Original artwork, not a still
The unmasked villain's complaint, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!
— Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! • 1969
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The line is the show's punchline and its seal on the formula: the monster is a man in a mask, the mystery is solved, and the villain's sour grumble is the last thing we hear before the credits music. Fans know it so well that it works on its own, a free-floating joke about any plan foiled by nosy bystanders, and it has been parodied in countless cartoons and even gave a 2017 horror novel, Meddling Kids, its title.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Show the scene
Almost every case in the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (CBS, from 13 September 1969) ends the same way. Fred's trap springs, the gang drags the monster into the light, and the mask comes off to show an ordinary crook or schemer in a costume. The captured villain then complains that the scheme would have worked but for the kids. The wording shifts from episode to episode: in "Jeepers, It's the Creeper" it is Mr. Carswell's "blasted meddling kids", and in "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts" Big Bob Oakley blames the kids and their dog.
Sources (3)
- Wikipedia: Scooby-Doo (franchise)Section: CBS years (1969-76), formula paragraphReference checked
- Wikipedia: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Lead paragraphReference checked
- Wikiquote: Last words in Scooby-Doo mediaTelevision, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Reference checked
Context reviewed
