Dog Tag Machine

June 27th, 2009

Dog Tag Machine

Scooby-Doo is one of the longest-running staples of Saturday morning programming. The American cartoon series had various versions, which started in 1969, up until the present day. Writers Ken Spears and Joe Ruby, CBS honcho Fred Silverman, and lead animator Iwao Takamoto created "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" for Hanna Barbera Productions. The company continued to make many spin-off movies and series, until Warner Brothers Animation absorbed them in 2001. The latter has produced Scooby-Doo cartoons since that time.

The show format and cast of characters have gone through many changes, although Scooby-Doo (a talking dog with a humongous appetite) and four human characters (Freddie Jones, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, and Shaggy Rogers) were always in the show. Originally a purple dog, Scooby-Doo "evolved" into the big brown canine we all know and love today. The group of mainstays, known by the tag Mystery, Inc., goes through caper after caper in a green van called The Mystery Machine. The show would always have normal people masquerading as various monsters and ghosts committing crimes. More recent versions of the Scooby-Doo cartoons would feature numerous variations on the otherworldly theme, and introduce new additions to the group, such as Scooby-Dum (Scooby-Doo's country cousin), and Scrappy-Doo (his hyperactive, belligerent nephew).

Each character's role is defined strongly in the Scooby-Doo cartoons. Blond Fred, the determined leader, wears an orange cravat or scarf, a white long-sleeved shirt, and jeans. Redheaded Daphne, the beautiful damsel in distress, wears a headband and a short dress, coupled with socks and shoes or boots. Brunette Velma, the genius, always has a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, a short skirt, a long-sleeved orange turtleneck, knee-high socks, and mary janes. The unkempt Shaggy is usually in a large green shirt and flared brown pants. Scooby and Scrappy, with their identical brown coats, also have dog collars and diamond-shaped dog tags.

You can find many kinds of Scooby-Doo costumes on the Internet for all ages. You could also try your hand at making them yourself.Â Another fun idea is to dress your baby as Scrappy, or even dress your dog as one of the human characters. With whatever style you choose, you can go on ghost hunts and solve mysteries with a Scooby-Doo costume.

Thor is a huge saturday morning cartoon fan and has created a website dedicated to Scooby Doo Costumes. You can even find Shaggy Costumes and costumes for the other Mystery Inc. team members.

Dog Tag Machine