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How are you doing, you wonderful nerds?
Since it's October at the time that I'm recording this,
I figured we could finally do a video about
my favorite cartoon franchise of all time,
Scooby-Doo.
You probably know of Scooby and Shaggy's
insatiable appetites, particularly how often
they eat strange combinations of food,
like the Super Shaggy Sandwich.
The sandwich, by the way, even has its own Wiki page
detailing further ingredients like ham, and ketchup,
and other food items you can see on the table,
but don't confuse it with the Shaggy Super Sandwich,
you guys, all right.
Totally different things.
And you thought the Marvel universe had some deep lore.
And while it is easy to chock up Shaggy's appetite
to him being a stoner.
Ha ha.
There was actually a canon, albeit silly, explanation
for Shaggy's crazy cravings.
In the second episode of Scooby-Doo, Where are you?
we get this throwaway line that supposedly
explains it all.
- Yeah man, I can already taste
those chocolate-covered hotdogs.
- Yuck!
His stomach must be made of scrap iron.
- [Shaggy] Can I help it if my first toy
was a garbage disposal.
- Yep, a toy garbage disposal
just like we all got when we were kids.
But hold on, go back a second,
hotdogs?
And ham in that sandwich from earlier?
Isn't Shaggy supposed to be a vegetarian?
- Zucchini anyone?
(electronic music)
- It's probably not a piece of lore that
must people would know,
but throughout most of his history,
Shaggy Rogers was a pretty clear vegetarian,
seen eating and craving mostly fruits and vegetables.
Even if the snack table featured meat,
the script would go out of the way to show
that Shaggy was, in fact, gorging himself
on some strange, meatless concoction.
- Would you like a bite of my peanut butter
and potato chip pizza?
- Some say the character followed a vegetarian diet
even in the live-action movies,
although, he does make a reference
to pastrami-flavored ice cream, so...
- Daphne, you're the pastrami
and bubblegum-flavored ice cream,
and Velma, you're the sweet and sour mustard sauce
that goes on top.
- Jury's still out on that one.
Scooby snacks are vegetarian though.
That was established.
- They're 100% vegetarian and I love 'em.
- Like me too.
- But as we can see in episodes like this.
- Let's see now, more baloney?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- And some more meatloaf.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Shaggy didn't always follow a vegetarian diet.
I mean, the goofball has always been a sweet-loving hippie,
so it definitely fits his character to evolve
and give up eating meat.
However, his diet wasn't changed for the sake
of character development.
Instead, Shaggy became a vegetarian thanks
to the actor who provided his voice,
the legendary Casey Kasem.
When Kasem became a vegetarian himself,
he demanded that his character, Shaggy,
follow suit for the second season
of Scooby-Doo, Where are you?
Aside from a few unclear missteps like,
Haunted House Hangup.
- Let's flip a slice of baloney to decide.
- What?
- Heads we go to the right, and I eat it.
Tails we go to the left, and I eat it.
- Shaggy remained a vegetarian,
and Kasem continued to reprise the role
in subsequent Scooby series.
Until 1995, when this happened?
- [Shaggy] Like I'm starving Scoob.
- [Scooby] Me too.
- Like I'll have 400 Kids Club meals.
- Me too.
- [Child Announcer] Look who's pulled into Burger King.
Scooby-Doo and the whole gang.
You can collect all five toys.
One with every Kids Club Meal.
- [Scooby] Thank you.
- I imagine flame-broiled beef patties
aren't exactly vegetarian-friendly.
Kasem quit the Scooby-Doo franchise,
and the role of Shaggy was passed on to others.
But honestly, Scooby-Doo was already a bit stagnant
at this point.
I mean, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo had ended in 1991,
and there wouldn't be another series featuring
the cowardly dog,
at least, you know, this specific cowardly dog,
until over a decade later in 2002
when a brand new series would debut
under the name What's New Scooby-Doo?
The series brought Mystery Inc. into the modern era
with updated technology and music
while still hearkening back to the show's roots.
And one way they did it was by bringing
back Casey Kasem as the voice of Shaggy
after seven years away from the role.
Reportedly, Kasem agreed to come back if,
and only if, Shaggy would unwaveringly remain
a vegetarian.
The folks behind the show agreed,
and Shaggy Rogers, once and for all,
gave up eating meat,
but not for long.
After What's New Scooby-Doo ended in 2005,
the role of Shaggy was passed on to other voice actors
who don't seem to care all that much
about the character's diet.
In fact, the current actor playing Shaggy
is Matthew Lillard.
- Like that is my favorite name.
- Lillard had brought the character to life
in those perfect and sacred live-action Scooby-Doo movies.
But even though his portrayal of Shaggy was probably
a vegetarian in the films,
pastrami ice cream debacle aside,
the Shaggy he voices in cartoons is decidedly not.
- Then, we'll talk to eggs and see what we can bacon.
(laughing)
- That's kind of bummer, in my opinion,
small details like that can really add depth
to a cartoon universe and round out a character.
But I'm curious to know what you guys think.
Should Shaggy have stayed a vegetarian?
Does it matter at all to you?
Also, while I have you, leave a like
if you think I should do another video
about Scooby-Doo trivia,
like the fun history behind the laugh track,
or perhaps a philosophy behind Mystery Inc.
If you couldn't tell, I'm actually a really
big Scooby-Doo fan.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below,
and I will respond to some of them
in Monday's Comment Response video.
Hey, wait a minute the set is different now.
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Thank you for watching.
My name is Scott, reminding you to read between the panels,
and grow smarter through comics.
See ya.
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