I think all of us know "Scooby Doo" at least from hearsay. But do you know that there is a new twelfth version of this iconic animated series? I asked Jon Colton Barry, one of the writers of "Be Cool, Scooby Doo!", some questions about the new show, his inspirations, musical experience and, obviously, how to make children laugh. Enjoy the interview!
Jon Colton Barry: story editor/head writer/guy leaning on a van
You are one of the creators behind "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!", the twelfth incarnation of Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo animated series, which premiered in the US on October 5th. How did you become a member of the "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" crew and what convinced you that it was a good decision?
I first worked with BCSD producer/showrunner, Zac Moncrief, on “Phineas & Ferb,” where we became great friends and respected collaborators. He directed many of my favorite “Phineas” episode and moments that I wrote, including the first Christmas special and the episode which earned the series its first Emmy nomination. Warner Brothers offered Zac the opportunity to reinvent the Scooby Doo franchise and create a version of the series that was “smart and funny” like “Phineas.” There had been some character designs and general ideas floating around, but, otherwise, Zac was given a blank canvass to create the show he wanted. I guess he liked my writing style and general creative approach on “Phineas,” as well as the fact that he and I worked very well together, so he told WB the first thing he needed was to start working with me on building the show from scratch. After the typical total confusion and “Jon Colton WHO?” questions were dealt with to WB’s satisfaction, Zac called me up and asked if I had any desire to create a Scooby Doo series with him. I was free that day, so I said yes. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with Zac again, especially on something as massive as “Scooby Doo,” which had been going strong for 45 years and was an indelible part of generations of childhoods, including our own. I knew Zac respected and had complete confidence in my work and what he wanted was just for me to do what I did, write like me, think like me – and, under his supervision, help create a new Scooby Doo show we would both want to watch. All of that convinced me it was the right decision.
"Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" was a kind of challenge and experiment for you. The design of the characters has changed a lot and even their personality. Weren't you afraid that there would be too much changes?
It was definitely a big challenge, but that’s what’s fun about it. The “experiment,” if that’s the correct word for it, was seeing how our approach to character and our comedic sensibility would work on something so established. What we discovered, as we learned more about the history of Scooby Doo and the various incarnations, was that “change” was actually the rule, not the exception. Scooby Doo has always changed and been different from series to series. A show about those five main characters driving around in the Mystery Machine solving mysteries is actually NOT what most of the Scooby shows were focused on. Characters were dropped or added, there was Scooby Dum and Scooby Dee and, of course, Scrappy. The paradigm was constantly shifting with the only, real stable element being Shaggy and Scooby. The character designs were already pushed and more cartoony when we got there and, in fact, Zac pulled them back from where they were. In the end, we couldn’t worry too much about how people would react because pandering to others’ expectations is the first step towards creative bankruptcy. We just had to make a show we liked – just like we did on “Phineas.” You have to please yourself and trust your gut – otherwise how do you even know what to write? We understood there would be a strong reaction to the new look, but it was an essential part of our approach. The more cartoony look allows us a larger, wider palate of storytelling and comedy – from broader slapstick to subtle, character nuance. It’s like how on the Simpsons, they can do very silly, funny cartoony things one moment and then make you well up with tears at a poignant moment two minutes later. We wanted that kind of creative freedom. The ironic part of it is that we went back to the original 1969/1970 series as our starting point and returned to the heart of the show, again, those five characters driving from town to town solving mysteries. It’s a very faithful, conservative Scooby Doo in that respect.
I first worked with BCSD producer/showrunner, Zac Moncrief, on “Phineas & Ferb,” where we became great friends and respected collaborators. He directed many of my favorite “Phineas” episode and moments that I wrote, including the first Christmas special and the episode which earned the series its first Emmy nomination. Warner Brothers offered Zac the opportunity to reinvent the Scooby Doo franchise and create a version of the series that was “smart and funny” like “Phineas.” There had been some character designs and general ideas floating around, but, otherwise, Zac was given a blank canvass to create the show he wanted. I guess he liked my writing style and general creative approach on “Phineas,” as well as the fact that he and I worked very well together, so he told WB the first thing he needed was to start working with me on building the show from scratch. After the typical total confusion and “Jon Colton WHO?” questions were dealt with to WB’s satisfaction, Zac called me up and asked if I had any desire to create a Scooby Doo series with him. I was free that day, so I said yes. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with Zac again, especially on something as massive as “Scooby Doo,” which had been going strong for 45 years and was an indelible part of generations of childhoods, including our own. I knew Zac respected and had complete confidence in my work and what he wanted was just for me to do what I did, write like me, think like me – and, under his supervision, help create a new Scooby Doo show we would both want to watch. All of that convinced me it was the right decision.
"Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" was a kind of challenge and experiment for you. The design of the characters has changed a lot and even their personality. Weren't you afraid that there would be too much changes?
It was definitely a big challenge, but that’s what’s fun about it. The “experiment,” if that’s the correct word for it, was seeing how our approach to character and our comedic sensibility would work on something so established. What we discovered, as we learned more about the history of Scooby Doo and the various incarnations, was that “change” was actually the rule, not the exception. Scooby Doo has always changed and been different from series to series. A show about those five main characters driving around in the Mystery Machine solving mysteries is actually NOT what most of the Scooby shows were focused on. Characters were dropped or added, there was Scooby Dum and Scooby Dee and, of course, Scrappy. The paradigm was constantly shifting with the only, real stable element being Shaggy and Scooby. The character designs were already pushed and more cartoony when we got there and, in fact, Zac pulled them back from where they were. In the end, we couldn’t worry too much about how people would react because pandering to others’ expectations is the first step towards creative bankruptcy. We just had to make a show we liked – just like we did on “Phineas.” You have to please yourself and trust your gut – otherwise how do you even know what to write? We understood there would be a strong reaction to the new look, but it was an essential part of our approach. The more cartoony look allows us a larger, wider palate of storytelling and comedy – from broader slapstick to subtle, character nuance. It’s like how on the Simpsons, they can do very silly, funny cartoony things one moment and then make you well up with tears at a poignant moment two minutes later. We wanted that kind of creative freedom. The ironic part of it is that we went back to the original 1969/1970 series as our starting point and returned to the heart of the show, again, those five characters driving from town to town solving mysteries. It’s a very faithful, conservative Scooby Doo in that respect.
Me and the lovely Zac Moncrief plotting how we're gonna ruin everyone's childhood through character designs
Before you started your work for Warner Bros. Animation, you had been working on Disney's "Phineas and Ferb" for six years. How much influence did your experience from "Phineas and Ferb" have on "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!"?
As I mentioned, I think one of the reasons Zac and I were hired on Scooby was our experience on “Phineas.” That show was, obviously, a huge hit and was beloved by people of all ages. I can’t imagine that didn’t cross Warner Brothers’ minds when we came onboard. I was also very lucky on “Phineas” in that Dan Povenmire (one of its creators) was an old friend and had seen a stage comedy I had written called “Play Things,” which was a very silly, sketch comedy-type show. He liked the writing in the show and made it clear to me that he wanted that tone in the new show he had just sold to Disney, which was “Phineas.” Writing in theater is wonderful in terms of finding your voice and having complete control over your work, which is what I had been doing for the previous five years. I had been able to watch audience after audience react to my work so I was very confident that I could trust my instincts and the audience, AN audience, SOME audience, would enjoy it. It was, of course, very rewarding to see that voice and tone slowly get woven into to the tapestry of unique voices and talent that all the creative people on “Phineas” brought to the show. It just became a part of the show’s DNA. I went on to write a few drafts of the feature film for “Phineas” (that got killed around the same time they decided to kill the series) and that’s when I got the call from Zac – to, once again, just do what I did in my own voice. It’s very rare, I’ve since learned, that a writer gets to bring the entirety of their own voice to a project and be asked not to water it down or alter it to fit in with some already pre-established voice or tone. I also learned so much on “Phineas” from working with so many remarkable talents like Dan, Swampy, Zac, Martin Olson, Rob Hughes, Piero Piluso (my main creative partner on the show) and my fellow board artist/writers like Kim Roberson, Aliki Theofilopoulos, John Mathot, Kaz, Mike Diederich and so many other unique, individual creative people. My experience there was a huge influence because I saw, firsthand, how and why “Phineas” became the big hit show it became. Disney trusted and respected Dan and Swampy, who, in turn, trusted and respected the people they hired – and all of us were simply trying to make a show we genuinely liked and thought was funny, trusting and respecting our audience to feel the same way. Zac and I brought as much of that as WB allowed into making “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo.”
Apart from working as a writer for the animated TV shows, you are also a very talented musician. I heard your songs on Soundcloud and there are really good. Can you tell me something more about your musical career?
