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Scooby-Doo/Velma Dinkley
| Velma Dinkley | |
| Scooby-Doo | |
| |
| Actor | Nicole Jaffe, Pat Stevens, Marla Frumkin, Christina Lange, B.J. Ward, Mindy Cohn, Kate Micucci. |
| First Appearance | What A Night For A Knight |
| Series Billing | co-star |
| Episode Count | 355 (as of season 2 of Scooby Doo and Guess Who?') |
| Notable Episodes | Decoy For a Dognapper That's Snow Ghost The Computer Walks Among Us Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy? |
Contents |
Basic Information
Velma Dace Dinkley is the youngest--and brightest member of the Mystery Incorporated gang. She is 15 years old (seven years old in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo) and is known for wearing glasses and a bulky orange sweater (physically she is not as svelte as team member Daphne). Her catch phrase is "Jinkies!" when she either is startled or discovers a vital clue. Velma is usually paired with Shaggy and Scooby in looking for clues, and she is usually very adept at a comeback when her two chicken partners try to cower out.
Velma has been voiced by many talents; Nicole Jaffe was the first. After she left to get married and start a talent agency, she was replaced by Patricia Stevens. Marla Frumkin, Christina Lange, B.J. Ward and Mindy Cohn followed; Cohn received an Emmy nod for her voice as Velma. She is currently voiced by Kate Micucci.
Character History
Memorable Moments
Velma has been the center figure of at least one episode--"The Computer Walks Among Us" (A Pup Named Scooby-Doo) and the made-for-video movies Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?, and Scooby Doo! In Frankencreepy. She was the real hero of Mummy, and she is ready to say that she "had a small hand" in it. She is truly a team player.
Both instances show a notable bit of character interaction. Scooby is best friends with Shaggy and obedient to Fred and Daphne, but he adores Velma. Where's My Mummy? displays it best--as the gang visits the Sphinx restoration site where Velma is assisting, Scooby jumps on top of her and licks her face much in the same way he usually does to Shaggy. When he and Shaggy are told that Velma is turned to stone, Scooby wails mournfully. Scooby would eventually unmask Velma as having been Cleopatra by recognizing her scent and licking the mask off.
The 2010 series, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, tweaks the chemistry. Velma and Shaggy are now girlfriend and boyfriend, but Shaggy doesn't want Scooby to know for fear of upsetting him. Velma sees Scooby as an obstacle in getting Shaggy to commit to so much as a kiss. Scooby had since found out, making him violently jealous of Velma, who reciprocates the sudden bad feeling. In being forced to make a choice, Shaggy broke Velma's heart by choosing his friendship with Scooby. Not long afterwards, Scooby sought to mend fences with Velma.
Trivia
Velma is based on Zelda Gilroy, from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Her penchant for losing her glasses is derived from her voice, Nicole Jaffe, who lost her glasses during a voice recording.
In the interim between Scooby and Scrappy-Doo and The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Velma (according to the latter) interned at NASA. Upon appearing again in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, she owned a bookstore.
Over the past twenty years, it has been speculated that Velma's sexual orientation has been that of an "alternative lifestyle" (to be as discreet as possible) as she was based on Dobie Gillis character Zelda Gilroy, played by Shiela Kuehl, who did lead an "alternative lifestyle." Velma's acceptance with her appearance has also led to this conclusion, but this is put to the lie in the pilot for Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, where she tries to get Shaggy to kiss her. Then again later in the series, Velma is seen to be close to classmate Marcie "Hot Dog Water" Fleach. This is also indirectly subverted in the Johnny Bravo episode Bravo Dooby Doo, when Velma winks and makes a pass at Johnny. In The Supernatural crossover episode where Scooby and the gang make an appearance as part of the plot, Velma does lay a kiss on Sam. In the 2022 streaming feature Trick or Treat, Scooby Doo, Velma has officially come out of the closet, having become smitten with a character in the feature, Coco Diablo.
Velma got her own series, a prequel about her younger days. Mindy Kaling is the executive producer and furnishes Velma's voice.
Quotes
"Yuck! His stomach must be made of scrap iron!" (referring to Shaggy's craving for chocolate covered pizza)
