Wacky Races!!

[ABlairican Pie]

Not sure if there's a thread for this one, but it's time for... Wacky Races!!

This Hanna-Barbera cartoon which originated in the 60's has become a very popular influential piece of animation, leading to various spin-offs and reboots.
And most notably, the ever-present image of everyone's favorite bad-guy/sidekick duo, Dastardly and Muttley, with the hound's familiar hissing laugh.

Let's take a look at this Saturday morning staple which lasted for only one season yet went on to take on a life of its own.

[ThisLittlePiggy]

Muttley is hilarious.

[ABlairican Pie]

'Wacky Races' first aired on September 14, 1968 and lasted until January 4, 1969. The show featured two episodes where eleven cars were pitted against each other to become the world's wackiest racer. The cartoon was possibly inspired by the 1965 comedy film 'The Great Race' starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood.

Each car in Wacky Races had an interesting motif, with some featuring certain abilities to assist its driver and provide an advantage over the other racers.

Car #1 was the Boulder Mobile, a sort of prehistoric car in the shape of a large rock, driven by two cavemen, the Slag Brothers, Rock and Gravel. The furry cave-dwellers communicate in mostly grunts with a few familiar words, and often they power their car by pounding each other over the head with clubs.
This was one of the most influential prehistoric characters by Hanna-Barbera next to 'The Flintstones' in that the Slag Brothers appear to be the inspiration for the 1970's superhero Captain Caveman.

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #2, the Creepy Coupe, is driven by the Gruesome Twosome, Tiny, a giant character resembling Frankenstein, and his brother Bella, a diminutive Dracula figure named after horror actor Bela Lugosi. This interesting car resembles an old haunted house complete with a dragon in the belfry. Often bats emerge from the belfry as do thunder clouds and an occasional witch. When the Creepy Coupe faces snow and ice, the dragon comes in handy to breathe fire to melt it down.

The car and its drivers appear to be inspired by 'The Munsters', which was popular at the time.

The Creepy Coupe was actually made into a real car in the second photo:

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #3, the Convert-a-Car, driven by Professor Pat Pending, is a vehicle which can turn into any kind of device this intrepid inventor choses, from a flying machine to a motorized pogo stick.

Pat Pending was even made into a Funco doll, seen below:

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Professor Pat Pending

My favorite, though he seldom won. He seemed to come in third a lot.

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #4, the Crimson Haybaler, was a hybrid car/airplane driven, or flown, by The Red Max, an aviator fashioned after the World War I flying ace Manfred von Richtofen, aka the Red Baron. Max spoke with a sort of German accent and was able to make his car-plane fly for short distances.

[Charles Knox]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

My favorite, though he seldom won. He seemed to come in third a lot.

He always reminded me of Larry Fine.

After this show, some of the racers got their own spin-offs.

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #5, the Compact Pussycat, was driven by none other than Penelope Pitstop, the only female racer in the roster, and one of the most popular. Her car was designed to look as ultra-feminine as possible, with eyelashes on the headlights and lips on the bumper, as well as a prettified parasol umbrella for a sort of cover. The entire car was bubblegum pink, remaining one of the most distinctive cars in the lineup. Pitstop was a blonde, charming Southern belle who remained polite and vulnerable to the other drivers who would gladly assist her when she had troubles. She was dressed in a bright pink 1930's racing outfit. Her dashboard was s virtual beauty salon with push buttons to press when she needed a touch of lipstick, makeup, rouge, or some other cosmetic accessory (which otherwise would get her pulled over and ticketed for distracted driving).

Penelope Pitstop was voiced by Janet Waldo, the voice of Judy Jetson, Josie of Josie And the Pussycats, and others.

Her popularity would win her a spinoff series, 'The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop'.

Penelope Pitstop is shown in the Compact Pussycat in the first image, and in the second, showing a joyful, exuberant prance:

The real-life, full-size Compact Pussycat is displayed:

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #6, the Army Surplus Special, driven by Sargeant Blast and Private Meekly, is a hybrid car/tank which fires cannonballs from the turret at Blast's command.
Blast barks out orders to Meekly, who remains simply a dimwitted underling behind the wheel.

