aroc
Black Knight
Posts: 3 
|
Post by aroc on May 14, 2014 22:19:45 GMT -5
Always loved Scooby Doo. Have a problem with episodes other than the first couple. My main issue is with Fred's character. Somewhere along the line they changed it. He was originally the smart leader of the gang. Always firm and confident. In later series.... Starting with maybe 'Pup' they made him an idiot. He still remained the leader but lost his type A persona. This has always bothered me and I'm not sure why they did it other than to appeal to the feminist pressure.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jinkies on May 15, 2014 4:34:15 GMT -5
I agree completely! In " A Pup Named Scooby Doo" , he was a kid. Most of the time, kids are not as intelligent as teens. So I understand that series. SDMI though was just really bad , they changed him entirely and I hated it.
|
|
|
|
Post by mattpricetime on May 15, 2014 10:19:35 GMT -5
I'm not sure what in the world there is "feminist" about it.
I'd argue the primary reason was because before his only purpose was to be a straight man leader. I'm also sure the fact Frank Welker's comedic talents were so much more known in the late 90s then they were the late 60s that they decided to let him run with the Pup Freddy mentality.
However even then it's changed since Pup in that nowadays Freddy is still stuck on one thing that takes up most of his gimmick. In Pup it was conspiracies, in the first set of dtv it was skepticism, in what's new and so on it was more couldn't get things right, and now it's traps. Which Mystery Incorporated also did but they also added the whole soapy web mess, which IMO didn't do any much better for the show or Fred
|
|
|
|
Post by Matt_the_miner_49er on May 15, 2014 12:58:44 GMT -5
I don't see it as him becoming an idiot exactly, its like they made him hyper-focused. People who tend to devote the majority of their attention to one thing have problems focusing on what's going on around them. SDMI for example, I wouldn't ask Fred for relationship advice, or what's the hottest thing in politics, he probably wouldn't even hear me. Now a trap? He's all over that.
|
|
|
|
Post by wileyk209 on May 15, 2014 18:46:31 GMT -5
The "dumb Fred" of "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo" was fun, but unfortunately this became a case of "lost in imitation." They utilized this kooky version of Fred for "What's New Scooby-Doo," and initially on "Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated," but by the second season he really took a big step up in leading the gang!
A similar example from Warner would also have to be the way they dumbed down Lola Bunny on "The Looney Tunes Show"...
|
|
|
|
Post by Matt_the_miner_49er on May 15, 2014 20:52:49 GMT -5
I may get flogged for saying this but I actually like Fred's character in the straight to DVD live actions
|
|
|
|
Post by Sophia Peletier on May 15, 2014 22:14:03 GMT -5
I may get flogged for saying this but I actually like Fred's character in the straight to DVD live actions That Fred really wasn't so bad! I actually don't mind how the characters were portrayed there. They kept their core personalities while being expanded upon.  Either way, Fred always ends up being the leader whether he's smart or dumbed down. They at least keep that part of his character. |
|
|
|
Post by Matt_the_miner_49er on May 16, 2014 7:39:15 GMT -5
I may get flogged for saying this but I actually like Fred's character in the straight to DVD live actions That Fred really wasn't so bad! I actually don't mind how the characters were portrayed there. They kept their core personalities while being expanded upon. Either way, Fred always ends up being the leader whether he's smart or dumbed down. They at least keep that part of his character. I guess the not being blonde thing is what got to people the most. I just think its his most balanced version. Hes identified as the leader, he's smart, but he can be goofy and he keeps his he man/jock attributes without it being overbearing |
|
aroc
Black Knight
Posts: 3
|
Post by aroc on May 16, 2014 8:22:38 GMT -5
The reason for the feminist comment was to bring light to a much broader evolution of the male character in Hollywood. If you pay attention to sitcoms and horror movies and commercials over the past 30 years you will see a definite change in how the male is portraid. The Fred character happens to fall in this same category.
|
|
|
|
Post by mattpricetime on May 16, 2014 13:04:25 GMT -5
It's just character change. Sometimes it's abrupt and sometimes it's written. In this case they decided to take Fred in different directions. It was not the first nor was it the last time something in the Scooby franchise did that on just their own grounds.
But in a dtv film they could always have him get clocked on the head and make him be more serious like older fred again for a while. That could a fun scenario to see. Head clocking always helped change personalities for another cartoon Fred after all haha.
|
|
|
|
Post by 24994j on May 16, 2014 16:19:11 GMT -5
I, for one, actually like where Fred is now (in the movies), almost as much as the more serious-ish character from the first 4 DTVs. They've seemingly dialed back the trap plotline from a total obsession to a more creative and resourceful trait. Yes, he's still a little goofy, but it's not as embarrassing anymore as it is endearing. His leadership role never wavered, but he's able to take charge like old Fred used to. Best of all, by combining (and thereby toning down) the extremes, he's a little more well-rounded. Rather than silly, stupid, unsympathetic, or trap-obsessed, I think the best way to sum up 2014 Fred is to say he has a boy-ish/youthful quality. He's curious, driven, fairly optimistic, and excited to complete a given task, and see its eventual outcome.
|
|
|
|
Post by russm on May 16, 2014 16:52:59 GMT -5
I, for one, actually like where Fred is now (in the movies), almost as much as the more serious-ish character from the first 4 DTVs. They've seemingly dialed back the trap plotline from a total obsession to a more creative and resourceful trait. Yes, he's still a little goofy, but it's not as embarrassing anymore as it is endearing. His leadership role never wavered, but he's able to take charge like old Fred used to. Best of all, by combining (and thereby toning down) the extremes, he's a little more well-rounded. Rather than silly, stupid, unsympathetic, or trap-obsessed, I think the best way to some up 2014 Fred is to say he has a boy-ish/youthful quality. He's curious, driven, fairly optimistic, and excited to complete a given task, and see its eventual outcome. I would go along with this, his move character is a lot more fleshed out than what we see in the series. |
|
|
|
Post by shaggyfan86 on May 20, 2014 12:28:11 GMT -5
See, I think the reason for his character change was with in the Fandom he was voted least liked so they felt maybe if they changed him a little bit fans would like him more.
I used to get annoyed by him in the first couple of Scooby shows too, was always my least favorite due to in my opinion being bossy and mean to Shaggy and Scooby a lot of the times.
As films went on I began to like him more, well the 90s films I always thought did his character the right amount of goodness as films went on though they felt he needed to act more stupid for some reason, why? Don't know, was he still disliked by the fandom, even than? Cuz I didn't think turning him into more of a moron would help.
Sure Patricks character in the Spongebob fandom was pretty popular, let's not push our luck here though.
|
|
|
|
Post by Doo on May 22, 2014 16:21:00 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum aroc!
I don't mind Fred's character change at all, I like both versions of Fred.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jinkies on May 25, 2014 3:34:17 GMT -5
I've come to somewhat tolerate the new Fred, but i'll always prefer the older verison. |
|
