characters.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
Mitch generously sent me some great photos of the cast and crew from Mystery Incorporated, which you can take a look through below! As usual, they’re watermarked to ensure they don’t start circling around the Internet without credit, since Mitch was so kind to send them to me.
Matthew Lillard (Shaggy), Mindy Cohn (Velma), and Michael Ryan (story editor). Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Mitch Watson with Matthew Lillard (Shaggy). Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Grey Griffin (Daphne) doing ADR. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Grey Griffin (Daphne) doing ADR. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Harlan Ellison. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Mitch Watson with Harlan Ellison. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Udo Kier (Professor Pericles). Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Mitch Watson with Udo Kier (Professor Pericles). Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Mitch Watson, Tony Cervone, Mindy Cohn (Velma), George Segal (Peter Trickell), Collette Sunderman, Spike Brandt, Matthew Lillard (Shaggy), Grey Griffin (Daphne), and Frank Welker (Scooby and Fred). Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Mitch Watson, Harlan Ellison, Victor Cook, and Jeffrey Combs (H.P. Hatecraft). Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Richard McGonagle (Ed Machine), Dave Allen (Dr. Rick Yantz), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy), Joe Holt (Hugh Dederdee), Mindy Cohn (Velma), Paul Rugg, Frank Welker (Scooby and Fred), Grey Griffin (Daphne), Marion Ross (Grandma Moonbeam), Collette Sunderman, Jason Wyatt, Bianca Olivencia, and Mitch Watson. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Bianca Olivencia, Mitch Watson, Collette Sunderman, James Hong (Chen), and Victor Cook. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Udo Kier and Mitch Watson, with a chair Udo made as a gift for the birth of Mitch’s first daughter. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Grey Griffin (Daphne), and Matthew Lillard (Shaggy). Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Udo Kier (Professor Pericles) acting like his character. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Dan Krall, Derrick J. Wyatt, Victor Cook, Jerry Richardson, Mitch Watson, Jason Wyatt. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Collette Sunderman, Victor Cook, Michael J. Anderson, Mitch Watson, and Michael Ryan. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Frances Conroy (Angie Dinkley) and Collette Sunderman. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Victor Cook, Michael Ryan, Collette Sunderman, Mitch Watson, Tony Cervone, and Jay Bastian. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Michael Ryan, Matthew Lillard (Shaggy), Mitch Watson, Grey Griffin (Daphne), Kate Higgins (Mayor Nettles), Collette Sunderman, Jason Wyatt, Martha Quinn, Quinton Flynn, and Tony Cervone. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.Tony Cervone in front of the season 2 episode arcs. Photo courtesy Mitch Watson.
In this episode of the Unmasked History of Scooby Doo, Alexa speaks with Laren Bright, writer and story editor on A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- Laren’s stories from working at Hanna-Barbera.
2- What the writing process was like for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
3- Laren’s thoughts on including positive messages in children’s cartoons.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
Below you can take a look at a bunch of photos Laren was kind enough to send me.
“Captain Planet won several Environmental Media Awards. Here’s one I got for Gorillas Will Be Missed.” – Laren BrightFlintstone Kids production cell. “Just before I started working at H-B they used to throw away thousands of these cells. Then apparently someone realized they might have value as collectibles and they stopped tossing them. I got a few before they became inaccessible.” – Laren BrightJust Say No autographed art cell. “They gave cells like this to all the key people who worked on this show.” – Laren BrightNational Association for Youth Award for the Flintstone Kids Just Say No special.Flintstone Kids hoodie.A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Emmy nomination ad.Captain Planet foam core sign – “I don’t remember what it was used for, but I liked it & took it before it was thrown away.” – Laren Bright“A Sero Cell from Batman the studio gave us.” – Laren BrightCaptain Caveman cell.Captain Caveman cell.
Wow, episode 10 already?! This episode of the Unmasked History of Scooby Doo features Scott Jeralds, who has worked on numerous Scooby Doo projects over the years, including A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and directing early direct to video movies Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire and Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico. Scott has also worked on numerous Scooby comic books as well.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- The very first time Scott heard about Scooby-Doo Where Are You? when he was about nine years-old, and how he fell in love with the show, and other Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
2- What it was like to work with Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera, and Iwao Takamoto.
3- The story of Scott’s determination to get the original voice cast back for the direct to video movies he directed.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
Episode 9 of the Unmasked History of Scooby Doo features Cheryl Johnson, who worked as a background designer on season 1, and art director on season 2 of Be Cool Scooby-Doo!
Highlights of this episode include:
1- What a typical day would look like at work on Be Cool Scooby-Doo for a background designer and an art director.
2- What it was like to work on a new look for Scooby-Doo.
3- Cheryl’s favourite moments from working on Be Cool Scooby-Doo.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
If you want to follow Cheryl, you can find her on Instagram, @cbjart.
Below, you can find some photos that Cheryl gave me permission to post here from her work on Be Cool Scooby-Doo! You can find more on her website, http://www.cbjart.space/#/scoobydoo/.
Episode 8 of the Unmasked History of Scooby Doo features Christopher Keenan, former Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs for Warner Bros. He worked on early direct to video Scooby Doo movies from Cyber Chase to Chill Out Scooby Doo, and was also involved in the What’s New Scooby Doo? series. Christopher is currently Executive Producer of Mattel Television.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- What the development process was like for the early direct to video movies and What’s New Scooby Doo.
2- How Christopher wanted to evolve the gang’s personalities from their original versions in the movies and series that he worked on.
3- What the aspects are that a Scooby Doo movie or series needed to have.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
Episode 6 of the Unmasked History of Scooby Doo features character designer Chris Battle, who worked on a redesign of the gang for the opening title sequence of the 2014 direct to video film, Scooby Doo! Frankencreepy.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- What the idea was for the redesign of the Scooby gang in the Frankencreepy title sequence.
2- How to design a silhouette of a character for animation.
3- What it’s like to be able to redesign characters that you grew up watching when you were a kid.
Make sure to listen to the episode above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
Chris was kind enough to send me a photo of his redesign, which is attached above. At the end of the post, you can also see how his designs were used in the final title sequence.
If you want to follow Chris, you can find him on Twitter and Instagram, @chrisbattleart.
Episode 4 of the Unmasked History of Scooby Doo features Scooby Doo and Guess Who writer Mark Hoffmeier. Mark wrote two episodes for the show: A Mystery Solving Gang Divided, with guest stars Abraham Lincoln and the Funky Phantom crew, and Attack of the Weird Al-Osaurus, which naturally guest stars Weird Al Yankovic.
Highlights of this episode include:
1- Mark discusses his work at Hanna-Barbera in publicity.
2- What it was like to bring back classic Hanna-Barbera characters in a Guess Who episode.
3- How Weird Al’s personality contributes to an animated episode of Scooby Doo.
Make sure to listen above! Or you can read a transcript of the interview here.
If you want to follow Mark, you can find him on Twitter and Instagram @hoffwrites, or @hoffcomedy.
