Character description
Daphne Blake is a core member of Mystery Inc., working alongside Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, Shaggy Rogers, and Shaggy's Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, to solve various mysteries. In the first series, she is depicted as a beautiful, enthusiastic, and eager-to-help character, though she is occasionally clumsy and prone to getting into dangerous situations, earning her the nickname "Danger-Prone Daphne." She sometimes follows her intuition and, at times, takes on the role of the damsel in distress, occasionally being kidnapped, tied up, and imprisoned. However, as the franchise progressed, her character evolved into a more independent and capable investigator. Daphne is also known for frequently using the exclamation "Jeepers" to express surprise, first appearing in the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode What the Hex Going On?.
The character of Daphne Blake was inspired by Thalia Menninger, a sophisticated teenage character portrayed by Tuesday Weld, in the late 1950s and early 1960s American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis . [6]
Character background
Daphne is often depicted as being from the fictional town of Coolsville, being from a wealthy family, and having met the rest of Mystery Incorporated at a young age. According to Scooby-Doo: Behind the Scenes , Daphne aspired to become both a supermodel and a detective from a young age, though her interest in detective work disappointed her parents. Her father provided the initial funding that enabled her and her friends to begin their investigative pursuits. Before buying the Mystery Machine, Daphne's parents would carpool her and her friends to wherever the mysteries took place. Her aspirations have had a toll on her personal life at times, resulting in her losing more dates than she can count.
When the original Mystery Inc. group took a hiatus from the franchise in the 1980s, Daphne was initially absent too, with the series focusing on the comedy antics of Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy. However, when the "Whodunnit?" aspect returned to the series with The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show (later retitled The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries), Daphne returned, now an accomplished investigator assisted by Shaggy and the two dogs, investigating supernatural occurrences. She continued to help Scooby battle evil forces of the supernatural in the 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo series.
In the film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island , Daphne had a very successful investigative TV series called Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake on a fictional channel called "Americana", which the show had aired on for two seasons. The producer of the show was Fred Jones.
Unlike the previous incarnations of the character, Sarah Michelle Gellar's live-action portrayal of Daphne is trained in martial arts during Mystery Inc.'s 2-year-long departure in the first film, as she is tired of being a damsel in distress. This subversion of the damsel in distress mirrors Gellar's widely recognized role of the title character in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Following the first live action Scooby-Doo film, Daphne next appeared in What's New Scooby-Doo? . This incarnation, as well as in the animated films of the time, gave Daphne a more active role within the team, reflecting the live-action incarnation of the character. She would take on many new attributes, such as being an accomplished surfer, martial artist, and using her knowledge on makeup and fashion for tactical purposes.
Following What's New Scooby-Doo?, the other members of the gang would take a reduced role in Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! . She would next appear in Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated , where she attends high school with the gang in the fictional town of Crystal Cove and has a complicated relationship with Fred.
In Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! , Daphne develops a kooky personality and performs multiple hobbies and interests such as hand puppets, beards, sleepovers, vampires, and even mascot costumes.
In Velma , Daphne is portrayed as an Asian-American foundling adopted by two mothers, with "complicated feelings" for Velma. [8] [9] [10] In the fifth episode, it is revealed her biological parents are part of a Captain Caveman cult.
Appearance
Her usual appearance in the franchise consists of a purple mini-dress, pink pantyhose, purple shoes, and a green scarf. In Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost, and Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase , she wears a purple and green three-piece suit with matching shoes. She no longer wore her green scarf in What's New, Scooby Doo? . In "Mystery Incorporated" she temporarily wore a dark purple choker, long dark purple gloves, long boots, dark purple skirt, and a dark purple corset exposing her navel when she became the temporary Hex Girl, Crush. She also has various outfits for different activities, including winter clothes and bikinis.
As a child, she wears a pink sweater, red skirt, and pink pantyhose with white go-go boots, which she hates getting dirty. In The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo , she wears other purple and pink clothes, such as a purple jumpsuit and a purple dress with a white belt. In live action, she wears many different outfits, all in shades of purple or pink. She wears many disguises throughout her many incarnations, as does every member of the group.
Love interests
Throughout the various incarnations of the character, there has been speculation that Daphne and Fred had an attraction toward each other. This is emphasized in many of the direct-to-video films and the TV series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated . By the time of the second season, they are shown to be actively dating, showing more of their feelings toward each other. In the first live-action Scooby-Doo film, the two initially are not involved but they begin to develop a romantic interest in each other and briefly kiss after saving Spooky Island. In the sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed , they are in a relationship.
Daphne would sometimes show attraction to other male characters throughout the series, sometimes to Fred's jealousy. This was mirrored in Daphne with characters such as Jessica and Darcy Dinkley making Daphne jealous of Fred.
Initially, the 2002 Scooby-Doo would have had Velma "eyeballing" Daphne, but this was later scrapped. [11] In the Velma series, Daphne has 'complicated' feelings towards Velma.
