Dick Dastardly
Encyclopedia
Dick Dastardly is a fictional character
and antagonist
who appeared in various animated series by Hanna-Barbera
Productions. Dastardly's most famous appearances are main character in the series Wacky Races
(his initial appearance) and its spin-off
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines
. He is essentially a caricature of the English actor Terry-Thomas
, and of Professor Fate, a comic villain played by Jack Lemmon
in the film The Great Race
. The character was voiced originally by Paul Winchell
, then by Rob Paulsen
and currently by Jim Cummings
. Winchell and Cummings have shared another role: Tigger
from Winnie-the-Pooh
stories. Chikao Ōhtsuka
does the voice of Dick Dastardly in Japanese. Winchell's facial structures were caricatured in the character design as well.
. As his name implies, Dastardly aimed to win solely through cheating and trickery. His race car, "The Mean Machine", featured all sorts of devious traps for him to use against his opponents. As Wacky Races is inspired by the film The Great Race
, so was Dastardly derived from the film's chief villain, Professor Fate, played by Jack Lemmon
. Dastardly in this series wore old-fashioned racer's gear — a long blue overcoat, long red gloves, and a large striped hat with driving goggles attached, and sporting a handlebar mustache.
Dastardly was aided in his schemes by his sidekick, a scruffy dog
named Muttley
who had a distinctive wheezy laugh, heard most often when Dastardly's schemes failed.
Despite Dastardly and Muttley's attempts, the "double-dealing do-badders", as the opening narration of Wacky Races describes them, failed to win a single race. Dastardly's plans were always foiled either by his or Muttley's incompetence, the actions of another racer, or sheer bad luck, resulting in Dastardly crossing the finish line last, if at all. On some occasions Dastardly is very close to winning but will fail at the final hurdle. Once Dastardly had an opportunity to win legitimately, but stopped in front of the finish line to pose for his picture as it was a photo finish
. Another time he came close to winning the race, but stopped to sign an autograph
for Muttley, ending up in fourth place again.
On one further occasion, in an episode which was voted the worst of the series, Dastardly supposedly won the race, but it was revealed he had cheated by extending the nose of his car (even though the actual finish showed no such cheating, implying that the judges possibly had the replay footage altered out of bias. However, in the DVD release of this scene the photo finish was covered with smoke, thereby adding even more questions to this scene). After the replay, the Mean Machine's nose remained extended until Muttley - once more abused by his master after snickering - kicked the nose back into its closed position on Dastardly's hand. This may imply that the "actual finish", not the replay, was altered.
Often it appears that if Dastardly had not bothered to cheat he may have won fairly. Upon tasting defeat, Dastardly would utter his catchphrases, "Drat, drat, and double drat!", "Triple drat!" and even "Curses, foiled again!" His other main catchphrase was "Muttley, do something!" Excluding Dastardly and Muttley, each of the other racers won three or four of the Wacky Races.
and Dastardly's appearance is based on the film's villain, Sir Percival Ware-Armitage, played by Terry-Thomas
. Dastardly and Muttley with two other pilots; Zilly, a coward who used to hide in his clothes when he was ordered to deploy, and Klunk, the mechanic/inventor, who speaks a language largely composed of strange sounds that only Zilly can understand, comprised the "Vulture Squadron". The squadron constantly attempt to stop a messenger pigeon
"Yankee Doodle pigeon" from delivering messages to an opposing army, often with the song "Stop the Pigeon" playing; one typical scene show the "Vulture Squadron" planes all converging from different directions on "Yankee Doodle Pigeon" but end up crashing into one another-while the bird remains unharmed. As in Wacky Races, Dastardly continued to fail miserably at his mission, only coming near to success on a single occasion.
The series is commonly known as 'Catch the Pigeon' or 'Stop the Pigeon', based on the original working title and the series' theme song.
