Speed Buggy
A talking dune buggy solves mysteries in global races.
Speed Buggy is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera that aired on CBS in 1973. It follows an orange talking dune buggy and three teenagers who solve mysteries while racing around the world. The show was developed under the working titles Speed Bug and Speed Buggs.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 30 minutes
- Genre
- Comedy
- Mystery
- Adventure
- Creator
- William Hanna; Joseph Barbera
- Director
- Charles A. Nichols
- Company
- Hanna-Barbera Productions
- Producer
- Iwao Takamoto
- Theme music
- Hoyt Curtin
- Country
- United States
Facts from the source article.
Premise
The series takes place in various worldwide locations and follows teenagers Mark, Debbie, and Tinker along with Speed Buggy, a talking dune buggy designed by Tinker. They enter racing competitions to win trophies and often thwart villains such as diamond thieves, car-obsessed doctors, and evil pirates. The group, called the "Speed Buggs", can activate Speed Buggy using a portable walkie-talkie. Several episodes adapt storylines from Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussycats.
Characters
Speed Buggy (voiced by Mel Blanc) is an orange anthropomorphic dune buggy nicknamed "Speedy" who can talk and solve mysteries, with headlights and grille serving as eyes and mouth. Blanc's voice resembled his Maxwell automobile from The Jack Benny Program. Mark (voiced by Michael Bell) is the group's brain, one of Bell's first voice roles. Debbie (voiced by Arlene Golonka) is the beautiful teenage leader, marking Golonka's first voice acting work. Tinker (voiced by Phil Luther Jr.) is a Southern-drawling mechanic who serves as Speed Buggy's driver and best friend.
Production and creation
The show was developed under the working titles Speed Bug and Speed Buggs, inspired by the 1968 Disney film The Love Bug and the Speed Racer anime franchise. Author David Hofstede suggested that the "Chugga-Boom" vehicle from Hanna-Barbera's The Perils of Penelope Pitstop may have been a prototype. Charles A. Nichols directed, Art Scott was associate producer, and Iwao Takamoto produced. Takamoto noted in his autobiography that the series stemmed from the success of Josie & the Pussycats and Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, but he was less involved due to trust in animation artist Bob Singer. Head writers were Jack Mendelshon and Chuck Menville, with additional writers including Lars Bourne, Len Janson, Joel Kane, Jack Kaplan, Woody Kling, Norman Maurer, and Larry Rhine. Hoyt Curtin composed the main title theme, copyrighted in November 1975, under Paul DeKorte's supervision. Other voice actors included Mike Road, Hal Smith, John Stephenson, and Janet Waldo.
Reception
Speed Buggy aired on CBS Saturday mornings from September 8 to December 22, 1973, and continued until August 31, 1974. CBS later reran it from February 4 to September 2, 1978, and from September 18, 1982, to January 29, 1983. ABC aired it at noon EST from September 6, 1975, to September 4, 1976. After NBC canceled McDuff, the Talking Dog on November 20, 1976, Speed Buggy aired in reruns from November 27, 1976, to September 1977. According to The A.V. Club's Will Harris, the series gained a large fan base through airing on all three major networks in the 1970s. In the 1980s, it ran on USA Network's USA Cartoon Express, and Cartoon Network has broadcast it since 1992. Boomerang aired it during a Valentine's Day event in February 2007 alongside Tom and Jerry, The Jetsons, and Dexter's Laboratory. The episode "Speed Buggy Went That-a-Way" appeared on the DVD compilation Saturday Morning Cartoons – 1970's Volume 1 released May 26, 2009. The complete series was released on DVD as a four-disc set through Warner Bros.' Archive Collection. Retrospective critics compared it to Scooby-Doo; Aubrey Sitterson of Geek.com listed it among favorite Scooby-Doo knockoffs, noting similarities between Speedy and the Mystery Machine and calling Tinker "basically just Shaggy in a jumpsuit." Harris wrote that the main difference was substituting racing for rock 'n' roll. Speed Buggy and the Scooby-Doo gang crossed over in the episode "The Weird Winds of Winona" on The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Speed Buggy?
Speed Buggy was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
How many episodes of Speed Buggy are there?
Speed Buggy has 16 episodes across 1 season.
More in Animated Television Series About Auto Racing
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