| Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Directed by | Charles A. Nichols |
| Voices of | Frank Welker Judy Strangis Paul Winchell Lennie Weinrib Don Messick |
| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (39 segments) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Producer | Iwao Takamoto |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 7 – November 30, 1974 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
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 to November 30, 1974.[1] The show aired for 13 half-hour episodes.[2]
With an ensemble voice cast consisting of Frank Welker, Judy Strangis, Don Messick, Paul Winchell and Lennie Weinrib,[3][4] the show follows an anthropomorphic car named Wheelie and a trouble-making motorcycle gang called the "Chopper Bunch".[5]
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 artists Joe Staton and John Byrne, debuted in May 1975,[6] although Byrne 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.
This series was commonly grouped together with Speed Buggy (1973) and Wonder Wheels (1977–78) 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. It has since been released on DVD as part of Warner Bros.' Archive Collection on a three-disc set.
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 307–308. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ Erickson 2005, pp. 901–902, Vol. M–Z.
- ^ Sennett & Barbera 1989, p. 176
- ^ David, Nina (1974). "TV Season: 1974". TV Season. Oryx Press: 178. ISBN 9780912700205. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 691. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ "Byrne-ing to Read: Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch #2". Diversions of the Groovy Kind. 6 December 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2020.