The pairing appears to be inspired by the sitcom 'Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #7 was the Bulletproof Bomb, driven by 1940's-style gangsters, The Ant Hill Mob, led by Clyde. These miniature figures, named Ring-a-Ding, Rug Bug Benny, Mac, Danny, Kirby, and Willy would often give the car a burst of speed by popping their legs out from under the vehicle and sprinting in what the narrator called "Getaway power". The group always acted as if they were on the run from the police.

The Ant Hill Mob would be added to 'The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop'.

The Ant Hill Mob and Clyde in particular appear to be inspired by the 1968 movie about the actual gangster duo Bonnie and Clyde in the 30's.

Clyde was voiced by Paul Winchell, who also did the voices for Dick Dastardly and Private Meekly.

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #8, the Arkansas Chuggabug, is driven by Lazy Luke, who actually steers with his feet on the wheel while reclining back. He is accompanied by Blubber Bear, aptly name for his tendency for blubbering in fright at oncoming obstacles
and dangers. Lazy Luke seems more preoccupied with snoozing away while driving, which alarms the bear. Every so often, Luke will employ some crude means such as releasing air from a balloon to give an added burst of speed.

The car and its driver appear to be inspired by 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and other "rural" sitcoms of the 60's.

A full-size likeness of the car is shown here:

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #9, the Turbo Terrific, is driven by Peter Perfect, a handsome yet vain driver who brags about his sleek car and his racing abilities--until suddenly his stellar vehicle falls apart. He is quite the gentleman and poses himself as sort of a "heroic" figure lacking the idiosyncrasies of his fellow racers. He seems to have an ongoing romantic relationship with Penelope Pitstop, though this is more implied than stated. In one episode, he and Penelope go through an automated bakery and appear as a wedded couple on top of a giant-sized wedding cake--until the assembly goes in reverse and separates the pair. Peter laments the lost opportunity, to which Penelope replies, "Better luck next time, Peter."

The Turbo Terrific lacks the "wacky" motif of the other cars and resembles any top-of-the-line racing car, all until it falls apart to Peter's dismay.

[ABlairican Pie]

Car #10, The Buzz Wagon, driven by lumberjack Rufus Ruffcut, is a car completely made of wood with saw blade wheels. Ruffcut is accompanied by an animal companion, a beaver named Sawtooth who is able to cut and bore through trees and objects at a very high speed. Ruffcut grins with a broad set of teeth much like Sawtooth. Rufus is able to mow through forests and wooden objects to clear a path for the races.

A real-life, full-size Buzz Wagon is shown here:

[ABlairican Pie]

And lastly but certainly not the least, Car 00 (Double-Zero), driven by none other than Dick Dastardly, The Mean Machine, never wins due to its driver's underhanded schemes to cheat. Dastardly's plans always seem backfire on him. He is of course accompanied by his sidekick Muttley, who is known primarily for his hissing, wheezing laugh at Dastardly's failures. The only other utterances by Muttley are his muttered rants beneath his breath at his owner, presumably with muffled obscenities (i.e., "Razzle frazzle grazzle Dick Dastardly", or sounds to that effect). Often, when Dastardly overheard Muttley's not-so-subtle rant, he would call out Muttley's act of insolence: "What was THAT?" To which Muttley would respond by profusely kissing Dastardly's arm in an attempt to placate him. Dastardly would be appeased by saying, "That's better!"

Another utterance by Muttley is an expression of agreement, "Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah!"

Dick Dastardly is a character who, like Wile E. Coyote, seems to make more trouble than it is worth to cheat to win. His black and purple car, a nefariously shaped vehicle equipped with bombs, rockets, and other devices, is faster than most of the other racers, in order to set up traps and other obstacles well in advance. But some hilarious setback foils Dastardly, to which he responds with his venomous catch phrase, "Drat, drat, and double-drat!"

In addition to his egotistical nature (such as posing for the camera in a photo finish as a race draws to a close, thus missing his chance to win), he embodies the stereotypical bad-guy villain with the handlebar mustache and sinister leer.