Wacky Races is an American animated comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in association with Heatter-Quigley Productions. It aired on CBS as part of its Saturday-morning schedule from September 14, 1968, to January 4, 1969, and then reruns the next season. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America,Only three of the 34 rallies took place outside the Contiguous United States: one entirely in the Baja California peninsula; one across a substantial portion of Canada evidently along or near the Trans-Canada Highway; and one across the Canada-U.S. border from Saskatchewan to Oregon. with all of the drivers hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer". The show was inspired by the 1965 comedy film The Great Race. This was the only non-game show produced by Heatter-Quigley; the show was intended as a game show in which children would guess the winner of each race, and those who answered correctly would win prizes, but CBS dropped these elements during development.Saturday Morning "Car"-toon: The 55th Anniversary of "Wacky Races"
The cartoon had many regular characters, with 23 people and animals on the 11 race cars. After its network run on CBS, Wacky Races ran in syndication from 1976 to 1982. Seventeen 20-minute episodes were produced, with each of them featuring two 10-minute segments.
The series spawned numerous spin-offs featuring Dick Dastardly through the years, the most similar in theme being Fender Bender 500 in 1990.
In 2017, the series was remade as a reboot first released on Boomerang's video on demand service. It subsequently aired on Cartoon Network in 2018.
Plot The cartoon revolves around several racers with various themes who are each allowed to use strange gimmicks to compete against other racers in many races across North America as the race announcer (voiced by Dave Willock) talks about the race while interacting with the racers. The racers consist of:
The Slag Brothers, Rock and Gravel (vocal effects provided by Daws Butler and Don Messick), two cavemen that drive the Boulder Mobile (1); their car is made out of rock and the brothers (who talk in caveman-like gibberish but with occasional intelligible words) power it up by hitting it on both sides with their clubs and are also able to re-build it from bare rock, always using their clubs. Rock and Gravel have long body hair that covers their body except for their noses, arms, and legs. The Gruesome Twosome, Tiny "Big Gruesome" (voiced by Daws Butler) and Bela "Little Gruesome" (voiced by Don Messick), who are monsters that drive the Creepy Coupe (2); their horror-themed car includes a small bell tower inhabited by a fire-breathing dragon, bats, ghosts, and other creatures. The Creepy Coupe's special booster is "dragon power", with the dragon acting as a RATO unit. Professor Pat Pending (voiced by Don Messick), an inventor who drives the Convert-a-Car (3); he can transform his car into pretty much anything that moves. The Red Max (voiced by Daws Butler), a Manfred von Richthofen–styled aviator who speaks with a German accent that drives car/airplane hybrid called the Crimson Haybaler (4); his vehicle is able to fly, although only for short distances in ground effect. His name is a portmanteau of Red Baron and Blue Max. Penelope Pitstop (voiced by Janet Waldo), the lone female driver, in a 1930s racing costume that drives the Compact Pussycat (5); a Southern belle, Penelope seems more concerned with her looks than with racing and often gets herself into trouble. Nevertheless, she is a skilled racer. Sergeant Blast (voiced by Daws Butler) and Private Meekly (voiced by Paul Winchell), two soldiers in an armored car/tank hybrid called the Army Surplus Special (6); the Sergeant uses "fire power" (i.e. shooting cannonballs from his turret) to temporarily boost power in the car. The Ant Hill Mob, a group of seven dwarf gangsters that is composed of Clyde (the gang leader who is voiced by Paul Winchell), Ring-A-Ding (voiced by Don Messick), Rug Bug Benny, Mac, Danny, Kirby and Willy, in the Bulletproof Bomb (7); they are sometimes preoccupied with getting caught by the police and are able to use "getaway power", which involves all the gangsters (except for Clyde) extending their legs through the bottom of the car and running. Lazy Luke (voiced by John Stephenson), a barefoot hillbilly, and Blubber Bear (vocal effects provided by John Stephenson), a timid, cry-baby brown bear, in the Arkansas Chuggabug (8); Luke maneuvers the steering wheel with his feet and his car is steam-powered from an old rickety boiler. Blubber has been known to blow up a balloon and use it as an air jet for briefly increased speed. Peter Perfect (voiced by Daws Butler), a gentlemanly racer in the phallic-shaped Turbo Terrific (9); Peter is strong, handsome and hyper-masculine, but also very vain, and he often boasts about the virtues of his high-tech race car – which regularly falls to pieces seconds after he praises it. He is fond of Penelope and often helps her out. Rufus Ruffcut (voiced by Daws Butler), a lumberjack and his beaver companion Sawtooth (vocal effects provided by Don Messick) in the Buzz Wagon (10); their car, entirely made of wood, features four circular saw blades as wheels and Sawtooth is able to cut through obstacles (such as trees and other objects) at super-high speed. Dick Dastardly (voiced by Paul Winchell), an archetypal mustache-twirling villain and his wheezily snickering dog Muttley (voiced by Don Messick) in the Mean Machine (00); their sinister vehicle is a purple, rocket-powered car with an abundance of concealed weapons and the ability to fly. Dastardly's usual race strategy revolves around using the Mean Machine's great speed to get ahead of the other racers and then setting a trap to stop them and maintain the lead, but most of his plans backfire, causing him to fall back into last place. In the opening title sequence, Dastardly attempts to stall the racers by chaining their cars to a pole, but then he accidentally shifts his car into reverse, bumps into and breaks the pole and frees the others as the race begins.
Voice cast Daws Butler as Rock Slag, Big Gruesome, Red Max, Sergeant Blast, Peter Perfect, Rufus Ruffcut, Various Don Messick as Muttley, Professor Pat Pending, Gravel Slag, Little Gruesome, Ring-a-Ding, Sawtooth, Various John Stephenson as Lazy Luke, Blubber Bear, Various Janet Waldo as Penelope Pitstop, Various Dave Willock as the Narrator Paul Winchell as Dick Dastardly, Clyde, Private Meekly, Various
Episodes
Race results The show gave the results of each race at the end of each episode (the first, second, and third placings are given by the narrator, and the narrative sometimes saw some or all of the other cars cross the finish line) as well as what happened with Dick Dastardly after his last scheme's failure. The show never indicated a particular scoring system or way to determine who won the Wacky Races as a whole. The cumulative totals for first-, second-, and third-place finishes for each contestant are presented below:
Contestants Car name Car no. 1st 2nd 3rd Top 3 The Slag Brothers The Boulder Mobile 1 3 8 3 14 Rufus Ruffcut and Sawtooth The Buzzwagon 10 3 6 4 13 The Gruesome Twosome The Creepy Coupe 2 3 3 6 12 The Ant Hill Mob The Bulletproof Bomb 7 4 5 2 11 Penelope Pitstop The Compact Pussycat 5 4 2 5 11 The Red Max The Crimson Haybaler 4 3 4 3 10 Professor Pat Pending The Convert-A-Car 3 3 2 5 10 Lazy Luke and Blubber Bear The Arkansas Chuggabug 8 4 1 4 9 Peter Perfect The Turbo Terrific 9 4 2 2 8 Sergeant Blast and Private Meekly The Army Surplus Special 6 3 1 0 4 Dick Dastardly and Muttley The Mean Machine 00 0 0 0 0
