If you were born anytime in the last century, Scooby-Doo is not unfamiliar to you. With its debut in 1969, Warner Bros’ sweetheart is still releasing films. The most recent one, which aired on October 4th, made the news for something fans have been waiting for since 2002: Velma is officially confirmed as a lesbian.
Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! follows our favourite gang as they solve a ghostly Halloween-themed mystery. The film, released earlier this month, is available to buy or rent from Amazon Prime Video. It is also available on HBO Max.
The commotion began on Twitter on Monday 3rd, after an 18-year-old student from Ontario posted a 13-second clip of the premiere, in which Velma is shown stuttering over her new love interest, hyper confident costume designer Coco Diablo (who, ahem, plays the villain-turned-ally). The cartoon clearly exposes Velma’s blushed cheeks and fogged glasses for what we’ve all been waiting for: an immediate girl crush.
Fans have been taking over social media, with the video having been played more than 5.5 million times 48 hours after its publication. For many, this comes as a resolution to a problem seen way back in 2002, when the live-action film was released. In 2020, the movie’s screenwriter James Gunn responded to a fan on Twitter, stating that he had ‘tried to make Velma explicitly gay’ on the screen. Unfortunately, his version was watered down until no mention whatsoever of Velma’s sexuality was made at all. In the 2004 sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, she even finds herself a boyfriend. The issue was never discussed again.
In the same year, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated executive producer Tony Cervone also tweeted that ‘Velma in Mystery Incorporated is not bi. She’s gay.’ – even posting a picture of the character in front of a pride flag. Although producers left hints along the show and had originally planned for it to be an explicit part of her, studios were sceptical about having an openly queer lead character (shocking). Alas, the series also makes no direct mention of Velma’s involvement with any women.
It is no surprise, then, that a big victory is being commemorated. Testimonials online expose just how important Velma was in girls’ childhood, representing a smart, strong and independent version of womanhood. Erasing her queerness is something people have been constantly fighting against, seemingly to no success. For over 20 years Velma has forcibly been in the closet, and seeing her finally explicitly shown as a lesbian comes as a personal victory for many.
Thankfully, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! director Audie Harrison said that Warner Bros was ‘very supportive of this direction for Velma’s character’. Although this may seem like a small portrayal of a secret many fans of the show were aware of, it is an important development for a big studio. Queer people are being increasingly portrayed in films, and yet there is still a big lack of representation in cartoons, which have mostly children as their target audience. If a character as smart and unapologetic as Velma can openly express her love for the same gender, then maybe we’re taking a small step towards acceptance.
Also, keep an eye open for HBO Max’s upcoming adult, all-inclusive version of our favourite newly public lesbian, Velma.