Wacky Races: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)
Director
William Hanna, Joseph BarberaRelease Date(s)
1968-1969 (April 29, 2025)Studio(s)
Hanna-Barbera Productions/Heatter-Quigley Productions (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: B+
- Extras Grade: B-
Review
In response to critiques from parents at the time that most cartoon shows were about superheroes perpetuating violence, Hanna-Barbera Productions decided to go in a different direction, creating a smorgasbord of charming, kooky, and colorful characters for Wacky Races. Originally intended to have a game show element wherein children watching the shows could guess the winner of each segment and possibly win prizes, the show originally aired on CBS from 1968 to 1969 on Saturday mornings, co-produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions, producer of the original Hollywood Squares. Also a take-off on the film The Great Race, the show saw the various sets of characters driving their highly quirky racing cars all over the US, running into obstacles along their way, and attempting to win the title of “World’s Wackiest Racer.”
Commentated on by the race announcer (Dave Willock), the contestants consist of Peter Perfect (Daws Butler) in the Turbo Terrific; Rufus Ruffcut (Butler) and his beaver Sawtooth (Don Messick) in the Buzz Wagon; Sergeant Blast (Butler) and Private Meekly (Paul Winchell) in the Army Surplus Special; the Ant Hill Mob, led by Clyde (Winchell) with Ring-A-Ding (Messick), Rug Bug Benny, Mac, Danny, Kirby, and Willy, in the Bulletproof Bomb; Professor Pat Pending (Messick) in the Convert-a-Car; Penelope Pitstop (Janet Waldo) in the Compact Pussycat; The Slag Brothers, Rock and Gravel, in the Boulder Mobile; The Gruesome Twosome, Tiny “Big Gruesome” (Butler) and Bela “Little Gruesome” (Messick), in the Creepy Coupe; The Red Max (Butler) in the Crimson Haybaler; Lazy Luke (John Stephenson) and Blubber Bear (also Stephenson) in the Arkansas Chuggabug; and Dick Dastardly (Winchell) and his dog Muttley (Messick) in the Mean Machine.
Unlike any other cartoon show at the time, even among Hanna-Barbera’s myriad of other productions, Wacky Races is still a fun show today. Watching Dastardly and Muttley hilariously attempting and failing to stop the other racers and cheat their way to the finish line, only to receive swift comeuppance, is comparable to the Coyote trying to get his hands on Road Runner, but never quite succeeding. The other drivers use their owns sets of gimmicks to get themselves in and out of various jams along their routes, as well, especially Professor Pat Pending whose Convert-a-Car can do just about anything. Penelope Pitstop, the Ant Hill Mob would, and Dastardly and Muttley would eventually get their own spin-offs, being the show’s most popular characters, and a reboot premiered on Cartoon Network’s Boomerang channel in 2017, lasting for a couple of seasons. Sadly, it didn’t have the same flair or staying power as the original show.
Wacky Races was produced using traditional cel animation, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The Warner Archive Collection brings all 17 episodes of the show to Blu-ray for the first time, restored using 4K scans of the original camera negatives, and presented on two dual-layered BD-50 discs. While some grain management has definitely been applied, the show has never looked better, with sharper and more enhanced detail, and bitrates that sit between 25 and 35Mbps most of the time. Line art is never compromised and the show features vibrant color with deep blacks and excellent contrast. It’s also stable and clean with the original flaws in the animation left intact. The only minor caveat is the fact that the brief bridging material between episodes that informs viewers to stick around for the next segment hasn’t been included. To be fair, it hasn’t been a part of the show for decades, and if you’re truly curious about it, you can find it easily on Youtube. Otherwise, the show is complete, with the original closing credits and narration.
The audio is presented in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Though it lacks any real dynamics as a split-container mono source, the audio is clean with fine support for the various elements. There are no instances of hiss, crackle, or dropouts, and it’s a consistent and evenly-balanced presentation.
The Warner Archive Collection spreads Wacky Races: The Complete Series across two Region-Free 1080p Blu-ray discs alongside an insert that re-uses the artwork from the 2006 Classic Collection and 2017 Diamond Collection DVD releases. Episodes of the show can be watched all at once, individually by episode, or by individual segment. The following episodes and segments, as well as bonus materials, are presented on each disc.
DISC ONE (EPISODES 1-9)
- See-Saw to Arkansas / Creepy Trip to Lemon Twist (21:43)
- Why Oh Why Wyoming / Beat the Clock to Yellow Rock (21:49)
- Mish Mash Missouri Dash / Idaho A Go Go (21:38)
- The Baja-Ha-Ha Race / Real Gone Ape (21:50)
- Scout Scatter / Free Wheeling to Wheeling (21:39)
- By Rollercoaster to Upsan Downs / The Speedy Arkansas Traveller (21:51)
- The Zippy Mississippi Race / Traffic Jambalaya (21:37)
- Hot Race to Chillicothe / The Wrong Lumber Race (21:43)
- Rhode Island Road Race / The Great Cold Rush Race (21:38)
DISC TWO (EPISODES 10-17)
- Wacky Race to Ripsaw / Oils Well That Ends Well (21:36)
- Whizzin’ to Washington / The Dipsy Doodle Desert Derby (21:30)
- Eeny, Miny Missouri Go! / The Super Silly Swamp Sprint (21:39)
- The Dopey Dakota Derby / Dash to Delaware (21:31)
- Speeding for Smogland / Race Rally to Raleigh (21:47)
- Ballpoint, Penn. or Bust! / Fast Track to Hackensack (21:37)
- The Ski Resort Road Race / Overseas Hi-Way Race (21:27)
- Race to Racine / The Carlsbad or Bust Bash (21:33)
- Rearview Mirror: A Look Back at Wacky Races (SD – 19:45)
- Spin-Out Spin-Offs (SD – 10:50)
- Wacky Facts Trivia Track (SD – 21:38)
- Commentaries with Iwao Takamoto, Earl Kress, Jerry Eisenberg, and Scott Shaw:
- Ballpoint, Penn. or Bust (SD – 11:49)
- Fast Track to Hackensack (SD – 11:58)
- The Ski Resort Road Race (SD – 11:53)
- Overseas Hi-Way Race (SD – 11:45)
Rearview Mirror reflects on the show while Spin-Out Spin-Offs takes a look at the show’s spin-offs The Perils of Penelope Pitstop and Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (though Fender Bender 500 goes unacknowledged), featuring interviews with Warner Bros. Animation producer Scott Jeralds, production designer Iwao Takamoto, designer Scott Awley, writer and producer Paul Dini, cartoonist and animation historian Scott Shaw, voice actor Janet Waldo, writer and animation historian Earl Kress, and character designer Jerry Eisenberg. The Wacky Facts Trivia Track provides pop-up style trivia across the bottom of the screen for the entire first episode. Last is a set of commentaries for four episodes, presented separately in standard definition, with Iwao Takamoto, Earl Kress, Jerry Eisenberg, and Scott Shaw.
Hanna-Barbera’s output doesn’t always hold up to modern standards, but Wacky Races endures as one of the company’s most original concepts that’s full of laughs and fun characters. Warner Archive’s Blu-ray release of the show looks excellent and should please long-time fans. Highly recommended.
- Tim Salmons
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