Velma Trailer is a Warning to Potential Viewers
If you always thought Scooby-Doo needed more lecturing and less Scooby-Doo, I hope you’ve kept up your HBO Max subscription because the streamer just released a trailer for its update of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Velma. Produced by and starring Mindy Kaling, who would have to see a doctor if she ever stopped wagging her finger at people, Velma is a prequel (as much as something that changes the race and personalities of the characters can be called a prequel) to Scooby-Doo with Velma in the lead role, as she assembles the Mystery Inc. gang and solves a murder mystery. Adult themes and left-wing sociopolitical messaging ensue. Velma premieres on HBO Max tomorrow, January 12, 2023. The trailer is age-restricted and, thus, only available on YouTube itself, so you can watch it at this link.
I know this question is asked ad-nauseam, but who is this show for, exactly? Presumably, it’s targeted at adults who were fans of Scooby-Doo as children, but if that’s the case, they’re forgoing all the things that demographic liked about the cartoon and shoving in a bunch of annoying political nonsense. And it’s not for a new generation because it’s got adult themes, language, and sexuality; the mystery revolves around a serial killer rather than a haunted amusement park or some such. I think it’s actually meant for Mindy Kaling and her Twitter echo chamber of narcissistic keyboard warriors, an animated safe space where Shaggy is black, Fred has his privilege regularly checked, and nobody says a word that wouldn’t make it past the PC police. (“Heteronormative” is okay but “Christmas” isn’t.) The evidence is in Velma herself, who is perhaps the most obvious self-insert I’ve ever seen; the character as presented in this show is clearly Mindy Kaling with a wig and minus twenty-five years. And what a shock – she’s the leader, she’s the only one with half a brain, and there’s no talking dog around to steal her spotlight. Not even mainstream critics can bring themselves to recommend Velma (can you imagine how bad something this woke has to be for that to be the case?), and in anticipation of the series being welcomed with open arms by fans, the comments on the trailer have been turned off. I can’t imagine anyone subjecting themselves to this.
