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Velma Dinkley

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Velma Dinkley
Scooby-Doo character
First appearance
Created byJoe Ruby
Ken Spears
Voiced by
Portrayed by
In-universe information
GenderFemale
OccupationPrivate investigator
ChildrenFrederick Rufus Rogers-Dinkley (Scooby Apocalypse)[2]
Relativessee below

Velma Dinkley is a fictional character in the Scooby-Doo franchise.[3] She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange turtleneck sweater, a short red pleated skirt, knee high socks, Mary Jane shoes, and a pair of black square glasses, which she frequently loses and is unable to see without. She is seen as the "brains" of the group.[4][5]

Character description

[edit]

Throughout her various incarnations, Velma is usually portrayed as a highly intelligent young woman with an interest in the sciences. She is also often portrayed as being very well-read on obscure fields such as Norse writing (as in the third Scooby-Doo series, The Scooby-Doo Show). Due to her intelligence and problem-solving abilities, Velma is typically the first one to solve the mystery and, like Sherlock Holmes and many other fictional detectives, often keeps her conclusions secret till the end of the story. Velma Dinkley was inspired by the brainy sweater girl Zelda Gilroy, as played by Sheila Kuehl, from the late 1950s/early 1960s American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.[6]

A running gag in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and The New Scooby-Doo Movies is Velma's severe myopia and her ability to repeatedly lose her glasses (often the result of them falling off her face while she is being chased by a villain), saying "My glasses! I can't see without my glasses!" whenever she accidentally misplaces them.[7] Another running gag occurs when other frightened characters leap into her arms.

Velma is characterized as the most skeptical of the gang and is most likely to discount any paranormal explanations to their mysteries. This is particularly evident in the films Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost and Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island, in which she discounts ghosts and zombies (which are real within the context of the franchise) that could not be unmasked by claiming they are hallucinations.[8]

Character background

[edit]

Like all of the Scooby-Doo kids, later ret-conned as Mystery Incorporated members, Velma has a differing personal backstory and origin in different series.

In the original series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Velma is shown to attend the same high school as the rest of the gang (as stated in the inaugural episode "What a Night for a Knight"). However, by The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Velma is said to have graduated from a different high school (as stated in the episode "Spirited Spooked Sports Show"). In the film Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, it is revealed that her middle name is Daisy.

According to Scooby-Doo: Behind the Scenes, before she said "Jinkies!" she used to say "Oh, my!" but it wasn't as catchy. Her parents are depicted to have pushed her from an early age to excel in her studies, resulting in hundreds of awards for outstanding achievement. Because of this, she is more vocal than her comrades would like. Of course, she also does her share of sweet-talking too.

During the first season of the 2010–2013 series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Velma is in a romantic relationship with Shaggy, much to the distaste of Scooby-Doo. Their relationship ends in "Howl of the Fright Hound" (season 1, episode 10). This series' incarnation of Velma is shown to be secretive and controlling.[8][9] In the second season of Mystery Incorporated, Velma is shown secretly working for the series' overarching villain, Mr. E, alongside Marcie "Hot Dog Water" Fleach who is Velma's former rival in science fairs. The two become friends after Velma returns to the gang and by the time of the series finale, Velma and Marcie are teammates at the Tri-state Olympiad of Science.[10] This version of Velma frequently uses the expressions "Oy" and "Oy gevalt", and is also shown listening to Klezmer music, hinting at a Jewish identity.[11][12][13]

Love interests

[edit]

Daphne Blake: You're pregnant?!
Velma Dinkley: You sound horrified.
Daphne Blake: Not horrified... Just surprised. I never thought you were interested in men.
Velma Dinkley: But Shaggy and I have been together for months!
Daphne Blake: Proving my point.
Shaggy Rogers: Hey!

Daphne Blake discussing Velma's sexuality in relation to her relationship and pregnancy with Shaggy Rogers – Scooby Apocalypse #36 "The Brothers Dinkley!" (November 2018).[2]

Velma Dinkley is usually shown in relationships with men such as Shaggy Rogers (with whom she has a son in Scooby Apocalypse),[2] Johnny Bravo, Patrick Wisely, Sam Winchester, Ben Ravencroft, and many other male characters, although since the 2010s, she has been depicted as also being romantically interested in other women, such as Coco Diablo.

