Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines | |
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Genre | Comedy |
Created by | |
Written by | Larz Bourne, Dalton Sandifer, Michael Maltese |
Directed by | |
Voices of | |
Narrated by | Don Messick |
Composer | Ted Nichols |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 17 (34 Dastardly and Muttley segments, 17 Magnificent Muttley segments, 34 brief Wing Dings segments) |
Production | |
Producers | |
Running time | 22 minutes (excluding network breaks) |
Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 13, 1969 – January 3, 1970 |
Related | |
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Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (or simply Dastardly and Muttley in the UK [1] and Ireland) is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and a spin-off of Wacky Races . The show was originally broadcast as a Saturday morning cartoon, airing from September 13, 1969, to January 3, 1970, on CBS. [2] The show focuses on the efforts of Dick Dastardly and his canine sidekick Muttley to catch Yankee Doodle Pigeon, a carrier pigeon who carries secret messages (hence the name of the show's theme song "Stop The Pigeon"). The title is a reference to the film and song Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines . [3]
The original working title of the show was Stop That Pigeon. The peppy and memorable theme song by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (based on the jazz standard "Tiger Rag") has a chorus that repeats the phrase "Stop the pigeon" seven times in a row. [4]
The show had only two voice actors: Paul Winchell as Dick Dastardly, the indistinctly heard General and other characters and Don Messick as Muttley, Klunk, Zilly and other characters. Each 22-minute episode was broadcast over half an hour on the network, including network breaks, and contained: two Dastardly & Muttley stories, one Magnificent Muttley story (Muttley's Walter Mitty-style daydreams), and two or three short Wing Dings (brief gags to break up the longer stories).
In Germany, Dick Dastardly and Muttley, the villains from Wacky Races , [5] are now flying aces in World War I-styled aeroplanes [6] and members of the Vulture Squadron, on a mission to stop a messenger pigeon named Yankee Doodle Pigeon from delivering top-secret messages to an opposing army. The other members of the Squadron are Klunk, an inventor who speaks an unintelligible language (punctuated by howls, clicks, whistles, and growls, accompanied by bizarre facial contortions), and Zilly, a panicky pilot whose main role is to translate for Klunk, and who tries to desert the mission at any given opportunity.
Each story features variations on the same plot elements: the Vulture Squadron sets out to trap Yankee Doodle Pigeon, a process which begins with Zilly trying to escape and being retrieved by Muttley, and Klunk introducing a plan that involves using one or more planes equipped with his latest contraptions. Inevitably, either the plan is flawed, or one or more of the Squadron messes up and the plane(s) either crash, collide or explode (or all of the above). While they are falling out of the wreckage, Dick Dastardly calls for help, which Muttley offers depending on whether Dastardly either agrees or disagrees to give him medals. Even when Muttley does agree to fly Dastardly out of trouble, Dastardly seldom has a soft landing. At some point the General calls Dastardly on the phone to demand results, and while Dastardly assures him that they will soon capture the pigeon, the General usually disbelieves him and bellows unintelligibly to Dastardly through the phone and extends his hand from it to either grab Dastardly by the nose or his mustache. By the end of every story, Yankee Doodle Pigeon escapes while the Vulture Squadron is often left in backfiring predicaments.
In a contemporary comic book/comic digest series of Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, Dastardly and Muttley still failed to stop Yankee Doodle Pigeon, except for three times: the first time when accidentally knocking out and capturing Yankee Doodle Pigeon with falling ice cubes; Dastardly and Muttley finding to their surprise that the pigeon's satchel contained nothing but moths. The second time, they salted his tail for the purpose of again retrieving his satchel, only to discover it contained a jigsaw puzzle that read "Sucker!", while the pigeon had the real message under his helmet. The third time, Dastardly and Muttley lured Yankee Doodle to their side during a 24-hour truce, hypnotized him and set him up to be a traitor.
The show also featured Wing Dings, short clips with jokes, and Magnificent Muttley, where Muttley encounters Walter Mitty-esque daydreams.
