SHAGGY DOG STORY

THE UNTOLD ORIGIN OF SCOOBY-DOO COMES TO THE SCREEN IN SCOOB! LET’S SPLIT UP AND LOOK FOR CLUES…

- NICK SETCHFIELD

TONY CERVONE HAD HIS HEART STOLEN by the Mystery Machine at an early age.

“It was a big part of my childhood,” says the director of Scoob! “And one thing I’ve learned as an adult is that every generation has their Scooby-Doo. There have been 19 different series, starting with the original. They’re making a new one right now, and there’ll be another one after that. Everyone has their Scooby-Doo. And when you make these things you have to be aware of everything – and be respectful of everything.”

Scoob! is the latest mutation of the Hanna-Barbera classic, an origin tale for the snack-snaffling hound and the teen ghoul-chasers. Jinkies! No wonder there’s an exclamation mark in the title.

“This property is 50 years old but there’s a big part of it that hasn’t really been explored,” Cervone tells SFX, on the line from California. “That was a big draw for me, the chance to do something fresh and new and fill in the gaps in the history in a way that’s fun to watch unfold.

“But another big part of it is that in this movie Scooby and Shaggy are really the stars. The power of our movie hinges on their friendship and their relationship. From a story perspective it was really important to see that origin, to see the moment they met, to see that spark ignite, beginning this friendship that will bind them together for the rest of their lives.”

Prequels can be tricky propositions. As Solo proved, audiences don’t always want franchises to hit rewind. Sometimes we simply love these characters fully formed. Did that concern him as he prepared to lay down the Scooby gang creation myth after half a century?