In 2020, James Gunn, the screenwriter of the 2002 Scooby-Doo film, stated that Velma was written "eyeballing Daphne" in early drafts of the script[14] in accordance with the film's original intent as an R-rated deconstruction of the Scooby-Doo canon (with Shaggy meant to be depicted as a stoner, and Fred a gangster, the latter also ambiguously portrayed in the final film by Freddie Prinze Jr. as "[closeted] gay or bisexual because of the ascot"),[15][16][17] although the final film would see Velma have a romance with a male waiter, with the film's 2004 sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed further depicting Velma in a full romantic relationship with Seth Green's character, Patrick Wisely.

While addressing comments on his Instagram page in 2020 about Mystery Incorporated's episode director labelling its version of Velma as being bisexual, producer Tony Cervone confirmed in response that his intention was for this iteration of Velma's relationship with Marcie "Hot Dog Water" Fleach to be depicted—as clearly as would be permitted at the time—as a romantic one, following her previous failed relationship with Shaggy, with the characters subtly implied to be in a relationship in the series finale, with Marcie referring to Velma as "my girl".[10][18] In the 2022 animated film Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!, Velma is depicted as "crushing big time" on female supporting antagonist Coco Diablo,[19] which was widely reported by online news media as confirmation of the character's lesbianism.[20] However, right after the release of Trick or Treat, it was revealed that Velma would have a "secret crush" on Fred in the HBO Max adult-oriented and metafictional streaming television series Velma,[21] pitched as a "love quadrangle",[22] in which both Shaggy and Daphne would be depicted as having crushes on a South Asian version of Velma.[23][24][25] The show received overwhelmingly negative reception. It gathered criticism for its characterization and departures from Scooby-Doo such as removal of Scooby-Doo.[26][27] On October 8, 2024, the show was cancelled.[28][29]

Portrayals

[edit]

Voice actors

[edit]

From 1969 to 1973, Nicole Jaffe voiced Velma. From 1976 to 1979, Pat Stevens voiced the character. From 1979 to 1980, Marla Frumkin provided her voice. After the character's absence from the 1980 to 1983 series, Frumkin reprised the role of Velma as a guest star in The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries. Velma was absent again until A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, when Christina Lange voiced the role. B.J. Ward voiced Velma in a Johnny Bravo crossover episode, then reprised her role in all films from Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island on through Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase as well as an episode of the Adult Swim animated series, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.[30] Nicole Jaffe returned temporarily to voice Velma in the direct-to-video films Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire and Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico.

From 2002 until 2015, Velma was voiced by Mindy Cohn of The Facts of Life fame. In Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map, Velma is voiced by Stephanie D'Abruzzo. On July 8, 2015, it was announced that Kate Micucci would take over the role of Velma in the then-upcoming series Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!. Trisha Gum voiced Velma in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Velma was voiced by Ariana Greenblatt as a child and Gina Rodriguez as a teenager in the animated film Scoob!,[31][32] with Greenblatt being set to reprise the role of her younger self in Scoob! Holiday Haunt before the film was canceled in August 2022.[1] She makes a silent cameo in her aforementioned form (like the rest of the gang) as a spectator in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

On February 10, 2021, it was announced that Velma will have her own streaming television series on HBO Max in January 2023 with Mindy Kaling voicing her while executing producing with Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein and Sam Register. Titled Velma, the series follows an adult-oriented and metafictional "love quadrangle" Mystery Inc.[33][34][35][36][22] with Velma portrayed as being of Indian descent.[37] On July 11, 2022, the trademark for the series was listed as abandoned,[38] only for HBO Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys to confirm the series to still be in production in August,[39] with it previewing at New York Comic Con on October 6, 2022.[40] The first two episodes of the series debuted on HBO Max on January 12, 2023; the other eight were released within the following months.[41] Velma was cancelled after two seasons and a special as a result of negative reviews.[26][27][28][29]

Additional voice actors

[edit]

Parodies

[edit]

Live-action portrayals

[edit]
Velma as portrayed by Linda Cardellini in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
Velma as portrayed by Hayley Kiyoko in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009)

In the 2002 and 2004 live-action films, Velma is played by Linda Cardellini, who then voiced her for the Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed video game and Robot Chicken. Lauren Kennedy portrayed young Velma in a flashback sequence in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Velma is portrayed by Hayley Kiyoko in the 2009 live-action film Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and its 2010 sequel Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster. Sarah Gilman portrayed the young Velma in the 2018 direct-to-video film Daphne & Velma.

