WACKY RACES Speeds Down Memory Lane

WACKY RACES: THE COMPLETE SERIES (Blu-ray)

1968 / 408 min

From Warner Archive Collection

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

While I wouldn’t bet my life on it, I’m pretty damn certain Wacky Races was the first Saturday morning cartoon I remember watching. I also seem to recall my sister and I eating enough Cheerios to collect all the boxtops required to get models of Dirk Dastardly and Penelope Pitstop’s cars. Of course, this makes me roughly 850 years old.

Back when Hanna-Barbara pretty much ruled Saturday mornings, they cranked out scores of shows that would never be mistaken for Disney, but were enough to placate undemanding kids sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. A few classics notwithstanding, most of them lasted only a season or two. In fact, only 17 episodes of Wacky Races were ever produced.

Originally airing in 1968, Wacky Races featured a variety of colorful characters and their crazy cars competing in a different location for each race. There were always two races per episode, and the winners earned the title of “World’s Wackiest Racer.” As a kid, the fun part was trying to predict who was going to win next because, other than Dirk Dastardly, it could have been anybody.

Dog is my co-pilot.

Looking back at it now, it’s pretty clear that Wacky Races was Hanna-Barbara’s answer to Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons, with Dastardly as the hapless coyote and everyone else taking turns being the Road Runner. Some episodes even copped a few of the same gags. And with such wild personalities behind the wheels of these cars, it’s amusing to think the show may have even been one of the inspirations for Death Race 2000.

For others in their mid-800s who might recall Wacky Races, this Blu-ray is a nifty slab of nostalgia. Though never as uproarious as we might remember, the show harks back to those bygone Saturday mornings when TV was created just for us. Adding to the fun is an assortment of bonus features that delve into the show's short history. Pour yourself a bowl of Cocoa Puffs and start your engines for a trip down memory lane.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Rearview Mirror: A Look Back at Wacky Races is an 18-minute retrospective of the show, including a few people who were involved in its production; Spin-Out Spin-Offs takes a look at various spin-offs featuring some of the characters from the original how.

AUDIO COMMENTARIES - For 4 individual races/segments.

TRIVIA TRACK - Episode #1 with pop-up text trivia.