. In those segments, the duo once again appeared in a suped-up version of the Mean Machine as a monster truck called the Dirty Truckster (a pun on their phrase "dirty trickster"), but raced against such Hanna-Barbera stalwarts as Yogi Bear and Quick Draw McGraw
. In this series, they were actually able to pull off a win when racing to Russia's 'Red Square.' Unfortunately the prize was simply a red square of paper, and not the deed to the Russian capital as the title of 'red square' would imply. In another Fender Bender race (The 'Hit 'n' Mississippi 500'), he plays on Yogi Bear
's famous catchphrase of being 'smarter than the average bear' by claiming to be 'smarter than the average cheat'.
, there was a similar looking (and sounding) character to Dastardly named "The Dread Baron", voiced by John Stephenson
. In fact, the similarity caused the translators in Brazil to mistake him for Dastardly (in issue #12 of the Laff-A-Lympics comic book by Marvel Comics, Dread Baron and Dastardly are twin brothers). The character's name is an obvious pun on the name of the infamous World War I
fighter pilot, the Red Baron
. In this series, the Dread Baron was seen wearing a World War I-era German
fighter pilot's uniform. The Dread Baron accompanied Mumbly, a dog that was very similar to Muttley, only with grey fur, and an orange trenchcoat. Mumbly actually had his own series in which he was a detective, and in a role-reversal, Mumbly acted as the team captain of the Really Rottens in Laugh a Lympics with the Dread Baron and others serving as team members. The two later appeared in the made-for-TV movie Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose
, where the Dread Baron and Mumbly are first seen in Dick Dastardly's plane from Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. In 2007, Dastardly makes a brief cameo as himself in a Cartoon Network
commercial when - complete with a cartoon bomb - he is let into CN headquarters because he has the proper ID with him - beating out Yogi Bear
, who has forgotten his ID and can't get in.
It is not certain why Dread Baron and especially Mumbly (who was a good guy in his original series) were used in roles that were identical to Dastardly and Muttley, especially for the Yogi Bear movie. Previously, it was assumed that Dread Baron was created as a substitute because Paul Winchell wasn't available for Laff-a-Lympics, where John Stephenson provided the Baron's voice. However, Winchell was available for the Yogi Bear TV movie, yet voiced the Dread Baron, not Dastardly. It's also been speculated that Hanna-Barbera
didn't completely own the rights to Dick Dastardly and Muttley and the two characters were in essence shared with another company, Heatter-Quigley Productions
, who refused to allow the character names to be used in those specific programs and thus new characters had to be created.
The Dread Baron also bears some similarities to the Red Max, another character from the Wacky Races series.
, where they (especially Dastardly) would have been perfect villains given the tone and the Perils of Pauline
references, rather they were imagined to be the bodyguards of a younger brother of Penelope. However, this was only in the first sketches of the series, and the two did not appear in the final work. At one of their encounters, the Hooded Claw did ask Penelope, "Were you expecting Dick Dastardly?" possibly in reference to the above unshot scene.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
who appeared in various animated series by Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
Productions. Dastardly's most famous appearances are main character in the series Wacky Races
Wacky Races
Wacky Races is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with each driver hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer." Wacky Races ran on CBS from September...
(his initial appearance) and its spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines
Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines is a cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for CBS. Originally the series was broadcast as a Saturday morning cartoon, airing from September 13, 1969 to January 3, 1970...
. He is essentially a caricature of the English actor Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
, and of Professor Fate, a comic villain played by Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
in the film The Great Race
The Great Race
The Great Race is a 1965 slapstick comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood, directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, and with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Russell Harlan. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn,...
. The character was voiced originally by Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell
Paul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, voice actor and comedian, whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s...
, then by Rob Paulsen
Rob Paulsen
Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
and currently by Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
. Winchell and Cummings have shared another role: Tigger
Tigger
Tigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
from Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
stories. Chikao Ōhtsuka
Chikao Ohtsuka
is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo currently represented by Aoni Production. He is the father of Akio Ōtsuka, another voice actor, and they occasionally perform together...
does the voice of Dick Dastardly in Japanese. Winchell's facial structures were caricatured in the character design as well.
