Scrappy-Doo (live-action film)

Scrappy Doo
Scooby-Doo character
First appearance	Scooby-Doo
Last appearance	Scooby-Doo
Voiced by	Scott Innes (Original) J.P. Manoux (Scrappy Rex)
In-universe information
Full name	Scrappy Cornelius Doo
Species	Dog

Scrappy-Doo is a character who appears in Scooby-Doo 2002 film. However, despite sharing an appearance and a name with Scooby's nephew from the cartoons, due to his different age, personality, and due to the timeline only being in continuity with the series before Scooby's nephew's appearance, he is seen as a different character.

Developement

Scrappy was first included in the story in an earlier draft around March 2000. He did not physically appear, however, and was only mentioned by Shaggy and Scooby offhand and was heavily implied to have been put to sleep for undisclosed reasons. James Gunn first acknowledged his involvement in April 2000. Other original ideas for the villain included the Old Man Smithers, the villain from the beginning of the film. According to the DVD commentary, choosing the villain of the movie was a problematic part of the production, as the makers did not feel comfortable simply giving the role to an "anonymous monster", and that the ending was in "bits and pieces" and the "confinements forced them to be creative." "There is a Scrappy because he exists in the cartoon, so we have to acknowledge him." Stated screenwriter James Gunn in an interview shortly before the release of Scooby-Doo.

Despite previously stating that he felt that "kids didn't care" he did later note with some dismay on two separate occasions that kids reacted poorly to the development, admitting he didn't understand how popular Scrappy was with five and six-year-olds. "I still think it was funny that Scrappy was the villain", Gunn explained in an interview with Cinefantastique, "But there are kids out there who were really upset."

Biography

Scrappy is presented, in Velma's flashback, to have suddenly appeared in the mystery machine, crying "Scrappy-Dappy-Doo!", much to the bewilderment of Mystery Inc, who had been happily going about their business and seem genuinely stunned at his appearance. His relationship to Scooby is never laid out, and while they share a last name, as does Melvin Doo, a human. While in a bar reminiscing, Velma tells another patron that the gang kicked Scrappy out of their ranks because he peed on Daphne and demanded to be the new leader. Velma also claims that Scrappy was not really a puppy but rather had a glandular disorder. (Although the movie's understanding of canine endocrinology is extremely simplified; Scrappy only displays dwarfism and is otherwise completely free of the myriad of other degenerative conditions any glandular disorder would entail) In the course of the film, it is revealed that he is seeking to summon a demon army that he can use to rule the world, with the ritual requiring him to absorb a purely good soul to unleash the full power of his army, with Scrappy selecting Scooby as the final sacrifice. However, his ego causes him to call in the rest of the Mystery Inc. crew to witness his triumph despite them having gone their separate ways two years ago, with the gang rallying to defeat Scrappy's plan and save Scooby by disrupting the ritual. At the conclusion of the film, Velma says that Scrappy's full name is Scrappy Cornelius Doo.