Wacky Races

1968

Seasons & Episodes

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7.5| TV-G| en| More Info
Released: 14 September 1968 Ended
Producted By: Hanna-Barbera Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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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.

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Hanna-Barbera Productions

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Wacky Races Audience Reviews

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Julia Arsenault (ja_kitty_71) As a fan of Hanna/Barbera, I would watch a few of their TV series like "Scooby Doo" and "The Flintstones", and also films like "Charlotte's Web" and "Heidi's Song." I remember watching Wacky Races when it was the TV channel Teletoon a long, long time ago, and the lovely Penelope Pitstop and her "Compact Pussycat" was my favorite racer. Though I don't know why her car was called the "Compact Pussycat", it didn't looked like a cat.The series had become successful, that they had made two spin-off series called "Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines" and "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop"; my favorite spin-off series is "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop". So overall, I love the show and it has become another Hanna/Barbera favorite. R.I.P, Bill and Joe.
ccook45 "Wacky Races" was created in response to the rather violent adventure/superhero cartoons of the previous two seasons, and even upon its premiere, it was blackballed by the watchdog group Action For Children's Television. They claimed that since it was bankrolled by game show producers Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley ("Hollywood Squares"), it was enticing children to place monetary wagers on the outcome of each of the show's 34 races. (Hogwash. I had the over/under on how many times Dick Dastardly's contraptions backfired on him.) For all the atypical Hanna-Barbera use of repeat animation and low-budget movement, "Wacky Races" was still an unusual and entertaining cartoon which would beget such shows as "Bailey's Comets," "Laff-A-Lympics" and "Yogi's Space Race." A lot of the humor derived from Dastardly's machinations, although many of the other racers got to shine as well. In the Gold Key comics, Penelope Pitstop would eliminate Peter Perfect and Red Max by conveniently getting them to fight over her. That wasn't used in the show, although it should have. And it's dotted with great lines. When the narrator calls Dastardly "The Dracula of the drag strip," Dastardly counters "I resent that remark!" Narrator: "But do you deny it?" Dastardly: "No, I just resent it!" It's a comedy cartoon that doesn't forget it's a comedy cartoon, something that many cartoon shows of the 70s and 80s forgot.And a bit of trivia, Dastardly did cross the finish line twice but was disqualified both times. The first time he extended the nose of the Mean Machine ahead of the others (yet in another episode, Rufus Ruffcut physically extended his neck to reach the finish line and the judges gave him the win--go figure). The second time, a chain reaction collision caused Dastardly and Muttley to get bounced into the Arkansas Chuggabug, which was in the lead. Dastardly also set a precedent the following year--being the first (and to anyone's knowledge, only) villain to get his own show, "Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines.
ashleighm I love wacky races. It is just about the only type of racing I actually enjoy. Believe it or not, fans, I can't stand Dick Dastardly. He didn't seem to have one ounce of humanity in him, and was willing to kill the other drivers to win. Because of this, it was hilarious to see his fiendish schemes go wrong.
smicalef A Hanna-Barbera classic, i would probably rate this in the top 5 H-B cartoons of all time. Its a half hour show, with about 8 wild looking cars duelling out to the end. Dick Dastardly was H-B's Wile E. Coyote, using many contraptions to try and stop his opponents. Only difference was that Dick's partner, the snikering Muttley, is there to openly laugh at Dick's foul ups. Cartoon stands the test of time, being funny today as much as it was when it first aired. My personal favorite was the Ant Hill Mob.