Dick Dastardly | |
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Wacky Races character | |
![]() Dick Dastardly as seen in Wacky Races | |
First appearance | "See-Saw To Arkansas" (1968) |
Created by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
Portrayed by | Porter Flynn (2013) |
Voiced by | Paul Winchell (1968–1991) Malcolm McNeill (Spin a Magic Tune) [1] [2] Michael Bell (1990) Rob Paulsen (1991) Jim Cummings (2000–2008) Jeff Bergman (Cartoon Network) Trey Parker ( South Park ) Eric Bauza (2015, 2024–present; Uncle Grandpa , Tooned Out ) Peter Woodward (2017–2019) Tom Kenny (2018) Jason Isaacs ( Scoob! ) Terry Mynott (Dastardly and Muttley) [3] Dwight Schultz ( Jellystone! ) |
In-universe information | |
Species | Human |
Gender | Male |
Alignment | Evil |
Family | Delilah Dastardly (wife) Dick Dastardly III (son) Dread Baron (twin brother) Desdemona Dastardly (cousin) Sheriff Longarm D. Law (cousin) Pop (Dick Dastardly I) (father) |
Nationality | English-American |
Dick Dastardly is a fictional character who has appeared in various animated series by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1968 onward. [4] Dastardly's most famous appearances are in the series Wacky Races (his initial appearance) and its spin-off, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines . He is partly based on the English actor Terry-Thomas. [5]
The character was originally voiced by Paul Winchell, using a characterization that Winchell would also employ several years later to voice the Smurfs' nemesis Gargamel. Winchell's facial structures were caricatured in the related character design as well.
In subsequent depictions of the character, Dick Dastardly was voiced by Rob Paulsen and by Jim Cummings (the latter of whom was notable for voicing other characters previously voiced by Winchell, including Tigger and Zummi Gummi).
Dastardly's catchphrases in the cartoons were "Muttley, do something!", "Drat, and double drat!" [6] and occasionally "Triple drat!" or "Curses, foiled again!"
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 rally. As his name implies, Dastardly aimed to win solely through cheating and trickery. His race car, numbered double-zero and named "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 duster overcoat often worn by early motorists, along with long red gloves, a large striped hat with driving goggles attached, and sporting a handlebar mustache.
Dastardly was aided in his schemes by his sidekick, a scruffy anthropomorphic 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 came close to winning on several occasions, but has always failed, either through his own actions or bad luck, such as posing for his picture as it was a photo finish, stopping to sign an autograph for Muttley, and having Muttley sabotage his own vehicle (Dick told the hound to "stop the winning car"). On one occasion Dastardly did cross the finish line in first place, but was revealed to have extended the nose of his car at the last moment, and was disqualified in favor of Penelope Pitstop; this despite the fact that other characters had pulled similar stunts in the past without punishment (and indeed the original footage showed that Dastardly had not extended the nose of his car). In one episode in which he accidentally crossed the finish line first he was still disqualified; due to a series of crazy car mix-ups, Dastardly and Muttley were in the wrong car.
It seemed likely that if Dastardly had not bothered to cheat, he might have won many of the races fairly: The Mean Machine was the fastest car on the grid (In many races, he would take the lead before stopping to set traps for the other drivers), and Dastardly's driving ability was often shown to be superior to the other racers. (Alas, Dick seemed bound to a code similar to that of wrestler Gorgeous George: "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!" In fact, in one episode he came close to crossing the finish line first without cheating, but chose not to win and let the other racers finish before him, as he did not want to win fairly).
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 Machines and Dastardly's appearance is based on the film's villain, Sir Percival Ware-Armitage, played by Terry-Thomas. Dastardly and Muttley flew with two other pilots: Zilly, a coward who would hide in his own clothing when ordered to deploy, and Klunk, the mechanic/inventor, who speaks a language largely composed of strange sounds that only Zilly can understand.
Together, they comprised the "Vulture Squadron", presumably working for Germany and Central Powers in World War I. The squadron constantly attempted to stop a messenger pigeon, "Yankee Doodle Pigeon", from delivering messages to an opposing army (seemingly American and/or the Triple Entente), often with the song "Stop the Pigeon" playing. A typical scene shows the Vulture Squadron all converging from different directions on Yankee Doodle Pigeon, only to end up crashing into one another—while the bird remained unharmed. As in Wacky Races, Dastardly continued to fail miserably at his mission, only coming near to success on a single occasion. Muttley, despite showing enough competence to win various medals (which Dastardly was constantly threatening to revoke), seemed to delight in Dick's failures, displaying his trademark snickering laugh.
In later years, Dastardly and Muttley were the nemeses for Yogi Bear and his friends in the 1980s series Yogi's Treasure Hunt . 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 (a play on former U.S. President Richard Milhous Nixon). One episode shows that Dastardly and Muttley are the greediest creatures in the world.
Dick Dastardly and Muttley were in the "Fender Bender 500" shorts on the early 1990s short-lived series Wake, 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 the 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 at least two race wins, one when racing to Russia's 'Red Square' where it was announced that the prize was itself the Red Square. Unfortunately, their prize was simply a piece of red square 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 played on Yogi Bear's famous catchphrase of being "smarter than the average bear" by claiming to be "smarter than the average cheat".
Dick Dastardly (alongside Muttley) appeared as a child (known as Dickie) in the short-lived series Yo Yogi! , voiced by Rob Paulsen. In the series he rides a bicycle that resembles the Mean Machine and his clothes resemble his ones from Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines . Dick Dastardly would often come up with various plots which would often backfire on him.