There was one Magnificent Muttley episode in each of the 17 broadcast episodes. Muttley is the main character and imagines himself in a lot of situations, with Dastardly in the role of the villain; each episode was about three minutes long. Dastardly's car from Wacky Races made a cameo in a few of these shorts, namely "The Marvelous Muttdini" and "Admiral Bird Dog".
Episode credits: Story: Larz Bourne; Dalton Sandifer; Mike Maltese. Story direction: Alex Lovy, Bill Perez
No. | Episodes (episode codes) | Original air date | Prod. code |
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1 | ""Fur Out Furlough" (47-4) / "Barn Dance" (47-72) / "Hot Soup" (47-71) / "Muttley on the Bounty" / "Sappy Birthday"" | 13 September 1969 | DM-1 |
2 | ""Follow That Feather" (47-2) / "Barber" (47-70) / "Empty Hangar" (47-73) / "What's New Old Bean?" / "Operation Anvil"" | 20 September 1969 | DM-2 |
3 | ""Sky Hi-IQ" (47-5) / "Prop Wash" (47-74) / "Carpet" (47-76) / "The Marvelous Muttdini" / "A Plain Shortage of Planes"" | 27 September 1969 | DM-3 |
4 | ""Barnstormers" (47-8) / "Arnold" (47-78) / "Pineapple Sundae" (47-79) / "The New Mascot" / "The Bad Actor" / "Shape Up or Ship Out"" | 4 October 1969 | DM-4 |
5 | ""Stop That Pigeon" (47-1) / "Grease Job" (47-75) / "Robot" (47-83) / "The Big Topper" / "Zilly's a Dilly"" | 11 October 1969 | DM-5 |
6 | ""The Cuckoo Patrol" (47-11) / "Automatic Door" (47-82) / "Airmail" (47-84) / "Runway Stripe" / "The Masked Muttley" / "Pest Pilots"" | 18 October 1969 | DM-6 |
7 | ""The Swiss Yelps" / "Eagle-Beagle" / WD: "Deep Reading"; "Shell Game"; "Slightly Loaded" / MM: Movie Stuntman" | 25 October 1969 | DM-7 |
While pursuing Yankee Doodle Pigeon through the Swiss Alps, the Vulture Squadron keeps annoying a grumpy mountain climber. Dastardly annoys a bald eagle and its nest. In the Magnificent Muttley episode, Muttley serves as a stunt mutt to director Darryl F. Dastardly. | |||
8 | ""Fly By Knights" (47-15) / "There's No Fool Like a Re-Fuel" (47-16) / WD: "Springtime" (47-98); "Dog's Life"; "Strange Equipment" / MM: "Coonskin Caper"" | 1 November 1969 | DM-8 |
Dastardly decides that the entire team needs to wear glasses, but the ones prescribed make things a lot worse. The Vulture Squadron tries to find ways to refuel to keep chasing after the pigeon and end up destroying the gas station and annoying its grumpy owner. In the Magnificent Muttley episode, Muttley is Daniel Boone who attempts to rescue his girlfriend kidnapped by a Native American Dastardly. | |||
9 | ""Movies Are Badder Than Ever" (47-18) / "Home Sweet Homing Pigeon" (47-19) / WD: "The Elevator" (47-81); "Obedience School" / MM: "Aquanuts"" | 8 November 1969 | DM-9 |
The General hires a movie director to film the Vulture Squadron, but the squad keep ruining the shots. Klunk, Zilly and Muttley's enlistments have run out so they want to leave; Dastardly tries to convince them to stay a few more rounds. In the Magnificent Muttley episode, Muttley has to clean a swimming pool and he imagines going on a treasure dive. | |||
10 | ""Lens a Hand" (47-17) / "Vacation Trip Trap" (47-20) / WD: "Parachute" (47-99); "Real Snapper" / MM: "Leonardo De Muttley"" | 15 November 1969 | DM-10 |
Dastardly tries to assure the general that they are doing their jobs by offering to record their actions on camera, but with Muttley operating the camera, they are unsuccessful. Dastardly's furlough is granted, but he keeps running into the Vulture Squadron everywhere he goes. In the Magnificent Muttley episode, Dastardly tries to steal Leonardo da Muttley's flying inventions. | |||
