Graphic by Gabby Gagnon '24.
By Oakley Marton ‘25
Staff Writer
This article contains spoilers for “Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo!”
The Scooby-Doo franchise’s bright colors, wacky catchphrases, easily recognizable characters and supernatural hi jinks have wormed their way into millions of fans’ hearts. But as the franchise reimagined itself for a new generation of viewers in the 2000s, one question kept coming up: Would Warner Bros. allow gay characters into its beloved, nostalgic cartoon universe? After years of cut scripts, subtextual relationships and queer coding, the answer is finally yes, with the new direct-to-TV Halloween release “Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo!” clearly portraying character Velma Dinkley as a lesbian.
“Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo!” begins with Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Fred catching a major villain, Coco Diablo, a costume designer behind the disguises of many of the villains the gang has faced over the years. When Velma first meets Coco, she immediately blushes, her glasses fog over and she says her catchphrase “jinkies,” as invisible arrows that surround Coco point out her “brilliant” brain, her love for animals, her “amazing turtleneck” and “incredible glasses” that may look familiar to fans. Velma’s crush isn’t subtextual or blink-and-you-miss-it. It’s immediate, obvious and over the top, akin to how the franchise represents crushes for any character. But Coco is quickly put behind bars, leaving the mystery gang without any wacky mysteries to solve and a sad, indie parody of the original “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” theme song. When a true supernatural mystery does eventually turn up, Daphne dramatically suggests, “I think it’s time we paid a visit to our old friend, Coco Diablo.” Velma immediately chimes in, “I love that idea!” Her tomato-red face fooling no one, she emphasizes, “I mean, it’s completely logically sound.”
The gang meets Coco in prison and arranges, albeit with suspicious ease, to have her help them solve the mystery for a reduced sentence. Velma, barely containing herself, jumps at the chance to wear the matching, heart-shaped bracelet that broadcasts their location to the prison warden. As the gang and Coco team up to solve the mystery, Velma confides her crush in Daphne, who supportively advises Velma to “just be herself,” which Velma slowly learns to do while spending time with Coco. The two look for clues together and go on an iconic Scooby-Doo style rollicking chase through a spooky library, hitting all the right notes of Scooby-Doo nostalgia, Halloween fun and nerdy lesbian adventures. At the end of the movie, Velma and Coco go their separate ways — she is a supervillain, after all — but not before Velma blushes so hard at Coco’s confessing to returning her feelings that her glasses melt off of her face, and, in true Scooby-Doo fashion, one of the last scenes is her looking for her glasses.
While this is the most blatant portrayal of Velma as a lesbian, she has long been seen as a lesbian icon. Velma’s original design from 1969 was based on Sheila Kuehl, who played a tomboy in the 1950s family series “The Stu Erwin Show” and grew up to be the first openly gay California legislator, Bitch Media reported. Her signature pageboy haircut, oversized orange turtleneck and boxy glasses make her easily identifiable for the millions that grew up with Scooby-Doo, differentiating her from more traditionally feminine characters like Daphne, and earning her a special place in the hearts of many queer fans. Bitch Media argued that, in some ways, Velma is a blueprint for lesbian characters on screen today, like Robin from “Stranger Things” and Ellie from “The Half of It.” These characters dive into mysteries and academics rather than the predominantly straight social scene surrounding them, and have a sharply sarcastic sense of humor that complements their male best friend’s earnestness.
The success for lesbian representation in “Trick or Treat, Scooby Doo” didn’t come from nowhere, as the distinction follows a long line of attempts by former cast and crew from earlier years. Since June 2020, former writers have openly complained on Twitter about Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network blocking their plans to portray Velma as a lesbian. Tony Cervone, the producer of the 2010 Scooby-Doo series “Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated,” posted a picture of Velma against a pride-flag background and the word pride with her arm around Marcie, whom fans have long speculated was meant to be a love interest. He wrote in the caption: “We made our intention as clear as we could ten years ago. Most of our fans got it. To those who didn’t, I suggest you look closer. There’s no new news here.” Two weeks later, James Gunn, the writer of the early live-action Scooby-Doo films, tweeted, “In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script. But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”
Perhaps the most heartfelt reaction to the recent adaptation came from Haley Kiyoko, a singer famous for queer songs like “Girls Like Girls,” who played Velma in various Scooby-Doo live-action adaptations. Upon hearing about Velma being gay onscreen, Kiyoko subtweeted a clip from the movie with five million views with “Happy for her,” saying she felt “alive and seen,” in response to another thread. “I remember booking Velma in 2008,” she reflected later on Twitter. “It was my first big role in a movie. I also remember thinking ‘I wonder if they know they hired a lesbian as Velma.’ Here we are, 14 years later. … Love you all so much.”