Wacky Races
In Wacky Races, Dastardly was one of the drivers who competed in each episode for first place in a long and hazard-filled cross-country road rallyRoad rally
A road rally is a car rally that takes place on the public road. It is a popular sport in the United Kingdom, especially Wales, and has traditionally been the core of the "grass roots" of club-based amateur motorsport. However it has declined in popularity since the 1980s and now stage rallies are...
. As his name implies, Dastardly aimed to win solely through cheating and trickery. His race car, "The Mean Machine", featured all sorts of devious traps for him to use against his opponents. As Wacky Races is inspired by the film The Great Race
The Great Race
The Great Race is a 1965 slapstick comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood, directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, and with music by Henry Mancini and cinematography by Russell Harlan. The supporting cast includes Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn,...
, so was Dastardly derived from the film's chief villain, Professor Fate, played by Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
. Dastardly in this series wore old-fashioned racer's gear — a long blue overcoat, long red gloves, and a large striped hat with driving goggles attached, and sporting a handlebar mustache.
Dastardly was aided in his schemes by his sidekick, a scruffy dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
named Muttley
Muttley
Muttley is a Hanna-Barbera animated fictional character created by Iwao Takamoto and originally voiced by Don Messick. In the 2000 Wacky Races videogame he was voiced by Billy West.-Bio:...
who had a distinctive wheezy laugh, heard most often when Dastardly's schemes failed.
Despite Dastardly and Muttley's attempts, the "double-dealing do-badders", as the opening narration of Wacky Races describes them, failed to win a single race. Dastardly's plans were always foiled either by his or Muttley's incompetence, the actions of another racer, or sheer bad luck, resulting in Dastardly crossing the finish line last, if at all. On some occasions Dastardly is very close to winning but will fail at the final hurdle. Once Dastardly had an opportunity to win legitimately, but stopped in front of the finish line to pose for his picture as it was a photo finish
Photo finish
A photo finish occurs in a sporting race, when two competitors cross the finishing line at near the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to discriminate between which of the competitors crossed the line first, a strip photo, a series of rapidly triggered photographs, or a video taken at the...
. Another time he came close to winning the race, but stopped to sign an autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
for Muttley, ending up in fourth place again.
On one further occasion, in an episode which was voted the worst of the series, Dastardly supposedly won the race, but it was revealed he had cheated by extending the nose of his car (even though the actual finish showed no such cheating, implying that the judges possibly had the replay footage altered out of bias. However, in the DVD release of this scene the photo finish was covered with smoke, thereby adding even more questions to this scene). After the replay, the Mean Machine's nose remained extended until Muttley - once more abused by his master after snickering - kicked the nose back into its closed position on Dastardly's hand. This may imply that the "actual finish", not the replay, was altered.
Often it appears that if Dastardly had not bothered to cheat he may have won fairly. Upon tasting defeat, Dastardly would utter his catchphrases, "Drat, drat, and double drat!", "Triple drat!" and even "Curses, foiled again!" His other main catchphrase was "Muttley, do something!" Excluding Dastardly and Muttley, each of the other racers won three or four of the Wacky Races.
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines
Dick Dastardly continued his villainous career in the Wacky Races spin-off; Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. The series was inspired by the 1965 film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman and directed and co-written by Ken Annakin...
and Dastardly's appearance is based on the film's villain, Sir Percival Ware-Armitage, played by Terry-Thomas
Terry-Thomas
Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
. Dastardly and Muttley with two other pilots; Zilly, a coward who used to hide in his clothes when he was ordered to deploy, and Klunk, the mechanic/inventor, who speaks a language largely composed of strange sounds that only Zilly can understand, comprised the "Vulture Squadron". The squadron constantly attempt to stop a messenger pigeon
Homing pigeon
The homing pigeon is a variety of domestic pigeon derived from the Rock Pigeon selectively bred to find its way home over extremely long distances. The wild rock pigeon has an innate homing ability, meaning that it will generally return to its own nest and its own mate...