Additional live-action actors

[edit]
  • Randi Rosenholtz (Scooby-Doo! in Stagefright – Live on Stage (2001))[47][48]
  • Laura Sicurello (Scooby-Doo! and the Pirate Ghost - Live on Stage (2009))[49]
  • Michele Dumoulin (Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries (2013))[50]
  • Louise Wright (Scooby-Doo Live! The Mystery Of The Pyramid (2014))[51]
  • Rebecca Withers (Scooby-Doo Live! Musical Mysteries (2016))[52]
  • Alicia D'Ariano (Scooby-Doo! and the Lost City of Gold (2020))[53]

Parodies

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Burlingame, Russ (December 22, 2021). "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt First Look Revealed in HBO Max Teaser". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Anderson, Jenna (December 18, 2018). "Scooby Doo's Shaggy Is Going to Be a Father". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Authors, Various (June 15, 2013). "D20 Girls Magazine – Summer 2013". Le Nurd Mystique LLC. Retrieved December 22, 2016 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Dresner, Lisa M. (November 27, 2006). The Female Investigator in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-2654-6. Retrieved December 21, 2016 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Ventura, Varla (January 1, 1998). Sheroes: Bold, Brash, and Absolutely Unabashed Superwomen from Susan B. Anthony to Xena. Conari Press. ISBN 978-1-60925-202-1. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2016 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Evanier, Mark. (July 10, 2002).Post Archived May 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine on "News from Me" blog for Povonline.com. Retrieved March 27, 2006. Excerpt: "Fred was based on Dobie, Velma on Zelda, Daphne on Thalia, and Shaggy on Maynard."
  7. ^ Mansour, David (June 1, 2011). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7407-9307-3. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2016 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b Sammut, Mark (April 4, 2018). "25 Awesome Secrets Only True Scooby-Doo Fans Know About Velma". TheGamer. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  9. ^ Poteet, Britt (March 25, 2019). "Scooby-Doo: 19 Things About Velma That Make No Sense". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Tony Cervone on Instagram: "Marcie and Velma – Mystery Incorporated. I obviously don't represent every version of Velma Dinkley, but I am one of the key people that…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  11. ^ "How Scooby-Doo became TV's most Jewish cartoon dog". The Forward. August 28, 2020. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  12. ^ "6 Obscure Scooby-Doo Facts Nobody Knows". Comic Book Resources. May 11, 2022. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  13. ^ "Is Velma from 'Scooby Doo' Jewish? Let's Investigate". Hey Alma. March 28, 2023. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  14. ^ "Mitch Watson [Interview]". ScoobyAddicts.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  15. ^ Entertainment Weekly, 636/637 – Jan 25 Issue. Page 38
  16. ^ "The early cinema of James Gunn". Den of Geek. August 8, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  17. ^ u/matthewlillard (May 30, 2012). "I'm Matthew Lillard. Stu from Scream, Shaggy in Scooby Doo, and most importantly Steveo in SLC PUNK!. I now direct, who woulda guessed? AMA". Reddit. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2012. Hey Matt, loved you in Scream. I heard that Scooby-Doo was originally scripted and shot as a much more adult-oriented movie, but then got edited to be more family friendly. If that's true, any chance you could give some details on the stuff that got cut out? u/matthewlillard gladly answer. It was after the heat of SHREK and the studio was all for a above the kids head line of comedy... they brought in James Gunn (SUPER? SLITHER? He's the best ever, love him) and he delivered that version of the script. Yes to all the things you think it is. Smokey van. Velma eyeballing Daphne. Fred being gay because of the ascot. When we tested the parents flipped their lids and Warners got sca[r]ed. It['s] one of the crown jewels in their library and couldn't risk a back lash. also the demons were really sca[r]y... they were softened.
  18. ^ "'Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated' is way better than it has any right to be: Go Watch This". The Patriot-News. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  19. ^ "Velma Is a Lesbian in New 'Scooby-Doo' Movie And Fans Are Losing Their Minds | Decider". Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  20. ^ Shanfeld, Ethan (October 4, 2022). "Velma Is Officially a Lesbian in New 'Scooby-Doo' Film, Years After James Gunn and More Tried to Make Her Explicitly Gay". Variety. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  21. ^ Velma [@velmatheseries] (October 6, 2022). "My secret crush on Fred has everything to do with @GlennHowerton's casting" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ a b Codega, Linda; Graves, Sabina (October 6, 2022). "Mindy Kaling's Scooby-Doo Sleuth Uncovers a Mystery in the Velma Trailer". