Scrappy-Doo
|
Scrappy-Doo is a fictional cartoon Great Dane puppy created by Hanna-Barbera, and is the nephew of Scooby-Doo. Scrappy has appeared in a number of the various incarnations of the Scooby-Doo cartoon series (Scooby and Scrappy-Doo (1979), The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour (1982), The All-New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show (1983), The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries (1984), and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985)). Lennie Weinrib did his voice only for the 1979 series; from 1980 on it was performed by Don Messick.
A Great Dane pup who was born at St. Bernard's Hospital to Scooby's sister Ruby-Doo, Scrappy idolizes his uncle Scooby and would often assist Scooby and his friends in solving mysteries.
Fearless and energetic, Scrappy has often been criticized by some fans of the show. Opinion is divided but many fans blame Scrappy for an apparent downturn in the show's quality in the 1980s by claiming his presence breaks up the show's established chemistry between its characters, as well as a dislike of Scrappy's brash personality. Supporters of Scrappy argue that the downturn was purportedly due to poorer writing quality and a breakaway from the show's traditional premise by including real ghosts; the same supporters also cite a purported upturn in quality for some of the later spinoffs. Additionally, some others claim that episodes featuring Scrappy required Scooby to behave more cowardly than he did in earlier episodes.
It is notable that Scrappy-Doo hasn't appeared in any Scooby related spinoffs since the made-for-television movie Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf in the late 1980s, save for the first live-action Scooby-Doo theatrical film---where Scrappy played a decidedly negative role.
Scrappy-Doo has also become the symbol of a character, usually overexuberant or cute in an irritating way, that some say is gratuitously added to a series. This concept (and Scrappy himself) was parodied in an episode of the television series The Simpsons where Homer Simpson was cast to play the new character "Poochie" in "The Itchy & Scratchy Show".
Scrappy-Doo's catchphrase is "Ta ta ta da daaa! Puppy power!"