Since its debut in 1969, “Scooby-Doo” has remained one of the most consistent cartoons to ever air. With many remakes and reboots, the relevance of “Scooby-Doo” has passed through generations, earning him and the mystery-solving gang a special place in our hearts. In total, there are over 40 different “Scooby-Doo” movies, not including any television movies or short films. Ranking these films is not easy – especially if you consume these movies like candy – so this list will contain the rankings I have devised over the years – yes, years.

10. “Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare”

To kick this list off, this movie was the first “Scooby-Doo” movie I ever purchased. It aired Sept. 14, 2010 and has been continuously played throughout the years on Cartoon Network or on Boomerang, a channel owned by Cartoon Network that airs old cartoons. The movie takes place during the summer at Fred Jones’ old summer camp, which the characters found out was attacked by a monster when they first arrived. Later on, two more monsters appeared, trying to scare the mystery-solving gang away from the camp. The plot of the movie is unique for “Scooby-Doo,” considering they usually face one monster, not three. Overall, the movie is excellent because it keeps you guessing as to who might be scaring them away up until the final battle scene, where the monsters are revealed. 

9. “Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy”

Next on the list, “Frankencreepy” employs a new tactic only seen once in “Scooby-Doo” history: the return of the mystery-solving gang’s past. Though the same monsters are not used, this movie uses the characters from the original “Scooby-Doo” show that aired in 1969, allowing for some of the most famous villains from those episodes to make a comeback. They lure the gang into Velma’s creepy family history, almost succeeding in destroying them all mentally by changing their personalities completely. Overall, the movie moves beautifully from scene-to-scene and conveys the message that your past can still haunt you in many ways, but it’s possible to solve your issues because they’re something you’ve conquered before.

8. “Chill Out, Scooby-Doo!”

Airing Sept. 4, 2007, this movie is a special treat. Initially the gang was supposed to meet in Paris, France. However, “Scooby-Doo” and Shaggy boarded the wrong plane and became a crazy Frenchman’s bait for the Yeti, which is the monster in this film. Fred, Daphne and Velma make their way to the Himalayas to search for the two. Meanwhile the Yeti is causing quite a stir on the mountain – until the mystery solving gang arrives. Overall, the plot and mystery are okay, but the movie teaches you that change affects many people, and that you will leave an impact on everyone’s life, no matter how big or small.

7. “Scooby-Doo! in Where’s My Mummy”

On Dec. 13, 2005, this unique and edgy movie aired. The movie takes place in Egypt at the site of the restoration of the Sphinx. However, Velma – who was working with the lead archeologist – discovers there is much more to the great building than meets the eye. Much different from the previous films, the movie explores what possibilities could lie underneath the Sphinx, as well as the dangers of being consumed with greed. The villains in this movie are no strangers to the mystery gang. Overall, the movie is solid with a steady plot that enhances the hype of who might be scaring everyone away from the site.

6. “Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword”

Airing April 7, 2009, “Scooby-Doo” and the gang find themselves in Japan for a martial arts and action-packed mystery. Unlike all the previous movies, this movie explores the possibility of actual monsters – a plot they hadn’t touched in a few years. The movie examines good versus evil as well as the greed people are consumed by to inherit power. The gang finds themselves in many predicaments when facing an unexpected foe. This movie helps drive home the idea that not all power is bad, but that the hunger for more power can lead one astray.

5. “Scooby-Doo” & “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed”

Next are the two live action films that aired June 14, 2002 and March 26, 2004. These two are grouped together because they go hand-in-hand with one another. The first movie explores the reality that friendships don’t last forever, whereas the second movie discusses the importance of teamwork. Both movies deal with live monsters controlled by a character from their past who is seeking revenge for the mistreatment they believed the gang had subjected them to. What makes both of these movies revolutionary in the Scooby multiverse is that these were the first live action films to be produced, and thankfully the producers and directors made both movies into long-lasting memories for everyone.

4. “Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders”

Airing Oct. 3, 2000, this movie was one of the four direct-to-video movies that were produced in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. The plot explores the possibility of aliens in our universe and the greed of humans once again. After finding themselves stuck in a town in the middle of nowhere, the mystery solving gang is intrigued by the locals’ stories about aliens scaring the town every now and then. After meeting some new people, the gang solves the mystery fairly easily, but the battle scene is the real plot twist of the movie. Overall, the movie keeps the same tone of the possibility of the supernatural being a reality, not just a fantasy.

3. “Scooby-Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost”

Coming in at third on my list, this movie produced one of the better mysteries the gang has ever solved. Embedded in a mystery itself, the plot once again explores the possibility of witchcraft and magic as an actual practice – though it does stretch what witchcraft truly is. The gang must solve the mystery of a witch who’s haunting an old Puritan village within a scenic and beautiful northern town. They were tricked into coming by the villain, Velma’s hero, author Ben Ravencroft, who has been searching for an ancient and evil spell book for years. The plot thickens immensely once the book is found and includes a fight scene that is one for the ages. Because of the plot, this movie deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest “Scooby-Doo” movies of all time.