11 | ""Stop Which Pigeon?" (47-21) / "Ceiling Zero Zero" (47-22) / WD: "Fast Freight" (47-90); "Home Run" / MM: "Start Your Engines"" | 22 November 1969 | DM-11 |
When the general pays a visit to the Vulture Squadron headquarters, Dastardly hires an impostor pigeon to pretend that he caught him, but the real Yankee Doodle Pigeon keeps appearing anyway. The Vulture Squadron try to catch Yankee Doodle Pigeon for the umpteenth time with a bird caller plane; a bird packaging plane; a sandbag balloon; and a weather machine. In Magnificent Muttley, Muttley has to wash his Wacky Races car and dreams he is in an auto race against the cheating Dastardly. | |||
12 | ""Who's Who?" (47-23) / "Operation Birdbrain" (47-24) / WD: "Bowling Pin" (47-88); "Shrink Job" / MM: "Ship Ahooey"" | 29 November 1969 | DM-12 |
After a blow to the head, Dastardly has lost his memory and has no idea what's going on. Dastardly has the Vulture Squadron try to think like the pigeon. While washing dishes, Muttley dreams of a swimming race across the English Channel, but Dastardly tries to sabotage him. | |||
13 | ""Medal Muddle" (47-25) / "Go South Young Pigeon!" (47-26) / WD: "The Window Washer" (47-128) ; "Beach Blast" / MM: "Admiral Bird Dog"" | 6 December 1969 | DM-13 |
Muttley is upset that his medals have gone missing. The Vulture Squadron try to catch Yankee Doodle Pigeon in the midst of flocks of migrating ducks. Muttley dreams of being the first dog to reach the North Pole. | |||
14 | ""Too Many Kooks" (47-27) / "Ice See You" (47-28) / WD: "Echo" (47-89) ; "Rainmaker" / MM:"Professor Muttley"" | 13 December 1969 | DM-14 |
The members of the Vulture Squadron take turns inventing pigeon-catching planes. The Vulture Squadron try to catch Yankee Doodle Pigeon in a snow-based environment, which angers the local natives and a polar bear. Dastardly steals Muttley's inventions but does not understand how to use them when he tries to demonstrate it in front of an investor. | |||
15 | ""Balmy Swami" (47-29) / "Camouflage Hop-Aroo" (47-30) / WD: "Mop Up" (47-124) ; "Big Turnover" (a.k.a. Left Hanging) / MM: "Wild Mutt Muttley"" | 20 December 1969 | DM-15 |
The Vulture Squadron consults a swami who uses a crystal ball to predict the devices they will use to catch the pigeon. The General sends a camouflage expert to have the Vulture Squadron disguise their plane. Muttley dreams he is a Tarzan-like wild mutt who has to rescue his girlfriend who has been captured by poacher Dastardly. | |||
16 | ""Have Plane Will Travel" (47-31) / "Windy Windmill" (47-32) / WD: "Tough Break" (47-110) ; "The Ice Cream Tree" / MM: "Astromutt"" | 27 December 1969 | DM-16 |
The General transfers the Vulture Squadron to a remote island, but Yankee Doodle Pigeon is in the area, so they make island-based aircraft to chase him down. The Vulture Squadron follow Yankee Doodle Pigeon to Holland. Muttley imagines he is an astronaut exploring a new planet while Dastardly plays an enemy space alien. | |||
17 | ""Plane Talk" (47-33) / "Happy Bird Day" (47-34) / WD: "Boxing" (47-85) ; "Runaway Rug" (a.k.a. Magic Carpet) / MM: "Super Muttley"" | 3 January 1970 | DM-17 |
Klunk invents some devices that rescue the squad when their planes break and they are going to fall. The General tells Dastardly that there will not be any birthday celebrations until they stop the pigeon. Dastardly prepares a birthday cake for the General and takes it on their missions. Muttley imagines he is a superhero. |
After its original CBS run, Dastardly and Muttley was shown in syndicated reruns on local stations between 1976 and 1982. Some episodes were subsequently distributed on VHS tape by Worldvision Enterprises.
