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Night of the Living Doo is a Halloween special that aired during Cartoon Network's 24-hourScooby-Doo marathon on October 31, 2001. It was broadcast in small segments during commercial breaks, and at the end of the marathon, the segments were broadcast in its completion.
The special is an all-out spoof of the 1972 series, The New Scooby-Doo Movies and the franchise in general, complete with unlikely guests and a retro style.
Premise[]
Scooby and the gang end up in a haunted castle, where they meet Gary Coleman, David Cross, and more.
Synopsis[]
On their way to a Halloween movie festival, the gang picks up Gary Coleman hitchhiking. Gary defeats the gang's attempts to strand themselves at an abandoned amusement park and rundown ship by producing a gas can and a spare tire, respectively. Upon seeing a haunted castle, Fred finally succeeds in deliberately crashing The Mystery Machine.
The gang and Gary discover the castle is surrounded by a moat infested with "ugly sharks." David Cross throws cans to them from a window as trick-or-treat goodies, hitting Gary on the head, before lowering the drawbridge to let them in. He explains that the castle was once a popular resort, but he is forced to sell it as business has dropped due to "little pranks" like "eating guests' brains." He calls his assistant, Mr. Shifty, to help the gang and Gary to their rooms, and reveals several incriminating possessions of Shifty's, such as a book titled How to Use Monsters to Drive Down the Price of Real Estate for Dummies. Before the guests reach their rooms, Gary falls down a trap door.
David chats with Shaggy and Scooby in the pantry, but is carried off by a zombie. The gang reunites and discusses how both Gary and David are missing, but David appears with his clothes tattered and claims he merely fell down the stairs. They split up to look for clues. In the basement, Scooby and Shaggy encounter Mr. Shifty in a zombie costume, but missing his mask. After he runs offscreen to put on the mask, then returns, they run in fear.
Velma, Fred, and Daphne follow a trail of footprints to a secret passage, which David opens with a switch hidden under his Keanu Reeves poster. Fred reveals a further secret passage by pulling Chicken Soup for the Mystery Lover's Soul off a bookshelf, wherein the group finds a mummy escaping from its sarcophagus. The mummy attacks David, but Velma beats it away.
Scooby and Shaggy arrive and tell the others the culprit is Shifty in a zombie suit. Gary shows up and informs them that he is now a zombie. While running from him, the gang passes Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, who are also zombies. The original zombie reappears, and he and Gary chase the gang and David while Big Bad Voodoo Daddy play a chase song.
Shifty appears and hits the zombie with the castle's for-sale sign, and Fred unmasks the zombie to reveal Jabberjaw, who explains that he has nothing against David. Rather, his goal was to "eliminate ... the gang in [their] sleep" as he's jealous of their fame. Shifty reveals that he is actually Mark Hamill and has "been working undercover on this case for a long time." Gary objects that the story makes no sense and begins to point out all the plot holes, but Scooby interrupts him by jumping on him and licking his face. Everybody laughs as the episode ends.
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- David Cross (only appearance)
- Mark Hamill (first appearance)
Villains:
- Gary Coleman (only appearance)(zombie)(redeemed)
- Jabberjaw
- Zombie (only appearance)(no lines)(Jabberjaw's disguise)
- Mummy (only appearance)(disguise)
Other characters:
- Mr. Shifty (only appearance)(Mark Hamill's disguise)
- Sonny Bono (obscure photograph)
- Cher (obscure photograph)
- Harlem Globetrotters (obscure photograph)
- Henry Kissinger (only appearance)(obscure photograph)
- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (only appearance)(zombie)
Locations[]
Objects[]
- Scooby's chocolate bar
- Gary Coleman's gas tank
- Gary Coleman's spare tire
- How to Use Monsters to Drive Down the Price of Real Estate for Dummies
- Chicken Soup for the Mystery Lover's Soul
Vehicles[]
- The Mystery Machine
- Showboat
Suspects[]
| Suspect | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Mr. Shifty | Incriminating evidence was found belonging to him. He was caught in a zombie costume. |
Culprits[]
| Culprit | Motive/reason |
|---|---|
| Jabberjaw as the zombie | He was jealous of Scooby-Doo's fame campared to his. |
Cast[]
| Scott Innes | Scooby-Doo Shaggy Rogers |
|---|---|
| Frank Welker | Fred Jones Jabberjaw |
| Grey DeLisle | Daphne Blake |
| B.J. Ward | Velma Dinkley |
| Mark Hamill | Himself Mr. Shifty |
| Gary Coleman | Himself |
| David Cross | Himself |
| Scotty Morris | Himself |
| Kurt Sodergren | Himself |
| Dirk Shumaker | Himself |
| Andy Rowley | Himself |
| Glen "The Kid" Marhevka | Himself |
| Karl Hunter | Himself |
| Joshua Levy | Himself |
Songs[]
| Song | Credits | Performed by | Character performance by |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" | Written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh Produced by Ralph Sall For |
Matthew Sweet | N/A |
| "Big & Bad Scooby Style" | Words and music by Scotty Morris | Big Bad Voodoo Daddy | Big Bad Voodoo Daddy |
Notes and trivia[]
Alternate title card from opening sequence.
- The following footage and characters have been used recycled:
- A special opening title sequence that mixes scenes of the opening intro of The New Scooby-Doo Movies and Night of the Living Doo, with Matthew Sweet's rendition of the theme song from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!.
- The amusement park is Funland from the Scooby-Doo! Where Are You! episode Foul Play in Funland.
- The zombie is based on one from the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode Which Witch is Which?
- The characters (except Scooby, Jabber, and the celebrities) are animated in a classic retro style in this episode.
- Most of the scenes have the gang's animation directly rotoscoped from certain classic episodes, in some cases even completely re-dubbed footage.
Cultural references[]
- When Gary changes the tire, Scooby starts singing the theme song from Diff'rent Strokes, the sitcom Gary was best known for. Scooby and Shaggy also use his catchphrase from the show, "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?"
- David mentions his "critically acclaimed comedy show [that lasted] four years," referencing Mr. Show with Bob and David (which also featured Tom Kenny and Mary Lynn Rajskub).
- Jabber breaks the fourth wall when he is revealed to be the monster, referencing that the "mystery-solving teens" premise of his show is exactly like Scooby-Doo.
- Shaggy mentions "the force," which is a concept in the original Star Wars movies, starring Mark Hamill.
Quotes[]
Velma: (reading a "for sale" sign) "Castle for sale. Price reduced. Spacious. Convenient to shopping, graves. Swamp adjacent." |
Daphne: Okay, but you forgot to say "meddling kids." |
(David puts his arm around Velma) |