2. “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island”

Runner-up is this classic movie that I’m sure everyone has seen at least once. This might be one of the most famous movies in the “Scooby-Doo” series due to its very creepy nature and thick plot. The gang finds themselves separated due to their annoyance with never solving real mysteries until Daphne and Fred decide to produce a show in which they find the most haunted places in America. Searching for live horror, not what they used to solve, causes the gang to find themselves on an Island supposedly haunted by ghosts and zombies. The gang is skeptical – as they should be – and jump to conclusions once clues start to pile together. However, they were not expecting to also face cat creatures that have a dark past due to the carelessness of pirates. The gang barely makes it out alive with one extra character all thanks to Scooby-Doo and Shaggy being the clumsy goofs they are. Overall, this movie is great for nostalgia purposes and would be an ideal Halloween movie to enjoy with friends.

1. “Scooby-Doo and the Cyberchase”

Finally, my favorite “Scooby-Doo” movie easily has the best plot of all the movies listed and features old fiends within cyberspace. The movie takes place in a university computer lab, where the gang is sent into cyberspace by the true villain – who created a virus to destroy his friend’s computer game to earn $250,000. The gang must find their way out by playing a video game based around their mystery-solving lives. They battle their way through nine levels before facing the final and most difficult 10th level, where they must face villains they’ve unmasked in the past. However, they aren’t too lucky this time because they’re in a computer generated game, not reality, making these monsters even more dangerous. Of course, in the end the gang is able to find their way out and catch the person that sent them into cyberspace for a cyberchase.

TikTok, an app that allows people to upload a variety of videos up to one minute, has taken social media by storm. The app allows people to share their talents, as well as become famous and build careers on social media because of viral videos. The app allows people to share their favorite videos on other platforms, helping spread awareness about the app and bringing new content creators and app downloads.

In an article from  How to Geek, Matthew Hughes explains the basics of the platform. 

“TikTok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance,” Hughes said. “It’s the result of an amalgamation between two existing apps: musical.ly and douyin. TikTok is unusual because it’s the only internationally-successful Chinese social network, with an appeal that extends far into the Western world.”

Because of its origin, TikTok has caused a bit of controversy with the United States. In Hughes’ article he explains that lawmakers in congress see the app as a security threat, and two senators, Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), are calling for an intelligence probe into the app. TikTok has been known to censor content that it finds inappropriate, especially about topics concerning the protests in China, which is not shocking considering China shields its citizens from most information that Westerners can receive online.

Though it might be controversial and a little dangerous, TikTok has amassed quite a large following. DeAnna Jones, author of the article “What in the World Is TikTok? A Beginner’s Guide to the Fast-Growing Social Media App,” notes the widespread usage of the platform. 

“TikTok now has more than half a billion monthly users worldwide, with nearly 80 million downloads in the United States,” Jones said. “And here’s another nugget of a stat: In the first half of 2018, it was the number one downloaded app in the iTunes App Store.”

Clearly, TikTok has a mass appeal to everyone worldwide with the creative content that swirls around the app.

Many people have taken the opportunity to become famous online by using TikTok. Known as Kombucha Girl, Brittany Broski (@brittany_broski) uploaded a video of herself trying kombucha for the first time, and it went viral. Today she has over 2.6 million followers and 44.4 million likes on TikTok. 

Though there are plenty of others who have gained quite a following, one user at William Jewell College, Evan Sanders (@e_sand) has become quite a star on the app. Since his debut on TikTok, Sanders has gained more than 24,000 followers and over 1.1 million likes. How did both gain such a following? The answer is consistency. By continuously uploading videos, more people are brought to their pages, causing their views, likes and followers to increase. 

Sanders consistently posts a TikTok about once per day, gaining about a few thousand views and likes from each video, though some earn more than others. Since Broski is much more famous than Sanders, she doesn’t have to upload as often to keep her stream of fans happy, allowing her to post up to a few times a week.

Unlike Instagram influencers, TikTok stars are not paid what other influencers might be earning on different apps. The monetization comes from the live streams that the famous people do, allowing their fans to send emojis that can be transformed into actual money.

TikTok has become a fun app for all to enjoy. People of different ages, beliefs and backgrounds are able to find their type of humor and content that they enjoy because of how international the app is.

Chick-fil-A has dominated the field of all things chicken for a long time, but when Popeyes released their chicken sandwich, the internet blew up with excitement. 

Though the chicken and seafood restaurant has been around for a long time, Popeyes was not as popular as Chick-fil-A, especially when it came to the chicken sandwich because that’s Chick-fil-A’s brand. However, Chick-fil-A should find some way to rebrand their sandwich because the new Popeyes chicken sandwich is worth all of the hype.

A chicken sandwich needs to be mouthwatering, crispy, juicy and spicy. Though the Chick-fil-A sandwich is delicious, it’s too sweet because of the peanut oil and breading. Notably, the spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A is quite sweet as well, not kicking at any point in time. The Popeyes chicken sandwich, however, has everything. Not only is it crispy and juicy, but the regular chicken sandwich has enough heat on it to add flavor and not light your insides on fire. However, their spicy chicken sandwich adds an extra level of flavor and spiciness you won’t find at Chick-fil-A.