"Yankee Doodle pigeon" from delivering messages to an opposing army, often with the song "Stop the Pigeon" playing; one typical scene show the "Vulture Squadron" planes all converging from different directions on "Yankee Doodle Pigeon" but end up crashing into one another-while the bird remains unharmed. As in Wacky Races, Dastardly continued to fail miserably at his mission, only coming near to success on a single occasion.
The series is commonly known as 'Catch the Pigeon' or 'Stop the Pigeon', based on the original working title and the series' theme song.
The Fender Bender 500
Dick Dastardly and Muttley were in the "Fender Bender 500" shorts on the early 1990s short-lived series Wake, Rattle, and RollWake, Rattle, and Roll
Wake, Rattle, and Roll is a live-action/animated television show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Four Point Entertainment that premiered in the fall of 1990. The show's title was inspired by the song "Shake, Rattle and Roll"...
. In those segments, the duo once again appeared in a suped-up version of the Mean Machine as a monster truck called the Dirty Truckster (a pun on their phrase "dirty trickster"), but raced against such Hanna-Barbera stalwarts as Yogi Bear and Quick Draw McGraw
Quick Draw McGraw
The Quick Draw McGraw Show is the third cartoon television production created by Hanna-Barbera starring an anthropomorphic cartoon horse named Quick Draw McGraw following their success with The Ruff & Reddy Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show. The show debuted in syndication in the fall of 1959,...
. In this series, they were actually able to pull off a win when racing to Russia's 'Red Square.' Unfortunately the prize was simply a red square of paper, and not the deed to the Russian capital as the title of 'red square' would imply. In another Fender Bender race (The 'Hit 'n' Mississippi 500'), he plays on Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
's famous catchphrase of being 'smarter than the average bear' by claiming to be 'smarter than the average cheat'.
Other appearances
- In later years, Dastardly and Muttley were the nemeses for Yogi BearYogi BearYogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
and his friends in the 1980s series Yogi's Treasure HuntYogi's Treasure HuntYogi's Treasure Hunt is a segment that kicked-off in 1985 as the first of the programming block, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. It also ran as a regular series in syndication from 1985 to 1988.-Plot:...
. This time, Dick repeatedly failed at discovering hidden treasure before Yogi and his team. It was in this series' episode Yogi's Heroes that Dick's full name was revealed; as the leader of an island named Dicaragua, he introduced himself as Richard Milhous Dastardly (an obvious play on former U.S. President Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
). - Dick Dastardly (alongside Muttley) also appeared as a child (known as Dickie) in the short-lived series Yo Yogi!Yo Yogi!Yo Yogi! is an animated series first aired on NBC on Saturday mornings during the 1991-92 season. It is, to date, the last television series to feature or star Yogi Bear. It is also the last Hanna-Barbera show to premiere on NBC to this date...
voiced by Rob PaulsenRob PaulsenRobert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
. In that series, he rides a bicycleBicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
that resembles the Mean Machine and his clothes resemble his ones from Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying MachinesDastardly and Muttley in their Flying MachinesDastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines is a cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for CBS. Originally the series was broadcast as a Saturday morning cartoon, airing from September 13, 1969 to January 3, 1970...
. - Dick Dastardly, Muttley, and the Mean Machine returned as a boss car in the Wacky RacesWacky Races (video game)was an Atlus platformer for the NES. A Game Boy Color/Dreamcast/PC/PlayStation/PlayStation 2 game of the same name came out in 2000, but was published by Infogrames and was a racing game...
video game voiced by Jim CummingsJim CummingsJames Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
and Billy WestBilly WestWilliam Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
. - Dick Dastardly made a non-speaking cameo in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at LawHarvey Birdman, Attorney at LawHarvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American animated television series comedy created by Williams Street and produced by Cartoon Network Studios that aired on Cartoon Network during its Adult Swim late night programming block. The series' pilot first aired in 2000, and later became a series in...
episode "Death By Chocolate." - In one episode of The Perils of Penelope PitstopThe Perils of Penelope PitstopThe Perils of Penelope Pitstop is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969. The show lasted two full seasons, with a total of 17 half-hour episodes produced and released, the last first-run episode airing on January...