Well, I can certainly tell you a lot about my LACK of a musical career. I came from a creative family and multi-discipline creative thinking was encouraged from an early age. My father is a very successful songwriter, so I grew up thinking music was a fairly normal thing to do, although I was actually known as more of a visual artist and cartoonist in grade school. I began taking comedy writing more seriously in high school, ending up writing and starring in a sketch comedy show in my senior year along with a bunch of friends on our local school cable channel. At around fifteen years old I got my first Casio keyboard and began writing songs, which was kind of a silly hobby until I got my first guitar senior year of high school and started taking music very seriously. That’s when the other creative pursuits kinda fell to the wayside and music became my main focus. I started my first band as a singer/songwriter at 19 and we were offered a record contract before ever even playing our first show. I turned down that contract, stupidly believing it was premature and a better one would come along once we started playing in clubs. Of course, that band fell apart fairly soon after and, although I started a few more bands, no other record contract materialized. That’s my only regret, not taking that record contract. It would have been fun to make an album. At 26 I injured my arm and was forced to stop playing the guitar for a year, in which I began to pick up where I left off writing comedy, television and movies. I’d actually say songwriting is my first creative love, with comedy writing a close second. The two are actually remarkable related. They’re both rhythm, lyrics and melody. I never stopped writing songs and was fortunate that Disney decided they wanted at least one original song in each episode of “Phineas.” The songwriting on that show was one of the most enjoyable aspects. There were a lot of great, talented musicians and songwriters and I became a part of the core group of writers who banged out the songs in an hour. I’ve written a few songs for Scooby Doo already and I’m hoping they will allow me to contribute more, although they seem a little suspicious of the head writer also writing songs.
As I mentioned, I think one of the reasons Zac and I were hired on Scooby was our experience on “Phineas.” That show was, obviously, a huge hit and was beloved by people of all ages. I can’t imagine that didn’t cross Warner Brothers’ minds when we came onboard. I was also very lucky on “Phineas” in that Dan Povenmire (one of its creators) was an old friend and had seen a stage comedy I had written called “Play Things,” which was a very silly, sketch comedy-type show. He liked the writing in the show and made it clear to me that he wanted that tone in the new show he had just sold to Disney, which was “Phineas.” Writing in theater is wonderful in terms of finding your voice and having complete control over your work, which is what I had been doing for the previous five years. I had been able to watch audience after audience react to my work so I was very confident that I could trust my instincts and the audience, AN audience, SOME audience, would enjoy it. It was, of course, very rewarding to see that voice and tone slowly get woven into to the tapestry of unique voices and talent that all the creative people on “Phineas” brought to the show. It just became a part of the show’s DNA. I went on to write a few drafts of the feature film for “Phineas” (that got killed around the same time they decided to kill the series) and that’s when I got the call from Zac – to, once again, just do what I did in my own voice. It’s very rare, I’ve since learned, that a writer gets to bring the entirety of their own voice to a project and be asked not to water it down or alter it to fit in with some already pre-established voice or tone. I also learned so much on “Phineas” from working with so many remarkable talents like Dan, Swampy, Zac, Martin Olson, Rob Hughes, Piero Piluso (my main creative partner on the show) and my fellow board artist/writers like Kim Roberson, Aliki Theofilopoulos, John Mathot, Kaz, Mike Diederich and so many other unique, individual creative people. My experience there was a huge influence because I saw, firsthand, how and why “Phineas” became the big hit show it became. Disney trusted and respected Dan and Swampy, who, in turn, trusted and respected the people they hired – and all of us were simply trying to make a show we genuinely liked and thought was funny, trusting and respecting our audience to feel the same way. Zac and I brought as much of that as WB allowed into making “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo.”
Apart from working as a writer for the animated TV shows, you are also a very talented musician. I heard your songs on Soundcloud and there are really good. Can you tell me something more about your musical career?
Well, I can certainly tell you a lot about my LACK of a musical career. I came from a creative family and multi-discipline creative thinking was encouraged from an early age. My father is a very successful songwriter, so I grew up thinking music was a fairly normal thing to do, although I was actually known as more of a visual artist and cartoonist in grade school. I began taking comedy writing more seriously in high school, ending up writing and starring in a sketch comedy show in my senior year along with a bunch of friends on our local school cable channel. At around fifteen years old I got my first Casio keyboard and began writing songs, which was kind of a silly hobby until I got my first guitar senior year of high school and started taking music very seriously. That’s when the other creative pursuits kinda fell to the wayside and music became my main focus. I started my first band as a singer/songwriter at 19 and we were offered a record contract before ever even playing our first show. I turned down that contract, stupidly believing it was premature and a better one would come along once we started playing in clubs. Of course, that band fell apart fairly soon after and, although I started a few more bands, no other record contract materialized. That’s my only regret, not taking that record contract. It would have been fun to make an album. At 26 I injured my arm and was forced to stop playing the guitar for a year, in which I began to pick up where I left off writing comedy, television and movies. I’d actually say songwriting is my first creative love, with comedy writing a close second. The two are actually remarkable related. They’re both rhythm, lyrics and melody. I never stopped writing songs and was fortunate that Disney decided they wanted at least one original song in each episode of “Phineas.” The songwriting on that show was one of the most enjoyable aspects. There were a lot of great, talented musicians and songwriters and I became a part of the core group of writers who banged out the songs in an hour. I’ve written a few songs for Scooby Doo already and I’m hoping they will allow me to contribute more, although they seem a little suspicious of the head writer also writing songs.
