As a franchise, Scooby-Doo has existed for over fifty years which is an incredible feat for any cartoon. Many generations have been able to enjoy this crime-solving dog and his human companions. It perhaps makes one wonder, will modern cartoons like Bob’s Burgers or Rick and Morty have the same weight five decades from now?
Perhaps they will get rebooted and retooled for a plethora of offshoots like Velma, the latest spin on Scooby-Doo. It’s hard to say, but Velma at least relishes the fact that it is a cartoon for a new, woke age. It plays with tropes and subverts expectations, all while paying homage to the iterations that came before it. In the first few episodes, there are already a ton of Easter Eggs for fans of classic Scooby-Doo to enjoy.
1 The Old Fred Returns
William Jones is Fred’s father in the show and he is voiced by Frank Welker. Welker has been the voice of Fred since the series began in 1969 and has very rarely been replaced, except in the case of Velma. He even took over the role of Scooby-Doo once Casey Kasem stopped acting.
Welker is a legendary voice actor that has been in hundreds of other things too. Those who've watched a lot of cartoons or movies will almost certainly have seen something that he’s been involved in. One of his biggest talents is voice work through animals and monsters such as the Gremlins in that titular franchise.
2 Jones Would Have Gotten Away With It Too
The original series had a lot of reoccurring lines and catchphrases. After Fred and the gang solved a mystery and unmasked the villain, the bad guy would then say, “I would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”
In episode two, after Fred is arrested for the murders, the anchorwoman on the news says something to this effect about Fred. Instead of crediting meddling kids for catching Fred though, she mentions Velma specifically, referring to her as Vermin Dorkly.
3 Puppy Power
Shaggy goes through a lot of changes for this new iteration such as being referred to as Norville. He’s still obsessed with snacks though and even has a stream on which he reviews them. In episode two, he is reviewing some shrimp-flavored chips before Velma bursts in. On his webpage is the username, scrappy79, which is a reference to Scooby-Doo’s nephew, Scrappy-Doo. The young pup premiered in Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo in 1979.
This isn't the only username referencing previous iterations of Scooby-Doo either, with another one being hexgrrlsfan. The Hex Girls were a goth band that premiered in the movie Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost and have since made several more cameos throughout various iterations of the series.
4 Norville’s Posters
The usernames are not the only Easter Eggs in Norville’s bedroom. He has two posters that reference two of the most iconic classic villains from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You. One poster has Charlie the Funland Robot from “Foul Play in Funland" and another has the Ghost of Mr. Hyde from the episode “Nowhere to Hyde.”
Presumably, there will be a lot more references to villains throughout Velma. It’s a safe bet to imagine the “hot girl killer” will be wearing a mask to celebrate this series. Maybe they will put on a Miner 49er mask, or maybe The Creeper will make an appearance.
5 The Candy Woman
There is an early rumor spreading around school that someone is selling drugs to kids. In episode two, it is revealed that Daphne is behind the whole thing and she calls herself The Candy Woman. When she corners Velma in the bathroom, Daphne names three drugs she is peddling including Zoinks, Jeepers, and Mystery Machine.
Zoinks was Shaggy’s catchphrase throughout most adaptations of the franchise. Jeepers was one of Velma’s most famous catchphrases, along with Jinkies. Finally, Mystery Machine was the name of Fred’s van that the gang used to get around to solve mysteries, hence the name.
6 Chief Cogburn
Chief Cogburn is introduced in episode four and is voiced by character actor Stephen Root. He’s another actor that has been in tons of things, from voice roles to live-action ones. He can be seen in Barry as Barry’s handler, Monroe Fuches, and can be heard as Bill Dauterive in King of the Hill.
While he is voiced by Root, his looks are where the reference comes into play. Chief Cogburn is drawn to look like Don Knots, who made a big name for himself as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show. Knots appeared in several iterations of the Scooby-Doo series, including The New Scooby-Doo Movies. This character model seemingly pays homage to the deceased actor.
7 Daphne’s Private Eye
Episode four has another equally obscure reference. Daphne has enough money to hire a detective to find her biological parents. There is one scene in which viewers can hear her talking to a detective over the phone.
The voice on the other end of the line says, “I’m too short and too high to be useful.” This presumably is a reference to Inch High, the detective from the series Inch High, Private Eye, which was another Hanna-Barbera cartoon. The voice actor for Inch High, Lennie Weinrib, was also the voice of Scrappy-Doo.