MovieChat Forums > Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009) Discussion > Hayley Kiyoko vs. Linda Cardellini: WHY ...

Hayley Kiyoko vs. Linda Cardellini: WHY IT WORKED

posted 14 years ago by b-claudio
15 replies | jump to latest

What gets me a bit sad is people complaining about Velma being 'ASIAN'. I'm sorry, I just find it racist people making such a big deal about this aspiring Japanese-AMERICAN actress just by the fact that she has her eyes SLIGHTLY (and I'd like to stress this) slanted. I think Hayley Kiyoko completely nailed the part and made an awesome Velma, quirkiness and 'Jinkies!' included.

What, does a person's eyes completely ruin an actors performance? I mean, Hayley Kiyoko, had it all, she has the voice, the walk, she was the smallest and obviously the youngest, she had short brown hair, the black glasses, she had the orange sweater costume, she was even white (!) for all you with apparent racial prejudices. Does anything of the list above remind you of Velma the cartoon character. Uh... YES!

On the other hand, no one seemed to care that Linda Cardellini, the actress who played Velma in the first two movies, was really beautiful and pretty slim, two traits that the original cartoon Velma was not famous for. But everyone seems to think that she made the perfect Velma (I DO TOO), and that's why...? Oh, yeah, it was because she gave an AWESOME performance as the character. Those natural traits of the actress was what made that Velma its own. The same goes for Hayley Kiyoko, people, give her a chance.

I mean, I know Velma originally was a white, Caucasian All-American girl, but this actress was all that and her eyes only SLIGHTLY slanted. I really don't dare to judge her for that. When it comes to Robbie Amell not dying his hair for whatever reason, well that's another story, because that could have been easily altered for a more accurate character portrayal. But oh well, he did nonetheless and AWESOME Fred. I really like'd him too. He gave a great... oh, what's that? Oh that's right, a GREAT PERFORMANCE.

[–] b-claudio 14 years ago

I rest my case.

[–] freefall79 14 years ago

great post, though i loved Linda Cardellini ai thought Hayley was a fantastic Velma and was easily the best thing in this movie...though i am biased as i'm a velma fan!

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[–] b-claudio 14 years ago

Thanks! I'm glad you think that way! Everyone seems to be bashing poor Hayley as Velma, when really she was one of the best in the cast!

[–] honora_dragon 14 years ago

Its more than just her eyes that make her look asian. It's her skin colour, her facial features, and her hair colour.

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[–] tellerford7 14 years ago

who cares? She was fantastic. That's all that matters. Why are people so damn racist? Diversity exists. They found an actress who was perfect for the role, and she happens to be a minority. The kids who watch scooby doo are made up of different races and ethnicities. I think a little diversity wouldn't hurt. If they had picked a hispanic girl to play Velma, I bet no would complain because no one would've noticed. Get over it people.

[–] LiveFreelyForMe 14 years ago

Well said! I absolutely loved Hayley playing Velma. You're right people are being racist which isn't necessary at all because her race doesn't affect her performance at all. She had the voice and the look. Who cares if she is Asian? I'm not a racist person at all so race doesn't bother me. I look at the performance and thats how I judge actors/actresses. Hayley was awesome and I look forward to seeing her again as Velma in September.

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[–] b-claudio 14 years ago

I can't wait either to see the whole cast again in the next movie coming later this year! Coolness!!! And I definitely want to see Hayley again as Velma! All these sorry racists should probably see something else, if they hated the characters so much in the first one. But The Mystery Begins cast definitely ROCKED!

[–] LiveFreelyForMe 14 years ago

If they hate the changes that were made to the characters then they should just forget about watching the movie. I think people just watch it to make fun of it. I have to admit that I was a little iffy before The Mystery Begins premiered. It wasn't a race thing, I was just thinking "oh no! they changed the cast! they can't be as good as the 1st one." But I gave them a chance and I love it!

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[–] b-claudio 14 years ago

I have to admit I thought like that too. I was kinda scared for the new cast, because I wanted them to be as good as the first one (which was perfect) and to my surprise, they were really, really good and the movie came out better than I expected, just great. This was a true Scooby Doo event! I miss the old cast though.

[–] LiveFreelyForMe 14 years ago

Do you know if Mindy Cohn is still doing the voice of Velma?

Yeah, I really liked the old cast but the new cast is so great that I can deal. I'm so excited for the new movie AND the new show. I can't tell you how excited I got when I saw advertisements for the new show. I absolutely had to tape it on my DVR and I put a series priority on it for when it comes out so I don't miss it. lol

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[–] b-claudio 14 years ago

To LiveFreelyForMe

As of the new series "Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated" the cast remains the same from "What's New Scooby Doo" and most of the latest cartoon movies. That is Fred and Scooby being voiced by Frank Welker (still after more than 40 years), MINDY COHN as Velma, Grey Delisle as Daphne (I like her). The only cast member who changed was legendary DJ Casy Kasem who retired from voicing Shaggy after more than 40 years. His new voice is portrayed by Matthew Lillard, who portrayed Shaggy in the first 2 Scooby live action movies. If you see the first episode, you can tell.

Isn't this exciting?

[–] Lament79 14 years ago

Nope.

[–] appleimacdude 13 years ago

They both were great as Velma - I could see Hayley Kiyoko "growing up" into Linda Cardelini's character ( which was adorable) - I wouldn't have picked up on Hayley being asian at all if her last name was not Kiyoko. She was great. To me, this movie was much better than the previous one, though all are worth watching. I thought all characters were great, though I loved the two big-budget Scooby Doo movies (with Linda Cardelini).

[–] CromeRose 12 years ago

Whuh? People are complaining because Hayley Kiyoko is Asian? Seriously? Is there no end to idiocy? What about that Hayley's just amazingly hot?! She was so cute as Velma I couldn't believe it. I mean, Linda Cardellini was SMOKIN, yeah, but Hayley's a gorgeous little thing and she did a fantastic job as Velma. The whole cast of this movie was terrific. In fact, this movie was closer to the cartoon in feel and tone than the original movies as far as I'm concerned. But I love those too!

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[–] CaptFredricks 8 years ago

I honestly didn't even realize she was Asian until coming onto this board. She played the part well; that's all that really matters.

Rant over. You can all return to your normal lives.