Both places pride themselves on their chicken sandwiches, so it’s no surprise that they are on the expensive side for fast food restaurants. The regular Chick-fil-A sandwich is $3.75, and their spicy chicken sandwich is sold for $3.99. Popeyes regular chicken sandwich is priced at $3.99, and their spicy chicken sandwich is also sold for $3.99. Overall, the Popeyes sandwich dominates Chick-fil-A in pricing because the Popeyes sandwich is bigger than Chick-fil-A’s. The sandwich alone would fill you up, yet at Chick-fil-A, a side is necessary because their sandwich is quite small. Therefore, the Popeyes sandwich allows  you to save some money by ordering just a sandwich versus having to spend the full amount for the combo.

Because the Popeyes chicken sandwich is so much better than the Chick-fil-A one, the internet blew up with videos of people fighting over the now-famous sandwich. One account even involved in a fatal stabbing of a man over the sandwich. Popeyes’ chicken sandwich is extremely delicious, but killing someone over a sandwich seems a bit extreme. The hype of the sandwich caused it to go out of stock, which made a lot of people angry. The sandwich was on a two-month hiatus before making its return Nov. 3. 

You might assume that Popeyes would see a drop in hype for their sandwich, but even after being gone for two months, people lined up all over again to order the delicious sandwich. 

Though Chick-fil-A usually has an outstanding – and honestly surprising – steady stream of customers, Popeyes demonstrates that delicious and exciting additions can add some spice and revenue to a business. In other words, Chick-fil-A should take some notes.

Overall, the chicken sandwich is a classic, and Chick-fil-A will forever be a great chicken sandwich restaurant, but Popeyes’ new chicken sandwich is everything the Chick-fil-A sandwich wishes it could be. The flavor, crispiness and juiciness of Popeyes’ chicken sandwich is undefeated and will reign supreme until Chick-fil-A finds a way to introduce new flavor profiles into their chicken sandwich.

SID (Sports Information Director) Appreciation Week was celebrated from November 6 to November 12 this year. Every college has a special individual who handles every sports’ information, as well as stream broadcasts and complete the statistics for the teams. Here at William Jewell College, our Sports Information Director is JaeLynn Ellison. The Monitor sat down with Ellison to understand exactly what an SID does, as well as what led her to Jewell. 

To start, Ellison was once a college athlete herself, which is why she feels so attached to the athletes here. “I played softball and I started at Labette Community College… and then I transferred to Drury, which is where I finished.” When asked if she always wanted to work in sports, she replied, “Yes! I was on my first basketball team when I was 3… My parents were coaches and I’m a 4th generation college athlete… My baby sister actually went to one of my t-ball games before she ever went home from the hospital.” Ellison, from a young age, always knew she wanted to work in sports; Ellison was sure she didn’t want to put on nice clothes and sit in a business office every day. 

As a member of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), Ellison found William Jewell College on their website for a part-time position in the summer of 2015, where she was previously the SID for Labette Community College for a year. After learning the different programs of a Division II College SID, Ellison took the job. She reflected back on her decision to leave, stating “I can’t believe I did it because I’m not the type to go places I don’t know.” 

As mentioned earlier, Ellison’s favorite part about being William Jewell’s SID is the athletes. “Definitely the athletes. I like getting to know them [and] interact with them. When people come by my office to say, “Hello,” that’s the best part of my day.” 

What does it take to be a Sports Information Director? Well, Ellison has earned an Associate Degree in Communication at Labette Community College, an undergraduate degree in Multimedia Production and Journalism from Drury University, and is currently pursuing her masters in Sports and Recreation with an emphasis in Intercollegiate Athletic Administration from Western Kentucky. On top of earning her masters, Ellison works many hours a week, as well as a few other tasks athletes and coaches might not know about. Most might recognize Ellison as the broadcast or stats lady at sports events, but her job far exceeds those.

“I… do game contracts, so all of our non-conference competitions have a contract attached to them, so people have to come otherwise they pay a forfeiture, and I’m the person that drafts those contracts and makes sure they get signed by everyone… I had to make a list of all of my job requirements 3 years ago and it was, like, 3 pages long.” Ellison also mentioned she does a lot of archiving and research for Jewell Athletics. “A bulk of my summers and time off is spent doing research trying to find old statistics, old information, old photos… I’ve worked on building record books for the last 4 years.” 

With most of her time dedicated to Jewell Athletics, Ellison doesn’t get much free time, so enjoys the simple things in life. “There’s not a lot of time outside of my job. I work anywhere from 60-80 hours a week, depending on the season… but I like to watch the Saint Louis Cardinals every day, and then I have a cat who I like, but he’s kind of a turd. I don’t do a whole lot honestly.” 

It’s pretty clear that JaeLynn Ellison works extremely hard for William Jewell Athletics, so we are extremely grateful for all she does!