Wacky Races

***Wacky Races*** is a 1968 American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with all of the drivers hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer". The show was inspired by the 1965 comedy *The Great Race*.

The cartoon had many regular characters, with 23 people and animals spread among the 11 race cars. *Wacky Races* ran on CBS from September 14, 1968, to January 4, 1969, and in syndication from 1976 to 1982. Seventeen 20-minute episodes were produced, with each of them featuring two 10-minute segments.

In 2017, the series was remade for the reboot, airing on Boomerang.

## 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 the United States.

Racers include:

* **Dick Dastardly**, an archetypal mustache-twirling villain and his wheezily snickering dog, **Muttley**, 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. Dastardly is the only racer who not only never wins, but never even finishes in the top three in any race. In the opening title sequence, Dastardly attempts to stall the racers by tying their cars to a tree, but then he accidentally shifts his car into reverse, bumps into the tree, and frees the others as the race begins.
* **The Slag Brothers**, **Rock and Gravel**, in a caveman-themed race car called **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.
* **The Gruesome Twosome**, **Tiny "Big" and Bella "Little"**, who are monsters, in **the Creepy Coupe** **(2)**; their horror-themed car includes a small bell tower inhabited by a fire-breathing dragon, bats and other creatures.
* **Professor Pat Pending**, an inventor, in **the Convert-a-Car** **(3)**; he can transform his car into pretty much anything that moves.
* **The Red Max**, a Manfred von Richthofen-styled aviator who speaks with a German accent, in a car/plane hybrid called **the Crimson Haybailer** **(4)**; his vehicle is able to fly, although only for short distances.
* **Penelope Pitstop**, the lone female, in a 1930s racing costume in **the Compact Pussycat** **(5)**; a Southern belle, Penelope is more concerned with her looks than with racing and often gets herself into trouble.
* **Sergeant Blast and Private Meekly** 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 power up the car.
* **The Ant Hill Mob**, a group of dwarf gangsters led by **Clyde** and is composed of him, **Ring-A-Ding**, **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**, a hillbilly, and **Blubber Bear**, a timid, crying bear, in **the Arkansas Chuggabug** **(8)**; Luke maneuvers the steering wheel with his bare feet and his car is steam-powered from an old rickety boiler.
* **Peter Perfect**, a gentlemanly racer, in **the Turbo Terrific** **(9)**; Peter is extremely strong 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**, a lumberjack, and his companion **Sawtooth**, a beaver, 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.

## Production

One of the unused plans for the series was that the races would be part of a live-action game show produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions (known for *The Hollywood Squares*), in which contestants would bet on which Wacky Racer would cross the finish line first. Although the game show concept was scrapped, the series was still produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, in association with Heatter-Quigley Productions.

In 1988, a made-for-TV movie, *Around the World with the Wacky Racers*, was planned as part of Hanna-Barbera's *Superstars 10* series of TV movies, but never got past the concept stage.

It has been said that the 1965 feature film The Great Race was an influence towards three characters in this series: Peter Perfect (after Leslie Gallant III, played by Tony Curtis), Penelope Pitstop (after Maggie Dubois, played by Natalie Wood), and Dick Dastardly (after Professor Fate, played by Jack Lemmon.)

## Voice cast

* Paul Winchell – Dick Dastardly, Private Meekly, Clyde
* Don Messick – Muttley, Professor Pat Pending, Gravel Slag, Bella Gruesome, Ring-a-Ding, Sawtooth
* Daws Butler – Rock Slag, Tiny Gruesome, Red Max, Sergeant Blast, Peter Perfect, Rufus Ruffcut
* John Stephenson – Luke, Blubber Bear
* Janet Waldo – Penelope Pitstop
* Dave Willock – Commentator/Narrator