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  23. ^ Pennington, A.J. (August 16, 2021). "HBO MAX Scooby-Doo Characters Velma Descriptions". The GWW. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  24. ^ Kim, Matt (October 6, 2022). "First Look at HBO Max's Velma Is Full of Gore, Butts". IGN. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  25. ^ Johnston, Dais (October 9, 2022). "Jinkies! Velma Preview: Harley Quinn Meets Riverdale In HBO Max's Meta Mystery". Inverse. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  26. ^ a b Power, Ed (January 18, 2023). "How Velma became the most hated show on TV". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  27. ^ a b Li, Shirley (January 20, 2023). "The Line That 'Velma' Crossed". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Starner, Nina (October 8, 2024). "Mindy Kaling's Scooby-Doo Series Velma Has Been Canceled By Max". SlashFilm. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Stedman, Alex (October 9, 2024). "Velma Canceled After Two Seasons, Max Confirms". IGN. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  30. ^ TV Shows (October 13, 2015). Harvey Birdman Season 1, Episode 3. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2017 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ Kit, Borys (March 1, 2019). "Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez and Tracy Morgan to Star in Animated Scooby-Doo Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  32. ^ Scooby-Doo Film ‘Scoob’ Finds Its Young Velma and Fred (Exclusive) Archived January 16, 2021, at the Wayback Machine The Wrap, May 23, 2019,
  33. ^ Otterson, Joe (February 10, 2021). "Velma Dinkley Series Starring Mindy Kaling, 'Clone High' Reboot Among HBO Max Adult Animation Orders". Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  34. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (February 10, 2021). "HBO Max Orders 'Clone High,' 'Velma' & 'Fired on Mars,' Re-Ups 'Close Enough' and Reveals More Adult Toons in Dev". Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  35. ^ "Keynote: WarnerMedia's Tom Ascheim". World Screen Events. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  36. ^ "Mindy Kaling Responds To Scooby-Doo Velma Series Character Backlash". Screen Rant. July 24, 2021. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  37. ^ Velma – Official Trailer – HBO Max. HBO Max. October 6, 2022. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via YouTube. Velma Dinkley: "Dear HBO Max. I just learned you intend to make a genre bending comedic origin story of Judy Jetson. When I heard this new version of Judy Jetson wouldn't be "boy crazy", the only word I had to describe my disgust is Jinkies! If there is ONE thing the internet agrees on, it's that you should never change anything ever! I hope you die! Sincerely, Velma ❤️️" ...Well, at least Judy's still white.
  38. ^ "VELMA Trademark Information". Trademarkia. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  39. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 15, 2022). "Casey Bloys Addresses HBO/Max Reorg, "Extremely Painful" Layoff Decisions in Memo". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  40. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (September 12, 2022). "NYCC: WBD Spotlights 'Velma,' Tartakovsky's 'Unicorn,' DC Animation & More". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  41. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (December 20, 2022). "Mindy Kaling's Velma Adult Animated Series Gets HBO Max Release Date". TVLine. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  42. ^ a b c "Voice(s) of Velma Dinkley in Mad". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  43. ^ "Voice of Velma Dinkley in Robot Chicken". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  44. ^ "Voice of Velma Dinkley in Family Guy". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  45. ^ "Cheese Puff Mountain". November 15, 2015. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2020 – via IMDb.
  46. ^ "Snoopy Camino Lindo in: Quick and Dirty Squirrel Shot". October 20, 2019. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2020 – via IMDb.
  47. ^ "The Velma Chronicles: Character adds smarts, sensibility to 'Scooby-Doo' production". Las Vegas Sun. March 5, 2003. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  48. ^ "What's new, Scooby- Doo? Almost zilch". Los Angeles Times. April 4, 2003. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  49. ^ "Scooby-Doo and the Pirate Ghost, Mayflower, Southampton". Bournemouth Echo. March 20, 2009. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  50. ^ "SCOOBY-DOO LIVE! MUSICAL MYSTERIES Comes to Houston, 6/1 & 2". Broadway World.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  51. ^ "Cast announced for Scooby-Doo on stage". Official London Theatre. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  52. ^ "Scooby-Doo musical – London cast unmasked". Musical Theatre Review. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  53. ^ "Scooby-Doo! and the Lost City of Gold - Cast". MONLOVE. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  54. ^ "Scooby-Doo - SNL". YouTube. May 18, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
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