(maybe Jungle Jeopardy), Dick is mentioned after Penelope says "The Hooded Claw!" The Hooded Claw says "Who did you expect, Dick Dastardly?"
Dick Dastardly vs Dread Baron
In the TV series Laff-A-LympicsLaff-A-Lympics
Laff-A-Lympics was the co-headlining segment, with Scooby-Doo, of the package Saturday morning cartoon series Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show was a spoof of the Olympics and the ABC television series Battle of the Network Stars, which debuted one...
, there was a similar looking (and sounding) character to Dastardly named "The Dread Baron", voiced by John Stephenson
John Stephenson (actor)
John Stephenson is an American actor and voice actor. He has also been credited as John Stevenson...
. In fact, the similarity caused the translators in Brazil to mistake him for Dastardly (in issue #12 of the Laff-A-Lympics comic book by Marvel Comics, Dread Baron and Dastardly are twin brothers). The character's name is an obvious pun on the name of the infamous World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
fighter pilot, the Red Baron
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
. In this series, the Dread Baron was seen wearing a World War I-era German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
fighter pilot's uniform. The Dread Baron accompanied Mumbly, a dog that was very similar to Muttley, only with grey fur, and an orange trenchcoat. Mumbly actually had his own series in which he was a detective, and in a role-reversal, Mumbly acted as the team captain of the Really Rottens in Laugh a Lympics with the Dread Baron and others serving as team members. The two later appeared in the made-for-TV movie Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose
Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose
Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose is a 1987 animated movie for television produced by Hanna-Barbera as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series.-Plot:...
, where the Dread Baron and Mumbly are first seen in Dick Dastardly's plane from Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. In 2007, Dastardly makes a brief cameo as himself in a Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
commercial when - complete with a cartoon bomb - he is let into CN headquarters because he has the proper ID with him - beating out Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear
Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
, who has forgotten his ID and can't get in.
It is not certain why Dread Baron and especially Mumbly (who was a good guy in his original series) were used in roles that were identical to Dastardly and Muttley, especially for the Yogi Bear movie. Previously, it was assumed that Dread Baron was created as a substitute because Paul Winchell wasn't available for Laff-a-Lympics, where John Stephenson provided the Baron's voice. However, Winchell was available for the Yogi Bear TV movie, yet voiced the Dread Baron, not Dastardly. It's also been speculated that Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
didn't completely own the rights to Dick Dastardly and Muttley and the two characters were in essence shared with another company, Heatter-Quigley Productions
Heatter-Quigley Productions
Heatter-Quigley Productions was an American television production company that was launched in 1960 by two former television writers, Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley....
, who refused to allow the character names to be used in those specific programs and thus new characters had to be created.
The Dread Baron also bears some similarities to the Red Max, another character from the Wacky Races series.
Proposed appearances
Dastardly and Muttley were to appear in the series The Perils of Penelope PitstopThe Perils of Penelope Pitstop
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969. The show lasted two full seasons, with a total of 17 half-hour episodes produced and released, the last first-run episode airing on January...
, where they (especially Dastardly) would have been perfect villains given the tone and the Perils of Pauline
The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial)
The Perils of Pauline is a motion picture serial shown in weekly installments featuring Pearl White as the title character. Pauline has often been cited as a famous example of a damsel in distress, although some analyses hold that her character was more resourceful and less helpless than the...
references, rather they were imagined to be the bodyguards of a younger brother of Penelope. However, this was only in the first sketches of the series, and the two did not appear in the final work. At one of their encounters, the Hooded Claw did ask Penelope, "Were you expecting Dick Dastardly?" possibly in reference to the above unshot scene.
