Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Dreadfully Boring

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

For only one year, this classic series featured eleven drivers and they tried to win the race. Featuring an all star cast of voice over actors including Janet Waldo, Paul Winchell, Daws Butler, Don Messick, and John Stevenson. Each race Dastardly and Muttley (Winchell and Messick respectfully) would try to cheat to win the race however, no matter what they do, they (esepectly Dastardly) would always get the worst of it. Meanwhile, the others would get sidetracked Dastardly's ideas and yet eventually return to the race to run up front. Now on occasion, they would show the viewers the finishing orders for the other ten drivers but it's usually the top three finishers only. Then the camera would pull back to see the end result of Dastardly's final idea. The series would eventually spawned not one but two spin-offs for Penelope (Waldo) and Dastardly just one year later. I highly recommend this classic series.10 out of 10.

When I was five, this was one of my favorite cartoons--along with the followup series involving Dick Dastardly and the flying machines. I watched most every episode and carried memories of it being a good show into my adulthood. However, as I grew, I also came to realize that the quality of the Hanna-Barbera toons of the 60s-70s were absolutely abysmal. So I was left wondering just how good were the Dick Dastardly cartoons? I loved them as a kid but now realized they couldn't have been quite as good as I thought.Well, a few years back, I had the chance to see some of them again on the Boomerang TV cable channel and was shocked to see just how terrible they really were. Not only were they very crudely animated, they simply weren't funny. But, considering I was only five, I guess I can be forgiven for having watched them. These wretched cartoons are only good for either very young kids who don't know any better or to be used in order to interrogate members of Al Qaeda--if they are shown this @#$&!! they are sure to beg for mercy and talk! This review is practically identical to the one I posted for the Dick Dastardly and the Flying Machines show. Both starred a lot of the same characters as well as horrendous animation and writing. To me they are practically the same awful show! Don't watch this unless you are a masochist.

"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.

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.