Standings 1. The Boulder Mobile 2. The Creepy Coupe 3. The Convert-A-Car 4. The Crimson Haybaler 5. The Compact Pussycat 6. The Army Surplus Special 7. The Bulletproof Bomb 8. The Arkansas Chuggabug 9. The Turbo Terrific 10. The Buzzwagon 00. The Mean Machine 1a See-Saw to Arkansas 2nd 1st 3rd4th 1b Creepy Trip to Lemon Twist 2nd 1st 3rd DQ 2a Why Oh Why Wyoming 2nd 1st 8th 7th 6th 5th 10th 3rd 9th 4th 11th 2b Beat the Clock to Yellow Rock 5th 3rd 7th 10th 9th 6th 4th 1st 8th 2nd 3a Mish-Mash Missouri Bash 3rd 1st 4th 2nd 3b Idaho a Go-Go 1st 3rd 2nd 4a The Baja-Ha-Ha Race 1st 5th 4th 3rd 7th 6th 2nd 9th 8th 10th 11th 4b Real Gone Ape 9th 5th 7th 2nd 6th 1st 4th 10th 8th 3rd 5a Scout Scatter 2nd 4th 3rd 5th 1st 5b Free Wheeling to Wheeling 5th 4th 6th 3rd 7th 1st 2nd 6a By Rollercoaster to Upsan Downs 2nd 1st 3rd 6b The Speedy Arkansas Traveler 1st 4th 2nd 3rd 7a The Zippy Mississippi Race 7th 6th 5th 8th 3rd 10th 2nd 9th 1st 4th 7b Traffic Jambalaya 3rd 1st 2nd 8a Hot Race at Chillicothe 3rd 2nd 1st 8b The Wrong Lumber Race 9th 3rd 6th 8th 7th 4th 2nd 10th 5th 1st 9a Rhode Island Road Race 2nd 1st 3rd 9b The Great Cold Rush Race 4th 5th 1st 7th 3rd 2nd 6th 8th 11th 10a Wacky Race to Ripsaw 3rd 2nd 1st10b Oils Well That Ends Well 10th 6th 1st 4th 5th 2nd 9th 7th 8th 3rd 11th11a Whizzin' to Washington 7th 5th 2nd 6th 4th 3rd 1st11b The Dipsy Doodle Desert Derby 4th 3rd 5th 1st 2nd12a Eeny, Miny Missouri Go! 5th 1st 3rd 2nd 4th12b The Super Silly Swamp Sprint 5th 4th 3rd 1st 6th 2nd13a The Dopey Dakota Derby 9th 8th 2nd 3rd 4th 6th 1st 5th 7th 10th13b Dash to Delaware 3rd 1st 2nd14a Speeding for Smogland 2nd 3rd 1st 4th 14b Race Rally to Raleigh 2nd 4th 5th 1st 3rd 15a Ballpoint, Penn. or Bust! 4th 9th 10th 2nd 1st 8th 3rd 7th 5th 6th15b Fast Track to Hackensack 2nd 3rd 1st16a The Ski Resort Road Race 8th 9th 3rd 5th 7th 1st 10th 6th 4th 2nd16b Overseas Hi-Way Race 2nd 8th 6th 5th 3rd 9th 4th 10th 1st 7th17a Race to Racine 2nd 1st 3rd 10th 4th 6th 9th 7th 5th 8th17b The Carlsbad or Bust Bash 3rd 6th 2nd 1st 4th 5th
Spin-offs and similar series In 1969, Dick Dastardly and Muttley were given a spin-off series, titled Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. The series is sometimes mistakenly known as Stop the Pigeon, after the show's working title and theme song. In the same year, Penelope Pitstop and the Ant Hill Mob were spun off into another animated series, titled The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. Both series ran for a season each.
Gold Key Comics published a seven-issue comic book series based on Wacky Races from August 1969 to April 1972.
In 1977, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels debuted. The titular Captain Caveman was modeled after the Slag Brothers.
In 1990, a cartoon segment in Wake, Rattle and Roll named Fender Bender 500 was produced. The show followed the same premise as Wacky Races, but had racers drive monster trucks and races took place on various parts of the world. Only Dick Dastardly and Muttley returned from among the original Wacky Races cast; all other racers were from other Hanna-Barbera shows such as Yogi Bear and Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. Unlike in Wacky Races, here Dastardly and Muttley were able to actually win some of the races, though they still had the fewest number of race wins out of all racers.
In 2006, the animated short for a spin-off series titled Wacky Races Forever was produced for Cartoon Network. The series depicted a roster of both new and returning racers competing against each other. Penelope Pitstop and Peter Perfect had married and created Perfect Industries, the corporate sponsor of the new Wacky Races, whereas their children Parker and Piper competed in the race. Other characters included the Slag Brothers, Professor Pat Pending (depicted here with a mad scientist personality), a teenage version of the Gruesome Twosome, and Dick Dastardly and Muttley (working for a new villain named Mr. Viceroy, who sought to steal Perfect Industries). The series was not picked up by Cartoon Network.