Wacky Races fans I bet this is something that you never saw coming not one but two reviews for the franchise yes you read that right i'm reviewing both of the spin off shows it's something i've wanted to do for sometime but have always put it off well no more here is my review of both Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines And The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
The set up for Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines is the duo along with new characters Zilly and Klunk try and stop a pigeon. Yeah it's a simple set up and I think that it does work however they don't explain why Dastardly and Muttley are no longer racing nor what happend to The Mean Machine.
The set up for The Perils of Penelope Pitstop is that Penelope is an heiress and with the help of The Ant Hill Mob must escape the clutches of her enemy The Hooded Claw. It really is hard for me to say if this set up is genius or just dumb because there are times where this set up just doesn't work but then there are times where it does.
Reprising their roles in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop are Janet Waldo , Don Messick and Paul Winchell and they are joined by the legendary Mel Blanc and Paul Lynde. There's not much I can really say acting wise since alot of these actors are true legends but honestly the acting is the best part of the show and that's not really saying much given the fact the rest of the show isn't that good.
What makes Dastardly And Muttley standout is the fact that it only stars two actors Paul Winchell and Don Messick even tho there both reprising there roles as Dastardly And Muttley they also play every character on the show and they each have very distinct voices.
The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop has one very major issue and it's one that they repeat all the time in the intro and it's the fact that Penelope's guardian is called Sylvester Sneekly and as if I need to point this out he's The Hooded Claw the only hint Penelope ever needs to tell her that he's evil is the fact that his last name is Sneekly it has the word Sneek right there it just makes her look dumb.
The animation for both shows was done by legendary studio Hanna-Barbera and the animation honestly isn't that bad which is to be expected given that William Hanna and Joseph Barbera directed every episode of both shows however both shows also contain alot of animation errors some of which aren't that bad for example Muttley's ears change colors a few times but one is downright terrifying I kid you not there's a scene in The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop where The Ant Hill Mob are shown without faces.
Dastardly And Muttley does something that i think is rather unique because it takes two characters who are villainess in one show and it keeps them as the villains in their own show I really cannot think of a show that has done that or would even give a villain their own spin off series.
What really did shock me was the fact that not only did both shows air on the same network but they also aired at exactly the same time with both shows debuting September 13th 1969 and they both lasted seventeen episodes with Dastardly And Muttley last airing on January 3rd 1970 and Penelope Pitstop last airing around ten or say days later on January 17th 1970.
Anyone who's anyone will tell you that having two spin off air at the exact same time is unheard of and I can't think of a reason why CBS / Hanna-Barbera did it with these spin off yes Wacky Races was a hit but it wasn't a major hit like The Flintstones so surely airing them at separate times would have been better.
Another one of the things that really did bug about The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop is the fact that's really boring Dastardly And Muttley isn't a good show by any means but it was fun at least this show is just boring to watch the set up makes the show seem more interesting then it actually is alot of the time it's Penelope getting captured and The Ant Hill Mob have to save her and after the first episode it get's old really freaking fast.
Humor wise it's hard for me to say which show is funnier because at times I did laugh at both shows and given that the writers for Dastardly And Muttley included the legendary Michael Maltese and The perils of Penelope Pitstop was written by Maltese and Scooby-Doo creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears you can see why it's hard for me to say which show had me laughing the most however I do have to give major props to Perils for at least mentioning Dick Dastardly.
Overall Dastardly And Muttley In Their Flying Machines is easily the better show but that's only because i'm comparing it to The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop if your a Wacky Races fan then I see no harm in checking out these shows but for me Dastardly And Muttley scores a 5.5 out of 10 and The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop scores a 4.5 out of 10.