Scooby-Doo and Other Things That Should be Adapted for Adults
Posted by
J. B. Kish
If you haven’t picked up a copy of Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids, then please, for the sake of your childhood, go grab a copy today. The premise of Cantero’s novel is brilliant and simple: what would Scooby and the gang be like today if they were all grown up? The answer? According to Cantero, they'd be—well—let’s just say they aren't the Saturday morning goofballs we remember. In this parallel universe, Cantero’s take on our favorite cartoon sleuths is twisted, hilarious, and at times, delightfully disturbing. We absolutely loved it! Which got us thinking, what other series from our childhoods should be adapted for an adult audience?
Hey Arnold’s 11
Few kids have what it takes to match the suave on-screen presence of George Clooney and Brad Pitt. They'd need equal parts intelligence, creativity, and lovable quirk. Enter Hey Arnold and Gerald Martin Johanssen: two kids all grown up and ready to pull off the heist of a lifetime. Calling upon the strengths of their childhood friends, Arnold and Gerald have assembled a team that’s so bizarre, they might just pull it off.
Daria. Detective Daria.
Throughout her childhood, Daria wandered through life analyzing the world around her. In high school, these musings were shrugged off by her peers as the angsty observations of an overly active mind. But everything changed when Daria’s sister was brutally murdered. Superficial though she may have been, Quinn's death affects Daria in a way she never expected. Now she’s using her skills in observation to find her sister's killer. For the police, the trail has gone cold, but for Daria, things are just heating up.
Ren and Stimpy vs. Evil
It’s been years since childhood friends Ron Höek and Stan J. Cat have seen each other. Ron never knew what happened to Stan after he moved away from home, and he tries his best not to think about it. But lately, he’s been having the strangest dreams. In them, he’s a small chihuahua on the verge of madness. His friend Stan is there but he looks different—like a terrifying, realistic cat. Every night it’s the same: Stan is in danger, and he's calling out desperately for his friend, “Ren," to come save him. But what could it mean? Ron's dreams are becoming Technicolor-cartoon-madness, and he feels like he’s losing his mind. There are men with toasters for heads. Horse-people. Logs!
There’s only one way to stop these nightmares, and Ron’s just made up his mind. He needs to go home and face his childhood, no matter how dark it might have been…
Pete and Pete by Wes Anderson
Coming to theaters this summer, Pete and Pete by Wes Anderson. Now grown adults, Big Pete Wrigley and Little Pete Wrigley live in New York City. When word comes that their childhood superhero, Artie, the strongest man in the world, has been kidnapped, Pete and Pete must make a difficult decision: abandon the obligations of adulthood, or finally come to terms with the mass hallucination that plagued Wellsville for years.
Things I Can't Explain by Mitchell Kriegman
Mitchell Kriegman’s beat us to the punch on this one! This actual Clarissa Explains it All spinoff novel follows Clarissa into her 20s after the Nickelodeon series ends. And according to an interview with Flavorwire, Mitchell Kriegman’s trajectory for the character isn’t quite what we might have expected. "It’s about how you can be a know-it-all when you’re a teenager and then not know so much in your 20s, and how time, the economy, and the world can be cruel to you—no matter how optimistic, positive, and smart you are. She takes some real knocks."
J. B. Kish
J. B. Kish grew up in the American Southwest and spent most of his childhood concocting strange stories with spooky monsters. Now, he lives in the Pacific Northwest and has begun publishing those childhood nightmares for others. He is the author of two novels, including the paranormal thriller A Wall for Teeth and Stingers, which takes place in both Arizona and Oregon. He has the same birthday as Captain Kathryn Janeway, which is a thing he takes very seriously. Probably too seriously.
