Scooby Doo, where are you? This is the question asked by loyal fans, including one highly respected professor at a California university, for years. While Hollywood considered live-action films of cartoons, one ignored by the hype was everyone's favorite, Scooby Doo. Now that talks are under way, the main question being asked is which will bring more success to the film: an older, more-established cast or a group of young and rising stars? I believe the younger cast is the way to go. We will see that the younger cast is not only the right age for these roles, but also that having an established cast doesn't guarantee success.

When watching these cartoon episodes, we have our stars constantly being called "you meddling kids," or something to that effect. Let's face it, the older group just doesn't fit hat description. Granted, they are a young-looking bunch, but playing teenagers is way too much of a stretch. Could someone really see Brad Pitt or Jim Carrey as teenagers? Or how about Nicole Kidman, a woman with a highly-publicized marriage to Tom Cruise. Absolutely not!

So let's think about this. Who better to play teenagers than teenagers? They'll be believable in their roles because they're playing their ages. They won't need to worry about that five o'clock shadow at 8 a.m. They won't need to run off to pick up the kids after school. Could anything be more perfect?

Of course, profits are a concern. Will the young cast be able to bring the profits a more established cast will? Let's take a look at who our market is. Those kids who grew up watching Scooby Doo are teens and twenty-somethings now. Simply put, they know who these kids are. They religiously watch Love Hewitt on Party of Five. They made Sarah Michelle Gellar an icon on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. They watch James Van Der Beek and Nate Richert every week on Dawson's Creek and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, respectively. These are the people they follow, idolize, and relate to. If anyone is going to bring them out in droves, it will be the youngsters.

But won't the older cast guarantee success? Not necessarily. Just take a look at Batman and Robin. Despite having a Hollywood "Dream Team" for a cast, the movie did relatively poorly. Younger audiences, who spend the most money on entertainment, simply couldn't relate to them. Instead of being the blockbuster success expected, the group barely managed to gross $100 million. Figure in salaries, with Jim Carrey making $20 million per film alone, and Brad Pitt making comparable money, and you already have a high budget. The younger cast can't command that kind of money yet, so expectations don't need to be nearly as high to generate a profit.

All in all, it's obvious that younger is better. They relate to the target audience, they cost less, and they are the best bet to guarantee a success. In my humble opinion, all signs point to younger. Now, the next question is who gets to design the Mystery Machine.