The Corner Penthouse

Warner Brothers recently released the Wacky Races (1968): The Complete Series Blu-ray. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

Start your engines! Diabolical do-badder Dick Dastardly, his snickering canine cohort Muttley and their Mean Machine take on you and all comers for all the fast and furious fun of the complete animated series Wacky Races. Gear up to keep pace with this dimwitted duo as well as their rivals: Peter Perfect in his Turbo Terrific, Luke and Blubber Bear in the Arkansas Chucgabug, the Ant Hill Mob in the Bulletproof Bomb and glamorous Penelope Pitstop in her pink Compact Pussycat.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

The show is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The 17 episodes run for approximately 21:35 each. The show has not been rated. Audio languages include English. Subtitle languages English SDH.

It should be noted that the Warner Archive team made the effort to present these episodes in a format much closer to original broadcasts than their older DVD counterparts. This Blu-ray set assembles all 17 episodes in their original two-part format with opening and closing credits for each one. Unfortunately, the mid-show bumpers were not part of the negatives and the only available copies were from poor-quality elements deemed unusable. That said, the two bumpers that were included as DVD Easter eggs should have been included as extras, but they were not ported over. I suspect they were overlooked, as DVD Easter eggs (and DVD game "prize win" videos) usually are. I've embedded them at the end of this review for reference.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below can be found the second Blu-ray disc. It was all produced in 2004 and ported over from the Complete Series DVD set.

• Rearview Mirror: A Look Back at Wacky Races (19:45) - Production designer Iwao Takamoto, animation artist Jerry Eisenberg, and voice actress Janet Waldo discuss the series.
• Spin-out Spinoffs (10:50) - Iwao Takamoto, Janet Waldo, Jerry Eisenberg and others discuss the spin-offs Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
• Wacky Facts Trivia Track (21:38) - This is a standard definition transfer of Episode 1 of burnt-in animated trivia displayed at the bottom of the screen.
• Audio Commentaries - These appear on standard definition transfers of the segments noted below, which are presented with opening and closing credits. This is not how these segments aired originally, since each segment was one-half of a complete episode.
  * Ballpoint, Penn. or Bust (11:49) - with production designer Iwao Takamoto, artist Jerry Eisenberg, animation historian and former H-B employee Earl Kress, and animation artist Scott Shaw.
  * Fast Track to Hackensack (11:58) - with artist Jerry Eisenberg, animation historian and former H-B employee Earl Kress, and animation artist Scott Shaw.
  * The Ski Resort Road Race (11:53) - with production designer Iwao Takamoto, artist Jerry Eisenberg, animation historian and former H-B employee Earl Kress, and animation artist Scott Shaw.
  * Overseas Hi-Way Race (11:45) - with artist Jerry Eisenberg, animation historian and former H-B employee Earl Kress, and animation artist Scott Shaw.

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

No digital copy code voucher is included inside the standard two-disc blue Blu-ray case.

[ NOTES ]

Wacky Races (1968): The Complete Series is available on Blu-ray, DVD (Original HB Classics), and DVD (Diamond Edition) (alt url).

The spin-off series are currently only available on DVD, but I hope they will be released on Blu-ray soon. Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines: Original Black Case and Re-Release Red Case. The Perils of Penelope Pitstop: Original Black Case and Re-Release Red Case

The only way the Blu-ray set could get better is if it included these two commercial bumpers (in rough shape, meant to appear in the middle of the episode between the two race segments), which were Easter eggs on the 2004 DVD. The two bumpers are virtually identical (aside from the color), with the only difference being the music in the background, and Muttley facing a different direction in the final shot.



This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.