Cultural references
- In an episode of Canadian CGI television series ReBootReBootReBoot is a Canadian CGI-animated action-adventure cartoon series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001. It was produced by Vancouver-based production company Mainframe Entertainment, Alliance Communications, BLT Productions and created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace,...
, characters Cyrus and Frisket (a dog) "reboot" in a racing game into homages of Dastardly and Mutley, complete with a Mean Machine; when Cyrus is horrified to find Frisket with him, Frisket does a dead-on impression of Mutley's snicker. Later, Cyrus would pilot a gyroscopic flying machine. - Universal Studios FloridaUniversal Studios FloridaUniversal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
formerly had a motion simulator ride titled The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera which was a tribute to Hanna-Barbara cartoons; Dastardly (voiced by Michael Bell) kidnaps Elroy Jetson, so Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo have to travel across the various worlds to rescue him. - In 1994, BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
men's magazine LoadedLoaded (magazine)Loaded, first published in 1994, is a British magazine for men that is considered to be the "original lads' mag". Its motto is "For men who should know better".-History:...
nominated Dick Dastardly as one of the "Greatest Living Englishmen," despite the fact that the character's nationality was never mentioned. - An episode of the anime Digimon FrontierDigimon Frontieris the 4th Digimon TV series first broadcast in 2002. After prompted to do so by unusual phone messages, the five main characters go to a subway station and take a train to the Digital World. Once there, they meet two secondary characters, Bokomon and Neemon, who act as guides, and tell the...
, entitled "The Great Trailmon Race" (a homage to Wacky Races), a ShadowWereGarurumon and his Dogmon sidekick attempted to undermine the other racers, as a reference to Dastardly and Muttley, and, at one point in the original Japanese version, ShadowWereGarurumon gives Doggymon a Dick Dastardly-style knock to the head after Doggymon laughs. On a related note, Dogmon's voice actor Michael SorichMichael SorichMichael John Sorich is an American voice actor who is also a screen actor, writer, director and voice director.- Biography :...
made his laughter sound like Muttley's. - In the Dexter's LaboratoryDexter's LaboratoryDexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios . The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions...
episode "Dexter's Wacky Races", Mandark replaces Dick Dastardly and his car as the villain with his car "The Dark Man Special". - The NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
character WaluigiWaluigiis a fictional character in the Mario series of video games. He accompanies Wario in spin-offs from the main Mario series, oftentimes for the sake of causing mischief...
bears a strong resemblance to Dick Dastardly. - Formula1Formula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
champion Michael SchumacherMichael SchumacherMichael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
is sometimes referred to by journalists and fans as Dick Dastardly, in part due to the striking resemblance, but mostly because of several incidents involving Schumacher, such as stopping his car in the middle of the track to prevent an opponent from qualifying faster than he, using illegal software and cars outside specificationsAllegations of cheating in the 1994 Formula One seasonThe 1994 Formula One cheating controversy was a series of allegations of cheating in the 1994 Formula One season. The cheating allegation went on several Formula One team on that time; one of the main allegations surrounded the Benetton team. The team were alleged to have been using illegal...
, gaining victories from his teammate by means of team orders , and intentionally crashing into opponents twice - Dastardly was portrayed as David IrvingDavid IrvingDavid John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
in the Viz strip Wacky Racists. - Philip ReevePhilip ReevePhilip Reeve is a British author and illustrator. He presently lives on Dartmoor with his wife Sarah and their son Samuel.-Biography:...
