Wacky Races - The Complete Series

Amazon.com

Mix The Great Race with the slapstick humor of Road Runner cartoons and the wildly inventive minds of Hanna-Barbera, and you've got the 1968 animated series Wacky Races. You remember the lineup: the Slag brothers in the Boulder-Mobile; the Gruesome Twosome in the Creepy Coupe, with a dragon in its belfry; Prof. Pat Pending (ha ha) in the Convert-a-Car; Red Max in the Crimson Haybailer biplane; Sergeant Blast and Private Meekly in the tank-like Army Surplus Special; the Ant Hill Mob in the Bullitt-Proof Bomb; Lazy Luke and Blubber Bear in the Arkansas Chugga-Bug; Rufus Ruffcut and Sawtooth the beaver in the Buzz Wagon; the Belle of the Brickyard, Penelope Pitstop, in the Compact Pussycat; Peter Perfect in the Turbo Terrific; and our hissable villains, Dick Dastardly and his snickering muttering dog, Muttley ("Sassa frassin'...") in the Mean Machine. In each 11-minute episode, the physics-defying cars compete in different areas of the country ("See-Saw to Arkansas," "Rhode Island Road Race," "The Carlsbad or Bust Bash"), so evenly matched that any car has a chance to win despite the evil schemes of Dastardly and Muttley, who always seem to come to a Wile E. Coyote-type end (writer Mike Maltese worked on both series). There's never really a plot, but just a string of situations and gags before someone finally crosses the finish line to earn the checkered flag.

The DVD set contains all 34 episodes of the series, looking reasonably good. Four members of the original creative team appear on a commentary track on four different episodes, and their discussion is less interesting for what they have to say about Wacky Races ("What was that car again?") than for their memories of working for Hanna-Barbera ("we did things off the top of the head"). There's also pop-up factoids on two episodes, a 20-minute recap of the series' history, and a look at the two spinoff series, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. That a relatively short-lived series could inspire two spinoffs, toys, comic books, a CD-ROM game, and other souvenirs is a testament to its ability to capture the Saturday-morning imagination and create a lot of fond memories. --David Horiuchi

Description

Start your DVD engines! Diabolical do-badder Dick Dastardly, his snickering canine cohort Muttley and their Mean Machine take on you and all comers for all the fast and furious fun of the complete animated series Wacky Races. Gear up to keep pace with this dimwitted duo as well as their rivals: Peter Perfect in his Turbo Terrific, Luke and Blubber Bear in the Arkansas Chucgabug, the Ant Hill Mob in the Bulletproof Bomb and glamorous Penelope Pitstop in her pink Compact Pussycat. Fasten your seat belts for all 34 original episodes plus Hilarious, High-Speed Extras that will keep you awake at the wheel straight through to the Finish Line!

Customer Reviews:

Remember the Wacky Racers.......2007-07-26

I gave this to my brother for his birthday. He enjoyed watching it with his two year old son. They watched all 32 episodes within two weeks so I guessed they liked it.

Wacky Entertainment.......2007-07-06

The Wacky Races are an excellent series of vintage cartoons from Hanna Barbera that feature fun and quirky characters that compete in races throughout the country. The zany plots of Dick Dastardly and Muttley to try to cheat and win each race provide interesting twists and turns in each episode. I highly recommend this DVD for highly entertaining and fun viewing for the whole family.

happy,but sad.......2007-07-04

i bought the series thinking they would show the entire series including the break between episodes when every1 is tuning up their cars 2 prepare 4 the next race. the biggest disappointment was that they didn't put in dave willock's end piece @ the end of the show.

Very Exciting and Entertaining!.......2007-05-13

This is fantastic! I'm so happy! I was so worried that this was going to be a flop! It wasn't! I was laughing, that's the spirit of this whole show, is to just have fun.

My Score: 7 out of 10, 4 out of 5

a good laugh, but it gets old........2007-01-23

I bought this for my boyfriend, a car collector. We were both disappointed. every cartoon was exactly the same, only in a different location. I know cartoons are supposed to be simple, but after 3 episodes we were both bored and turned them off. The positive thing is the characters are funny. If you have nothing else to do, they are good for a laugh. A better buy would be a variety of cartoons, not an entire collection of the same exact ones!

Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series

Average customer rating:

Such a fun series
Slightly Better Than Wacky Races, But Shorter Cartoons
muttley do something
funny cartoon
magnificent muttley

Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines - The Complete Series
Starring: Paul Winchell , and Don Messick
Director: William Hanna , and Joseph Barbera
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007QS31A
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Customer Reviews:

Such a fun series.......2007-08-23

I used to watch this when I was younger with my father. When I found out it was on DVD I just had to buy it for him as a present!

Slightly Better Than Wacky Races, But Shorter Cartoons.......2007-08-23

I'm not saying that I don't like this. I mean, it's a great show. I love the comedy, and the way it was put together. But somehow, I have a feeling that the cartoons are getting a little bit shorter than Wacky Races.

Wacky Races had 12 minute cartoons, this had 9 minute cartoons. There were two D&M (Dastardly & Muttley) cartoons, sandwhiced between the two were 2 or 3 25-second Wing Dings, and a 21/2 minute Magnificent Muttley short.

If you liked Wacky Races & the comedy behind the gags of Dick Dastardly & Muttley, you will enjoy this series with Dastardly & Muttley alone.

My Score: 7 out of 10, 4.33 out of 5

muttley do something.......2007-08-22

loved this series was a big hanna barbera fan from the mid 70's on you like to see dastardly and muttley I advise the original wacky races as well funny seeing these mugs chase yankee doddle pigeon all over the friensdly skies, the voice actors was done by paul winchell and don messick who both are no longer among us anymore thanks guys for the memories.

funny cartoon.......2007-08-12

I love Dastardly and Muttley. Muttley is so cute and funny dog. This cartoon is great tv show.

magnificent muttley .......2007-07-20

Brings back memories of my childhood when my only worry was getting that second bowl of Sugar Frosted Flakes . I loved the cartoon then, and I love it still. I can't help but laugh when Don Messick does the famous Muttley wheezy snicker . Also amazing to think that he and the great Paul " Tigger Mahoney " Winchell were the only voices in the cartoon .
Maybe I am an old fart , but I think the H-B cartoons are still the best
compared even to today's computer generated shows.

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop - The Complete Series

Average customer rating:

THE BEST OF THE THREE!!!!!!!!!
Great product
A Peril-Packed Package Proclaiming The Pertinence Of Something Beginning With 'P'
Para cuando un AMAZON en ESPAÑA???
At last it's on Dvd Yeah!!!!

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop - The Complete Series
Starring: Janet Waldo , Paul Winchell , Don Messick , Paul Lynde , and Mel Blanc
Director: Joseph Barbera , and William Hanna
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007QS31K
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Description

Pretty Penelope finds peril at every pit stop, pursued by Sylvester Sneakly (alias The Hooded Claw and also alias the incomparable voice of peerless Paul Lynde) until the notorious Ant Hill Mob somehow bumble to her rescue. But don't let Penelope's girly Southern belle drawl fool you. This damsel in distress can fight back, aided by her stylish retro-chic go-go boots! If you loved Wacky Races, you'll love this spoofy spinoff with Penelope Pitstop, the girl with beauty and brains (other than her inability to figure out Sneakly's dual identity). Enjoy all 17 fun-packed adventures in one racy package with a marvelous mob of DVD extras!

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST OF THE THREE!!!!!!!!!.......2007-08-23

When I bought Wacky Races, I thought it was very exciting and entertaining. But when I got Dastardly & Muttley, it was slightly better, just shorter cartoons.

Enter Perils Of Penelope Pitstop, this show was much better! It was more adventureous than it's predecessors. It had more of a hero, also. The only smidget flaw is that I think the villain needs a better laugh, but it's not a huge problem with me.

These shows were longer (20-21 minutes approximate runtime), and I love Janet Waldo! I think she was perfect for Penelope! I loved Paul Winchell & Mel Blanc. Don Messick kinda reminded me of other voices but he was good.

