Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on NBC from September 7, 1974 to November 30, 1974. With an ensemble voice cast consisting of Frank Welker, Judy Strangis, Paul Winchell and Lennie Weinrib, the show follows a humanlike Volkswagen Beetle named Wheelie and an evil motorcycle gang known as the "Chopper Bunch". The series was produced by Iwao Takamoto, executively produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and directed by Charles A. Nichols. An accompanying comic book series, with contributions from artist John Byrne, debuted in May 1975, although he quit while finishing his second issue as he was unsatisfied with his creative control and felt he was overcompensated for his work. Other artists completed the series, which totaled seven comic books.
In addition to Hanna-Barbera's Speed Buggy (1973) and Wonder Wheels (1977-78), the three series were commonly grouped together due to the similarities in plot and characters. Reception-wise, several critics reacted negatively to the violence and portrayal of motorcycles in the series, prompting viewers to write letters to NBC in hopes that the show would be pulled off the air. Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch had a total of 13 episodes, each consisting of 3 segments, or a total of 39 segments. It has since been released on DVD as part of Warner Bros.' Archive Collection on a three disc set.
Video Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch
Premise
The series takes place in a land full of sentient automobiles and focuses on Wheelie, his girlfriend Rota Ree, and a motorcycle group colloquially known as the "Chopper Bunch". A writer for Cycle World described the premise of the show: "Wheelie, a car, is the hero, and the villains are a bunch of choppers who do everything dirty to get Wheelie, the clean, all-American car." Nearly every episode of the series focused on the Chopper Bunch attempting to outsmart Wheelie despite their continual failed attempts. The show negatively depicted motorcycles and motorcyclists, and the Chopper Bunch typically received consequences for their actions which often involved the police.
Maps Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch
Characters
The series features the following five main characters throughout its run:
- Wheelie (voiced by Frank Welker) is a red Volkswagen Beetle who serves as the series' lead. Depicted as the show's hero with humanlike capabilities, Wheelie often gets into battles and struggles with the "Chopper Bunch", a group of evil and menacing motorcycles.
- Chopper (voiced by Frank Welker) is the leader of the "Chopper Bunch" who often tries to steal Rota Ree, Wheelie's girlfriend, away from him.
- Rota Ree (voiced by Judy Strangis) is Wheelie's girlfriend who is constantly subject to the unwanted affections of Chopper.
- Revs (voiced by Paul Winchell) is a member of the "Chopper Bunch" who has a "snickering" personality.
- Hi Riser (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) is a member of the "Chopper Bunch" who is unintelligent.
Don Messick, a frequent voice actor for Hanna-Barbera productions, also provided voices for several minor characters, including Scrambles and Fishtail.
Production
Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch premiered in 1973, nearly one year after the debut of Speed Buggy, another Hanna-Barbera cartoon with similar themes. Executively produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's Hanna-Barbera Productions, Charles A. Nichols served as the series' director. Several writers contributed to the series, including Lars Bourne, Len Janson, Chuck Menville, Robert Ogle, and Dalton Sandifer. The show's official theme song was composed by Hoyt Curtin, Barbera, and Hanna. Curtin also served as the series' music composer. Iwao Takamoto, who had previously worked on several series for Hanna-Barbera productions in the past, solely produced Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch.
Broadcast history
Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch was broadcast on NBC as part of their Saturday morning children's lineup between September 7 and November 30, 1974; and before being cancelled, it continued to air regularly on the network until August 30, 1975. The series featured a total of 13 episodes with 3 segments each, bringing a total of 39 segments overall. During its original allocated time slot, the show rivaled The Bugs Bunny Show on ABC and repeats of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! on CBS; it also aired immediately following the animated adaptation of The Addams Family and right before Emergency +4 on NBC.
In syndication, the series was replayed on several television networks after its cancellation. USA Network ran the series beginning May 16, 1989 and until March 28, 1991. Sister channels Cartoon Network and Boomerang have broadcast Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch on multiple occasions since their initial launch; the former began reruns in 1995 while the latter started in 2000. The episode featuring "Double Cross Country", "The Infiltrator", and "The Stunt Show" was featured on the Warner Bros. Presents DVD compilation Saturday Morning Cartoons - 1970's Volume 1 and released on May 26, 2009. As part of the Warner Bros. Television Distribution's Archive Collection, the complete Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch series was made available on DVD as a three-disc set.
Comic book series
In 1975, comic book artist John Byrne was commissioned to create a series of books to coincide with broadcasts of the series. Published by Charlton Comics, it would also serve as Byrne's first series of comic books. After the first issue was distributed in May 1975, Hanna-Barbera asked Byrne to create a mellower second issue, as the debut was considered "too scary" by executives. The second issue discouraged Byrne from creating anymore books, so he ended the series with just two issues. Byrne also said he also felt wrong for accepting the large amounts of money from Hanna-Barbera, which he stated was fifty dollars per page. Despite this, further issues were created by artists other than Byrne. A total of seven issues were made, with the final one circulating in July 1976.
Episodes
Reception
Critical response
Following the initial debut of the series, it received criticism and negative feedback on several aspects. Jack Anderson and Les Whitten, journalists for The Sumter Daily Item, felt that several animated television shows on NBC embodied too much violence, and listed Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Speed Buggy, The Pink Panther, and Bugs Bunny as the most "aggressive" ones on the channel. In their concerns, they claimed that children watching the series were more likely to be prone to negative "social behavior" around others. Ultimately, the two recommended that younger viewers watch Hanna-Barbera's Devlin due to its inclusion of "no aggression, [...] altruism, and [...] acts of sympathy explaining feelings".
In response to the motorcycles being negatively depicted on the show, a concerned viewer named Eric L. Van Duson wrote to Cycle in 1975 expressing disgust. He claimed that the portrayals of motorcycles could perhaps "brainwash [...] little kids" into thinking that motorcyclists are "nasty". Reacting to Hanna-Barbera creating several series with vehicles serving as the main characters, such as Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, author David Perlmutter found the use of "humanized automobiles" to be too predictable and repetitive. However, in a retrospective view of older cartoons, the staff at MeTV included the show on their list of "15 Forgotten Cartoons from the Early 1970s You Used to Love".
Legacy
Along with Speed Buggy and Wonder Wheels, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch was one of the many Hanna-Barbera productions that incorporated automobiles able to talk and act like humans into animation; these three shows were dubbed together as a "trilogy" by Perlmutter. Additionally, it was listed as "the precursor to the numerous series featuring vehicles as super-heroes" that would arrive on television in both the 1980s and the 1990s. On the 2003 compilation album Cartoon Network: Toon a Rama, the official theme song for Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch was included on the track listing.
References
Citations
Bibliography
External links
- Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch on IMDb
- Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch at TV.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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