's 2005 children's novel 'Infernal Devices' refers briefly to a fictional organization called Richard D'Astardley's Flying Circus. This group is supposedly a rival to the Flying Ferrets, led by Orla Twombley, which is a team of daredevil aviators that flies a variety of strange flying machines in Reeve's 'retro futuristic' world. - A Super Deformed GundamSuper Deformed Gundamis a series that spawned from the Gundam series. This series takes the mobile weapons and characters and express them in super deformed style.-Origins:...
short parodying the Wacky Races featured villain Yazan Gable as the stand-in for Dastardly. Gemon Bajack, his partner-in-crime from Mobile Suit Gundam ZZMobile Suit Gundam ZZis a TV series aired on Japanese TV from 1986–1987, was the third Gundam series, and a direct follow up to Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Director Yoshiyuki Tomino returned to lead the series, and he assembled a new team consisting of character designer Hiroyuki Kitazume, who had been one of Zeta...
, was Muttley, complete with dog costume and wheezing laugh. True to the source material, Gable and Bajack spend most of the race trying to foil the other competitors. But they actually win when their last ditch attempt turns out to be a rocket engine. Unfortunately, they are unable to stop in the winner's circle when the rocket malfunctions and won't turn off, sending the pair into orbit. - In a curious decision by Spanish language translators, Dick Dastardly was renamed Pierre Nodoyuna and given a French accent. The Spanish name can be roughly translated as "Pierre I-always-fail".
- In the underground hip-hop song AccordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
by MadvillainMadvillainMadvillain is a hip hop group consisting of MF DOOM and Madlib . Their debut album Madvillainy was met with wide critical acclaim for its unique approach—short songs, obscure lyrics, few choruses and a sound which was generally unfriendly to commercial radio.In 2006, Madvillain was featured on...
, in which MF Doom mentions the duo in the opening line: "Livin' off borrowed time, the clock tick faster, that'd be the hour they knock the slick blaster Dick Dastardly and MuttleyMuttleyMuttley is a Hanna-Barbera animated fictional character created by Iwao Takamoto and originally voiced by Don Messick. In the 2000 Wacky Races videogame he was voiced by Billy West.-Bio:...
with sick laughter, a gun fight and they come to cut the mixmaster." - In one of the "1936" animated shorts on the Homestar RunnerHomestar RunnerHomestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes surreal humor with references to retro pop culture, notably video games, classic television, and popular music.The cartoons are nominally centered on the title character, Homestar Runner...
website, the character of Old-Timey Strong BadStrong BadStrong Bad is one of the major characters of the Homestar Runner series of animated Flash web cartoons. He is portrayed by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-founder of the series. Strong Bad enjoys pranking the other characters of the series, along with his ever-diligent lackey pet...
uses Dastardly's catchphrase: "Drat, and double drat!" - The 2008 series HeadcasesHeadcasesHeadcases was an ITV satirical animation show based on current affairs. It employed the same satirical style as Spitting Image, 2DTV and Bo' Selecta! but using 3D animation created by UK Visual Effects and animation house Red Vision...
featured a series of sketches involving a caricature of The Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
dressed as Dick Dastardly and a MuttleyMuttleyMuttley is a Hanna-Barbera animated fictional character created by Iwao Takamoto and originally voiced by Don Messick. In the 2000 Wacky Races videogame he was voiced by Billy West.-Bio:...
-like Corgi named Poochwater. In a manner similar to Dastardly's attempts to catch the pidgeon, each sketch sees the Duke trying to destroy Catherine Middleton, Prince William's girlfriend at the time, so as to prevent a 'commoner' from entering the Royal Family. These slapstick attempts usually fail, and usually cause a series of events which ultimately sees the Duke placed in embarrassing situations right in front of the paparazzi, serving to damage his own image rather than Kate's. - A UK radio ad for HeinzHeinzHeinz may refer to:People with the surname Heinz:*Drue Heinz, American arts patron*H. John Heinz III , U.S. senator from Pennsylvania*H. John Heinz IV , eldest son of Senator John Heinz...
Salad Cream ran the "Stop the Pigeon" theme song before ending with "Any food tastes supreme with Heinz Salad Cream!", implying Dastardly was intending to eat Yankee Doodle Pigeon.