Romanian Instances in US Animations: Scooby-Doo Part 3 - Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy
I am pretty sure people look at me raising an eyebrow when I act all excited about cartoons, especially one of my favorites, Scooby – Doo. It has always shown multiple cultures, as the episodes and movies take the viewer everywhere in the world, starting with Miami, Los Angeles, New York, to Tokyo, Sydney, Cairo or Paris. I believe that this multiculturalist approach the directors have chosen for it makes it even more interesting for the viewer, and here I refer to the American viewer.
As a foreigner, someone who comes from Dracula’s country, I have always paid more attention to the way anything related to Romania is portrayed. And by anything, it usually means Dracula and Transylvania. Even though in a previous article I mentioned a mix between Romanian and Russian legacy, this animated movie, part of the Scooby – Doo series, seems to break the „rules” and place Transylvania in a German environment. This is shown through the traditional clothing, the green overalls and hats, as well as the foods, strudels or sausages (wursts). The German legacy might be a bit related to Romanian environments as places such as Brasov, Sibiu, which are part of Transylvania, implicitly close to the castle of Dracula, are heavily influenced by the German ethnics.
However, this movie does not seem to break all the rules, as the village placed in Transylvania is still remote in time, just like the other ones I mentioned previously. It is not only the village that looks like a Middle Ages one, but also the castle, Dracula’s castle.
I know animated movies are not concerned with cultural accuracy, and this one is no exception, as a mad scientist, Velma von Dinkestein (again, another proof of German mix) brings Frankenstein to life. It is made for children, to be fun to watch, not necessarily to inform.