Now, I don't know if Paul Lynde was right for the villain or not, but otherwise, a great DVD! If you're looking for action, adventure, & comedy all rolled in one, get this DVD!!!

My Score: 9 out of 10 4.75 out of 5

Great product.......2007-08-09

Good cartoons, ideal for kids and people who enjoys good humor. It makes me forget about bad cartoons for children. All family comedy, great to spend the afternoon with children. It's a shame studios nowadays produce so conflictive cartoons. I recommend this product.

A Peril-Packed Package Proclaiming The Pertinence Of Something Beginning With 'P'.......2006-04-12

Penelope Pitstop returns to your TV screen in this DVD release, the third part of a trio consisting of WACKY RACES, DASTARDLY AND MUTTLEY IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES and THE PERILS OF PENELOPE PITSTOP. In the days of their release upon the public, they heralded Hanna-Barbera's return to gag-laden slapstick comedy that began with such series as YOGI BEAR and HUCKLEBERRY HOUND.

The plot is simple: Our semi-hapless heroine Penelope Pitstop, fresh from her tenure in WACKY RACES, is heir to a vast fortune of millions (which probably enables her to travel the world and have adventures, if this series is any indication). Unfortunately, her legal guardian Sylvester Sneekly, in his guise of the Hooded Claw, is determined to destroy Penelope and gain her fortune for himself. Hot on the trail to aid Penelope Pitstop are the Ant-Hill Mob (also from WR) and their loyal car Chugga-Boom, whose desperate attempts to rescue Penelope from the clutches of the Hooded Claw often wind up with the Mob having to be rescued by the strangely resourceful Penelope (who surely must be used to this sort of thing--after all, she DID race with Dick Dastardly).

By today's standards, this cartoon is dated, predictable and rather lame; however, it's lame in a way that can be described as unrepentant. It NEVER pretends to be more than it is, and it often manages to acknowledge its own goofiness simply by playing everything deadpan-straight. In this age of grossouts, fart jokes and pretentious self-referencing in cartoons, this is downright refreshing.

The voice cast features such HB stalwarts as Mel Blanc, Paul Winchell, Don Messick and Janet Waldo, who voices Mlle. Pitstop. Kudos must go to both the venerable Gary Owens as the Narrator, whose breakneck color commentary on the action provides a manic Greek chorus to the proceedings, and the uncredited Paul Lynde as Sylvester Sneekly/Hooded Claw, whose ridiculous Evil-Villain laugh and sarcastic asides on Penelope's perils mine occasional comic gold within this series. (In a featurette contained within this set, Janet Waldo recounts how Lynde could often crack up the entire cast during recording with a simple three-word-line, using only vocal characterization, timing and inflection.)

There is one glaring flaw in this set, which has already been mentioned by another reviewer, and is also why I gave it only three stars: each episode begins with annoying syndicated theme music rather than the original Pitstop theme, which undercuts the enjoyment of the episodes. (The original theme music can still be heard over the closing credits; why the syndicated theme was used I do not know. It can only be chalked up to decisions at Warner Bros, the studio who needed to be convinced that people would actually buy a JUSTICE LEAGUE box set.) All in all, TPOPP is an enjoyable series on the whole, so just fast-forward through the opening credits and wait for the proper theme music at the end, or wait until this set is re-released properly instead.

Para cuando un AMAZON en ESPAÑA???.......2005-09-20

PRESENTACION, CALIDAD Y PRECIO, TODO SE MERECE UN 10.

At last it's on Dvd Yeah!!!!.......2005-08-09

This is one dvd set that does not disappoint. It has lots of extras from commentary, interviews, and a collectible print. The cartoons are really good kept me laughing the whole time! The Ant Hill mob, Bully brothers and the hooded claw all add to the pure enjoyment of this dvd. Two thumbs up for this dvd set it was worth the wait.

Top Cat Complete Series / Wacky Races Complete Series

Average customer rating:

Top Cat Complete Series / Wacky Races Complete Series
Starring: Warner 2pak
Manufacturer: Hanna Barbera
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000AMJG3A
Release Date: 2005-10-11

DVD:

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