Can you name the third most popular cartoon (as named by parents) of all time?
Airing from 1968 to 1970, Wacky Races would not have been my guess -- even though I watched it as a kid, along with the two spin-offs. The goofy cars take me back to my first ever blog post.
For me, it's all about the cars. The Creepy Coupe (above), driven by the Gruesome Twosome, nods to the Sixties monster craze and some of the themes in my long-ago post. The Boulder- mobile (bottom car) is driven by the Slag Brothers. Penelope Pitstop's car (top) was the Compact Pussycat.
The spin-offs? The Perils of Penelope Pitstop set the tone for neon pink girls' toys. Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines took Wacky Races' villains airborne.
And what were the poll's number one and two cartoons? The Simpsons, and Shrek. Of course, the poll appeared here: Simpsons Channel.com
I can't help wondering if a long shot like Wacky Races came in third to give this "poll" credibility.
(Images copyright Hanna-Barbera)
Late update, 2/23: My son tells me this cartoon reruns on some cable channel along with The Jetsons and the rest. I had no idea, but it offers a sliver of explanation.