On May 10, 2005, Warner Home Video released the complete series on Region 1 DVD. [7] On July 31, 2006, the series was released on DVD R2 in the United Kingdom, but only in HMV stores and its online site as an HMV Exclusive.
DVD name | Episode # | Release date | Additional information [7] |
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Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines: The Complete Series | 17 | May 10, 2005 |
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Rockabilly/psychobilly group The Reverend Horton Heat covered the theme song in 1995 as a medley with the theme song from Jonny Quest on the cover album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits with other various artists.
Hip-Hop group Madvillain references the characters in their song "Accordion" off their debut album Madvillainy.
In the BBC Robin Hood episode "Lardner's Ring", when Robin Hood is trying to send a message to King Richard via pigeon, the Sheriff of Nottingham yells out, "We must catch the pigeon! Catch the pigeon NOW!" (Despite Robin Hood being a British production, the writer was obviously familiar with the American cartoon, as the Sheriff says it exactly the same way as Dastardly.)
Yankee Doodle Pigeon and Klunk appear in the 2021 cartoon series Jellystone! [8] with Klunk voiced by Fajer Al-Kaisi. Yankee Doodle Pigeon made background appearances. Klunk appears in "Lady Danjjer: Is It Wrong to Long for Kabong?" where he steals Jabberjaw's ice cream that she got from Shazzan only to be defeated by El Kabong.
Yankee Doodle Pigeon appears stuffed and mounted in Dick Dastardly's quarters aboard his flying machine in the 2020 animated film Scoob! . [9]
Mumbly and Dread Baron, who "bear a strong resemblance" to Muttley and Dick Dastardly, appear in Hanna-Barbera's Laff-A-Lympics in 1978. The character changes came due to licensing issues. Dread Baron is later to be revealed as Dick Dastardly's brother in the Laff-A-Lympics comic books. [10]
Wacky Races is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in association with Heatter-Quigley Productions. It aired on CBS as part of its Saturday-morning schedule from September 14, 1968, to January 4, 1969 and then reruns the next season. The series features 11 different cars racing against each other in various road rallies throughout North America, with all of the drivers hoping to win the title of the "World's Wackiest Racer". The show was inspired by the 1965 comedy film The Great Race. This was the only non-game show produced by Heatter-Quigley; the show was intended as a game show in which children would guess the winner of each race, and those who answered correctly would win prizes, but CBS dropped these elements during development.
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop is an American Saturday morning animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969. The show ran for one season with a total of 17 half-hour episodes, the last first-run episode airing on January 17, 1970. Repeats aired Sunday mornings on CBS until September 4, 1971; and in syndication as Fun World of Hanna-Barbera from 1976 to 1982. It is a spin-off of Wacky Races, reprising the characters of Penelope Pitstop and the Ant Hill Mob. Rebroadcasts of the show air on the Cartoon Network-owned channel Boomerang, as well as MeTV Toons.
Donald Earle Messick was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Muttley is a fictional dog created in 1968 by Hanna-Barbera Productions; he was originally voiced by Don Messick. He is the sidekick to the cartoon villain Dick Dastardly, and appeared with him in the 1968 television series Wacky Races and its 1969 spinoff, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. The character is known best for his mischievous, rasping laugh.
Dick Dastardly is a fictional character and the main protagonist who has appeared in various animated series by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1968 onward. Dastardly's most famous appearances are in the series Wacky Races and its spin-off, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. He is partly based on the English actor Terry-Thomas.
Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks is one of the three segments of The Huckleberry Hound Show. This show was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions between October 2, 1958, and October 13, 1961, and consist of 57 episodes.
