6.6 /10 1 Votes
5.8/10 TV Final episode date 30 November 1974 | 7.2/10 IMDb Country of origin United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genre AnimationAdventureComedy Written by Larz BourneLen JansonChuck MenvilleRobert OgleDalton Sandifer Voices of Frank WelkerDon MessickLennie WeinribPaul WinchellJudy Strangis Cast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 7, 1974 to August 30, 1975. It aired from 8:30-9:00 am, opposite the popular The Bugs Bunny Show. A total of 39 six-minute installments of the show were made (3 aired per show).
Contents
In the 80s, repeats were shown on USA Cartoon Express and later resurfaced on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Since the show aired on NBC, Wheelie sometimes "imitated" the network's trademark "chimes". This was the first and only Hanna-Barbera series to feature no humans and animals in it.
Plot
The series focuses on Wheelie, a red superhero Volkswagen Beetle, and his girlfriend Rota Ree (a pun on the "rotary engine"). Wheelie made his living as a professional - and quite successful - racing and stunt car. Wheelie only speaks in body sound effects, unlike the other characters in the show, but also emoted by his honking language and displaying symbols across his windshield monitor showing his inner thoughts such as a heart for love or a lightbulb for an idea. Wheelie could also produce any form of prop needed from his hood latch the use of special mechanized hands, much like Inspector Gadget would later.
Wheelie's regular nemeses were a 4-member motorcycle agency called the Chopper Bunch which included the leader Chopper (who was jealous of Wheelie and had a spiked motorcycle helmet for a head), Revs (a sputtering three-wheeled motorcycle who often mixed up his words), Hi-Riser (a tall bike but shorter in brains), and Scrambles (a small minibike who acted more like the good kid caught up in the wrong crowd).
Two other characters were used on occasion to keep the Chopper Bunch in line. They were Captain Tough, a hulking Police 4x4 vehicle, and police officer Fishtail, who is a motorcycle.
Comic book
A seven-issue comic book (based on the show) from Charlton Comics was published from July 1975 to July 1976. The first five issues featured some of the earliest published artwork of John Byrne (#2-4) and Joe Staton (#1,#5).
Episodes
Each 30-minute episode consists of three 6-minute cartoons.
Voices
Home Media releases
Episode 2 of Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch was included on Disc #1 of Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 1 released by Warner Home Video on May 26, 2009. On January 25, 2011, Warner Archive released Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.