The conversation surrounding LGBTQ+ characters in animation is always evolving, especially as studios have strived to include — or touted the significance of — certain “firsts” within that landscape. Along the way, many fans have operated with certain headcanons or hopes regarding characters who can be interpreted as part of the LGBTQ+ community, but aren’t necessarily confirmed as so in canon. This week, one of those longest-running instances of subtext was made text, when the new movie Trick-or-Treat, Scooby-Doo! confirmed that Velma Dinkley is a lesbian. The Internet has absolutely latched on to the confirmation (especially after years of theories about Velma’s sexuality) — and it looks like Google is even getting in on the celebration. If you google “Velma” or “Velma Dinkley”, the resulting webpage becomes flooded with confetti of the lesbian and LGBTQ+ flags.
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Clips from Trick-or-Treat, Scooby-Doo!, which hit the direct-to-video market this week, show Velma becoming smitten about Coco Diablo, a fashion designer who reluctantly works with the Scooby Gang. Later on, Velma confesses her crush to Daphne, leading her to joke that she “didn’t know convicted felons were [her] type.” This comes after years of fans speculating that Velma might be bisexual or lesbian — and various attempts from previous Scooby-Doo! contributors to make the subtext text. This include James Gunn, who wrote the franchise’s live-action films of the 2000s, and who tweeted in 2020 that he “tried” to make Linda Cardellini’s Velma clearly a lesbian.
“In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my initial script,” Gunn explained. “But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend (the sequel).”
Additionally, Mystery Incorporated supervising producer Tony Cervone took to Instagram in 2020 to reveal that his show’s version of Velma was also a lesbian, even as she canonically entered a relationship with Shaggy.
“I’ve said this before, but Velma in Mystery Incorporated is not bi,” Cervone wrote at the time. “She’s gay. We always planned on Velma acting a little off and out of character when she was dating Shaggy because that relationship was wrong for her and she had unspoken difficulty with the why. There are hints about the why in that episode with the mermaid, and if you follow the entire Marcie arc it seems as clear as we could make it 10 years ago. I don’t think Marcie and Velma had time to act on their feelings during the main timeline, but post reset, they are a couple. You can not like it, but this was our intention.”
What do you think of Google celebrating Velma coming out in Trick-or-Treat, Scooby-Doo!? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