The Mumbly Cartoon Show is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the titular character, Mumbly, a cartoon dog detective. It was broadcast on Saturday mornings on ABC from September 11, 1976 to September 3, 1977 as part of The Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show. This compilation packaged reruns of the 1975 The Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape Show with Mumbly as a new component.
Yo Yogi! is an American animated television series, and the seventh entry in the Yogi Bear franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera that aired from September 14 to December 7, 1991, on NBC for 13 episodes.
Yogi's Treasure Hunt is an American animated television series, and the fifth entry in the Yogi Bear franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Featuring Yogi Bear and various other Hanna-Barbera characters, it premiered in syndication on September 6, 1985 as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. This is the last series to feature Daws Butler as the voice of Yogi Bear and his other characters before his death in 1988. While all 27 episodes were made in digital ink and paint across three seasons, its opening credits were produced in traditional cel animation.
The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show is an hour-long Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1965 to 1967 for NBC.
Wake, Rattle, and Roll is an American live-action/animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Four Point Entertainment that premiered in the fall of 1990. As the show's title suggests, Hanna-Barbera intended the show to air on its affiliated stations in a morning timeslot before school. The show's title was inspired by the song "Shake, Rattle and Roll". After its single season on the air in syndication, Wake, Rattle, and Roll moved exclusively to The Disney Channel under the title Jump, Rattle, and Roll, with the title adjustment due to its repeats not being confined to mornings.
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was a simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida and one of the park's original attractions. The story line tells that Dick Dastardly and Muttley have kidnapped Elroy Jetson. Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo give chase and the audience is in for the ride of their lives. The attraction opened on June 7, 1990 and closed on October 20, 2002.
Yogi's Ark Lark is a 1972 American animated television special produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, intended to raise ecological awareness. Written by Bob Ogle and Dick Robbins and directed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna, it was broadcast on ABC on September 16, 1972, as part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and served as the two-part episode for Yogi's Gang.
"Yankee Doodle" is a well-known Anglo-American song and the state anthem of Connecticut.
Laff-A-Lympics is an American animated comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series premiered as part of the Saturday-morning cartoon program block Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, which consists of 24 episodes, on ABC on September 10, 1977. The show is a spoof of the Olympics and the ABC primetime series Battle of the Network Stars, which debuted one year earlier. It featured 45 Hanna-Barbera characters organized into teams which competed each week for gold, silver, and bronze medals. In each episode, the Really Rottens would try in each event to cheat only to get caught by Snagglepuss each time. One season of 16 episodes was produced in 1977–78, and eight new episodes combined with reruns for the 1978–79 season as Scooby's All-Stars. Unlike most cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, Laff-A-Lympics did not contain a laugh track. Scooby’s Laff-a-Lympics was originally owned by Taft Broadcasting; Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution currently owns the series through its two in-name-only units, Warner Bros. Family Entertainment and Turner Entertainment.
Wacky Races is an American animated television series developed by Rebecca Himot and Tramm Wigzell. It is a reboot/revival series, but serves as a sequel to the 1968–69 Hanna-Barbera animated series of the same name. The show debuted in 2017 on Boomerang's video on demand service in the United States. Wacky Races was picked up for a second season.
Scoob! is a 2020 American animated mystery comedy film produced by the Warner Animation Group, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is a reboot of the theatrical Scooby-Doo film series and the third theatrical film based on the characters, following Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004). The film is directed by Tony Cervone from a screenplay by Adam Sztykiel, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott, and Matt Lieberman, and a story by Lieberman, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. It stars the voices of Frank Welker, Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, and Amanda Seyfried. The film also features the voices of Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, and Tracy Morgan as other animated Hanna-Barbera characters. Set in a Hanna-Barbera animated shared universe, the film follows Mystery Incorporated working with the Blue Falcon to solve their most challenging mystery behind their mascot's secret legacy and purpose, which connects with Dick Dastardly's evil plan to unleash Cerberus.
Wacky Races is a media franchise containing five animated series, several video games, and a comic book, with most centered on the theme of various Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters primarily engaged in auto racing, usually in odd vehicles and with absurd plot developments.
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