Midweek

Now, you know that the man who invented the Ramen noodles really made a difference when even the Times has an Appreciation for Momofuku Ando. Honestly, how many of us would have survived college dorm life without a good old cup of Ramen? Actually, considering the extent of my cooking skill, Ramen noodles are probably all I’m really good for; dump in some veggies and I’d be good to go.

The passing of Iwao Takamoto, who created Scooby-Doo and directed the cartoon movie, “Charlotte’s Web.” Fascinating to learn that the cartoons I enjoyed as a kid were done by an American-born Asian-American. Interesting take on how Scooby-Doo came about:

But it was his creation of Scooby-Doo, the cowardly dog with an adventurous heart, that captivated audiences and endured for generations.

Takamoto said he created Scooby-Doo after talking with a Great Dane breeder and named him after Frank Sinatra’s final phrase in “Strangers in the Night.”

The breeder “showed me some pictures and talked about the important points of a Great Dane, like a straight back, straight legs, small chin and such,” Takamoto said in a recent talk at Cartoon Network Studios.

“I decided to go the opposite and gave him a hump back, bowed legs, big chin and such. Even his color is wrong.”

Now the whole “Scooby-Dooby-Doo” makes perfect sense. I think.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.