In Wacky Races, Penelope Pitstop drives a pink car loaded with beauty products called the Compact Pussycat, almost like a beauty salon on wheels! The car didn't feature in The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop, a spin-off from Wacky Races which was first shown on September 13th 1969. Instead, she usually drove a green sports car.
The cartoon show lasted for two seasons, with each of the 17 episodes lasting for around half an hour. Each episode would be based in a different location across the globe, and was similar to some of the silent films from the early 20th century.
Penelope was the damsel-in-distress, with an evil villain (The Hooded Claw and his helpers The Bully Brothers) out to destroy her. Other characters in the series were a reinvented Ant Hill Mob (who were very much like the silent movie characters The Keystone Cops), and Dick Dastardly and Muttley, although the latter only featured in earlier episodes and were later dropped.
The Ant Hill mob were very different to the gang that featured in The Wacky Races, and would now rush to Penelope's rescue whenever she was in trouble, although they weren't very successful with their attempts.
Glamour puss Penelope Pitstop driving the Compact Pussycat car in Wacky Races. Her catchphrase was "Help, help!" spoken in an affected upper-class, Southern U.S. accent.
"I'll protect you from the Hooded Claw". Except he is wearing a hat (not a hood) and doesn't appear to have a claw. That menacing laugh always sent a shiver down my spine!
The new Anthill Mob with Chugga-Boom
"Heyelp!"
The Evil Bully Brothers
The Anthill Mob Characters
The reinvented gang were based on a combination of The Keystone Cops and The Seven Dwarfs. New names were given to each character apart from Clyde.
Clyde - the gang leader Dum Dum - lived up to his name and was usually responsible for the gang's failed plans Pockets - could produce just about anything helpful (often over-sized) from his numerous pockets Snoozy - this dozy character was always sleeping on the job Softy - spent a lot of time blubbering Yak Yak - never stopped talking! Zippy - a fast mover and talker
The Bulletproof Bomb car that featued in The Wacky Races was replaced with Chugga-Boom which was voiced by Mel Blanc.
