Warner Bros slammed for fat shaming in new Scooby-Doo movie as a 'cursed' Daphne morphs from a size 2 to a 'horror of horrors' size 8

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In Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy the female lead Daphne Blake gets 'cursed' during an adventure and is horrified to see her body morph from a size 2 to a size 8
Many viewers have criticized Warner Bros sending the wrong message about body image to children
An outraged Morgan Meneses-Sheets from Baltimore, Maryland, tweeted: 'Guess we won't be seeing the new #ScoobyDoo movie. Not paying to mess w/my daughters' #bodyimage'

Published: 20:38 EST, 21 August 2014 | Updated: 03:41 EST, 22 August 2014

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Warner Bros has come underfire for 'fat shaming' with its latest installment of the hit cartoon series Scooby-Doo.

In its new direct-to-video release, Frankencreepy, the female lead Daphne Blake gets 'cursed' during an adventure in Pennsylvania and is horrified to see her body morph from a size 2 to a size 8.

Many viewers have criticized Warner Bros for the plot line, loosely based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, stating that it sends the wrong message about body image to children, especially when the average dress size among American women is reported to be a 14.

Some have also suggested that Daphne's new shape looks far bigger than a size 8.

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Controversial: In Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy the female lead, Daphne Blake gets 'cursed' during an adventure in Pennsylvania and is horrified to see her body morph from a size 2 to a size 8

Look of terror: Many viewers have criticized Warner Bros for the plot line, stating that it sends the wrong message about body image to children

Indeed, Tom Burns writes on his The Good Men Project blog: 'That’s right. Daphne gets cursed and (horror of horrors) she finds that’s she’s gone from a “size two to a size eight,” even though she’s been drawn by animators who apparently have NEVER seen a size-eight woman in real life before.

'"Fat Daphne" is drawn like she's Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka, like she's puffed up like a balloon.'

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He continues: 'It's sad to think that my daughter can’t even watch a cartoon about a dog solving mysteries without negative body stereotypes being thrown in her face.'

'"Fat Daphne" is drawn like she's Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka, like she's puffed up like a balloon'

Agreeing with Mr Burns' comments, Leslie Burns ‏ from San Diego, California, notes on Twitter: 'SHAME! #ScoobyDoo fat-shames Daphne, saying she’s a size 8 (like that’s bad?!) and depicting it more like a size 28.'

And an equally outraged Morgan Meneses-Sheets from Baltimore, Maryland, adds: 'Guess we won't be seeing the new #ScoobyDoo movie. Not paying to mess w/my daughters' #bodyimage.'

However, a number of viewers argue the film, which was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 19, spreads a positive message about physical appearance.

Check out the trailer for new Scooby-Doo movie Frankencreepy

Before the magic curse: Daphne Blake's usual physique in Scooby-Doo

D. Davidson, who gives the film a five-star rating on Amazon, writes: 'I actually have to defend the writers here because Daphne realized she was being superficial . . . [and] most importantly: Fred didn't notice/care and said that she "always looked good to him."'

'I would say it was more about acceptance and not being superficial than anything.'

In a statement to the Huffington Post, Warner Bros claims that it is always sensitive 'to obesity and self image, especially when it comes to programming made for children and a family audience.'

It goes on: 'The plot of the movie involves the Scooby gang becoming cursed and losing what means the most to each of them. Fred loses the Mystery Machine, Shaggy and Scooby lose their appetites, etc. Daphne loses her good looks (mainly her figure and her hair).'

The entertainment giant also points out, like Mr Davidson, that Daphne's longtime love, Fred Jones, does not notice her new physique.

It concludes: 'The loss of Daphne's regular appearance is proven to be a superficial thing, and not what actually matters the most to her.'

In 2011, the UK Department of Health deemed Scooby-Doo the healthiest of all children's television programs because of the amount of action it shows, with Scooby and his gang constantly on the run from mean characters and monsters.