The series depicted a roster of both new and returning racers competing against each other. Penelope Pitstop and Peter Perfect had married and created Perfect Industries, the corporate sponsor of the new Wacky Races; their children, Parker and Piper, competed in the race. Dick Dastardly (voiced by Jim Cummings) appears in this and hatches a plan to take them out of the race but has it backfire on himself instead.
In the 2017 reboot of Wacky Races it is revealed that the Dick Dastardly who flew in World War I (voiced by Tom Kenny) was the father of the Dick Dastardly (presumably Dick Jr.) of the original Wacky Races. In the new version, Dick Jr.'s son/descendant, Dick Dastardly III, technically wins in the episode "Sister Twister" – winning the "Great Sportsman of the Year" trophy after he made a bet with Peter Perfect that involved him being nice and not cheating for once. He won due to Pandora Pitstop disguising herself as Penelope Pitstop who proceeded to act unsportmans-like and so the judges gave the win to Dastardly – however – to Dastardly's horror. He won by due to the sudden shift in his personality, such as saying nicer things to other racers and not cheating. The event also involved race, which Dastardly of course lost, though it had no effect on who won the trophy.
In the episode "Grandfather Knows Dast", the original Dick Dastardly (World War I flying ace) rides with Dick Dastardly III, and chastises Dick Dastardly III for cheating instead of winning and ultimately causes them to lose the race just as they were about to win.
Dick Dastardly is the main antagonist in the animated Scooby-Doo film Scoob! , voiced by Jason Isaacs. [7] This version of Dick lacks the hat and goggles he usually wears, and his overcoat is now a dark purple long coat. According to his police report, this version of Dastardly is 6' 5", 295lbs. He is also depicted as more of a supervillain than a racer, having robotic minions called Rottens and being an enemy of the Blue Falcon. He operates a giant airship that is loosely based on his racing vehicle, the Mean Machine. During a scheme to steal the treasure horde left by Alexander the Great in the Greek underworld by use of a dimensional portal, Dastardly lost Muttley in the underworld when the portal was found to be one way only. He then seeks out the three skulls of Cerberus and Scooby-Doo because as the last descendant of Peritas, Alexander's dog, he is the key to opening the gates to the Underworld and reuniting with Muttley; though at the cost of unleashing Cerberus onto the world. After achieving this, Dastardly and Muttley try to escape with treasure, but are captured by the reformed Rottens and taken into custody by Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, and Dee Dee Skyes. During his capture, Dick attempts a double-mask trick by wearing a mask of himself over a mask of Simon Cowell. During the credits, Muttley breaks Dastardly out of prison.
Dick Dastardly appeared in the third season of Jellystone! , voiced by Dwight Schultz, in his Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines outfit. Dick Dastardly is the mayor of New Bedrock.
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. 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, however 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; CBS dropped these elements during development.
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 ran for one season with a total of 17 half-hour episodes, the last first-run episode airing on January 17, 1970. Repeats aired 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.
Donald Earle Messick was an American voice actor, known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Penelope Pitstop is a fictional character who appeared in the 1968 Hanna-Barbera animated series Wacky Races and the spin-off The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, and was voiced by Janet Waldo. She also appeared in the 2017 series of Wacky Races.
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.
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines 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. 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. The title is a reference to the film and song Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.
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 in late 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. It entirely used digital ink and paint across all three seasons, except its opening credits.
Yogi's Space Race is a 90-minute American animated television series and the third entry in the Yogi Bear franchise. Thirteen episodes were broadcast on NBC from September 9, 1978, to December 2, 1978, and featured the following four segments:
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.
Wacky Races: Starring Dastardly and Muttley is a 2000 racing video game developed by Infogrames Sheffield House and published by Infogrames for the Dreamcast and later for PlayStation 2 in 2001. The game is based on the cartoon series Wacky Races, which features 11 vehicles all racing over various landscapes to win first place. The vehicles featured include the most infamous vehicle in the series, the Mean Machine, driven by Dick Dastardly and Muttley.
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.
Wacky Races is a platform game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, developed and published by Atlus. The game is based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Wacky Races and features Muttley and Dick Dastardly as the main characters.
Laff-A-Lympics is an American animated comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. 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 in 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 a racing video game developed by Appaloosa Interactive for PC and PlayStation and by Velez & Dubail for the Game Boy Color. It was published by Infogrames in 2000.
"Handicar" is the fourth episode in the eighteenth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 251st episode overall, it was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. The episode premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 15, 2014. The episode lampoons several trends in the automotive industry including Uber and Lyft, Matthew McConaughey's celebrity endorsement of Lincoln Motor Company, and Tesla, culminating in a Wacky Races-style marathon. It is the fourth episode not to feature any of the four main characters of South Park: Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick.
Wacky Raceland is a comic book series that re-imagines the cast of Wacky Races competing in a desert wasteland, reminiscent of the Mad Max film series, full of obstacles, towards a single goal, Utopia, mankind's last safe haven. It is also one of four comic books introduced by DC Comics in 2016 as part of the comic book initiative Hanna-Barbera Beyond, along with Scooby Apocalypse, Future Quest and The Flintstones.
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.
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.
Terry-Thomas ... and Eric Sykes ... formed a very effective on-screen double-act, (which ended up inspiring a pair of cartoon alter egos – Dick Dastardly and Muttley – in the popular Hanna-Barbera/Warner Brothers series Wacky Races.