Technically, 'hit and run' is a form a meddling
Being a writer of animated series which are directed at children requires a lot of patience, but also empathy and something like "children's sensitivity". How can you describe your personality in a few words? What are the most important values in your life?
John Lassiter said something regarding Pixar that we’d often quote in the context of our approach on “Phineas,” he said: “We don’t make movies for children, we just don’t EXCLUDE them.” When I was nine years old, like most people I know, I found truly funny things and movies truly funny. I grew up on Monty Python, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and the Marx Brothers. They were like my Saturday morning cartoons (which I also watched, of course). “Airplane” is just funny. “Sensitivity” to children, in my mind, means respecting children. Respecting their intelligence, not dumbing things down for them, marveling at how elastic their brains are. Children can accept much more absurd, strange, surreal ideas than most adults can. I believe, I hope, I’ve been able to hold on to and maintain a childlike wonder and sensibility as an adult. I have a three-year old son and I have no problem getting down on the floor and “playing” just like when I was a child. Making cars and stuffed animals talk and create games and stories out of any toys or materials. That level of make-believe still makes sense to me. As for my personality, I’m probably the wrong person to ask. I would say I’m a creative problem solver. I tend to by fairly empathic, which can be crippling because you’re constantly being bombarded by the emotions of those around you. I’m solitary by nature, not liking crowds or social situations very much, probably for many of the reasons stated above. The values most important to me are family, music, humor, creativity and solitude.
There are a lot of brand new episodes of "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" coming and I guess the best is yet to come. Can you reveal what Scooby Doo's fans can expect from the show in the future?
I believe the show gets better and better as it goes on. We really jumped right into production before we’d fully nailed down the show and how we want to make it. Once we found the correct structure and approach, it became easier to realize our original vision of what it should be. This is the most character-driven Scooby series ever. I believe the audience will fall in love with this version of the gang in a way they never have previously. Zac and I worked hard on building these characters into real, three-dimensional humans with flaws and quirks, who can also evolve and grow with the series. What people can expect is a further comedic exploration of what we’ve established. I’m already halfway into writing the second season, even though we’ve only just begun airing the first season this month. I don’t want to give anything away, but if you watch the show and fall in love with the characters the way we have, then I promise you will truly love what we’ve done with them as the series progresses.
John Lassiter said something regarding Pixar that we’d often quote in the context of our approach on “Phineas,” he said: “We don’t make movies for children, we just don’t EXCLUDE them.” When I was nine years old, like most people I know, I found truly funny things and movies truly funny. I grew up on Monty Python, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks and the Marx Brothers. They were like my Saturday morning cartoons (which I also watched, of course). “Airplane” is just funny. “Sensitivity” to children, in my mind, means respecting children. Respecting their intelligence, not dumbing things down for them, marveling at how elastic their brains are. Children can accept much more absurd, strange, surreal ideas than most adults can. I believe, I hope, I’ve been able to hold on to and maintain a childlike wonder and sensibility as an adult. I have a three-year old son and I have no problem getting down on the floor and “playing” just like when I was a child. Making cars and stuffed animals talk and create games and stories out of any toys or materials. That level of make-believe still makes sense to me. As for my personality, I’m probably the wrong person to ask. I would say I’m a creative problem solver. I tend to by fairly empathic, which can be crippling because you’re constantly being bombarded by the emotions of those around you. I’m solitary by nature, not liking crowds or social situations very much, probably for many of the reasons stated above. The values most important to me are family, music, humor, creativity and solitude.
There are a lot of brand new episodes of "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" coming and I guess the best is yet to come. Can you reveal what Scooby Doo's fans can expect from the show in the future?
I believe the show gets better and better as it goes on. We really jumped right into production before we’d fully nailed down the show and how we want to make it. Once we found the correct structure and approach, it became easier to realize our original vision of what it should be. This is the most character-driven Scooby series ever. I believe the audience will fall in love with this version of the gang in a way they never have previously. Zac and I worked hard on building these characters into real, three-dimensional humans with flaws and quirks, who can also evolve and grow with the series. What people can expect is a further comedic exploration of what we’ve established. I’m already halfway into writing the second season, even though we’ve only just begun airing the first season this month. I don’t want to give anything away, but if you watch the show and fall in love with the characters the way we have, then I promise you will truly love what we’ve done with them as the series progresses.
Now let's see who this story editor REALLY is!
You can watch new episodes of "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" on Cartoon Network from Monday to Friday!
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