‘Scooby-Doo’ as popular as ever

Michelle George sounds like a walking, talking encyclopedia of “Scooby-Doo” lore.

The 21-year-old grew up in Puerto Rico and watched the show every morning before school. Now living in Fort Myers, Fla., she remembers the cartoons and the characters clearly.

“They all had their own ways,” says George. “There’s Fred — he’s conceited. Daphne — doesn’t like getting dirty. Velma is a genius. Scooby and Shaggy — they’re always running away.”

Now married and raising a family of five children who love Scooby, George has plenty of opportunities to stay current with the cartoon gang.

“They’re hilarious,” she says. “They’re good for the kids, good entertainment.”

Entertainment that has endured 35 years to the day — or make that 245, in dog years.

The moment that would leave a mark on millions of American kids happened at 10:30 a.m. on Sep. 13, 1969. That’s when CBS first aired a new Saturday morning show about a silly Great Dane and his four human friends who traveled around in a van and solved mysteries.

Today, a generation later, Scooby-Doo and his pals are still going strong on television, in movies, toy stores, video games and more.

“I think he’s as popular as he’s ever been without a doubt,” says Khaki Jones, a vice president with the Cartoon Network. The all-cartoon cable network went on the air in 1992 but hit the big time in two years later when it obtained the rights to air “Scooby-Doo” repeats, which draw more than 10 million viewers each week.

The Scooby universe has continued to grow. In the past 35 years, there have been at least a dozen different television shows, a dozen TV and direct-to-DVD movies, plus two big-budget Hollywood films.

Then there’s the merchandising. From toys to sleeping bags to birthday party decorations, Scooby is big business, bringing in millions upon millions of dollars a year.

A recent search on the eBay auction Web site turned up more than 1,600 Scooby products for sale.

The Cartoon Network’s parent company, Time-Warner, bought the entire Scooby library from Hanna-Barbera, the original creators. Besides releasing collections of the classic episodes on DVD, new cartoons are being made all the time.

From the most-recent “What’s New, Scooby-Doo?” series to the direct-to-DVD movie “Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster,” released earlier this year, the Scooby gang’s adventures are as popular as ever.

“Scooby is the perfect storm of cartoons,” says the Cartoon Network’s Jones. “Everything came together to make a really great show.”