Netflix has unveiled a first look at its Scooby-Doo live-action remake, and fans aren’t impressed with the casting of the titular pup.
The 22-second preview, released Monday, begins from a dog’s point of view, including the sound of panting, growling and sniffing as it paces through a woodland setting. The dog then appears in the arms of a young Shaggy as they embrace.
While fans remarked that Shaggy — played by Tanner Hagen — looked the part in a striped green jumper with a brown mop of hair, critics argued that the dog looked nothing like the original cartoon, and that the live-action element took away from the original charm of the franchise.
“SCOOBY IS A GREAT DANE!!!!!! How do you mess up something so simple??????” wrote one person on Instagram, as another said: “That is NOT Mr. Doo!”
One person suggested the dog looked more like a brown Labrador than a Great Dane. “I was excited until they showed the new Scooby… Scooby is a Great Dane not a Lab!?” they wrote.
“Not every animal needs to be ‘real’ for it to have emotional weight in a story. Scooby works cuz he’s basically a child in a giant CARTOON dogs body,” said another.
“Wait a minute, that’s not Scooby,” said one person.“#NotMyScoobyDoo,” joked another commenter.
However, others pointed out that the dog indeed looks like a Great Dane puppy. Great Dane puppies are born with naturally soft and floppy ears, but in the original cartoon, Scooby had pointy, cropped ears.
“That’s what a Great Dane looks like as a puppy. Scooby is a Great Dane,” argued one person.
“Puppy Scoob is so cute,” wrote another fan in appreciation. “SCOOBY REVEAL IS THE BEST START TO THE WEEK!!”
Scheduled for a 2027 release, Netflix’s Scooby-Doo: Origins is billed to be a modern reimagining of the mystery-solving franchise that began as a cartoon in 1969.
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Created by Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg, the upcoming eight-parter will follow teenagers Daphne Blake, Shaggy Rogers, Velma Dinkley, and Fred Jones as they attempt to solve a supernatural murder that was also witnessed by a Great Dane puppy.
The filming is currently taking place in Atlanta, and voice actor Frank Welker, who has voiced Scooby since 2002, will reprise his role as the four-legged star.
The cast includes Maxwell Jenkins as Fred Jones, Tanner Hagen as Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, Abby Ryder Fortson as Velma Dinkley and Mckenna Grace as Daphne Blake.
“During their final summer at camp, old friends Shaggy (Hagen) and Daphne (Grace) get embroiled in a haunting mystery surrounding a lonely lost Great Dane puppy that may have been a witness to a supernatural murder,” the logline for the show reads.
“Together with the pragmatic and scientific townie, Velma (Fortson), and the strange, but ever so handsome new kid, Freddy (Jenkins), they set out to solve the case that is pulling each of them into a creepy nightmare that threatens to expose all of their secrets,” it continued.
The original series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969 and was created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.
It followed the four teenagers and their talking dog accomplice as they uncovered suspicious cases in their local area, riding around in their famous van, The Mystery Machine, only to uncover a criminal plot. The original series is responsible for the franchise’s famous catchphrase: “And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”
The franchise has spawned dozens of films, including 2002’s Scooby-Doo, which was the first movie to feature real-life actors, starring Matthew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar and Linda Cardellini. The dog featured in the movie was a CGI creation.
Recent iterations have included Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, which premiered in 2019 on Boomerang’s streaming service and later HBO Max.