Dragster Net

Dragster Net

April 5, 1975 TV Episode Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch

Studio
Hanna-Barbera Studios

Synopsis

Captain Tuff and Officer Fishtail pursue a thief who's stealing from everyone, including Wheelie and Chopper. This episode parodies the first-person narration of "Dragnet," and even ends with a spoof of the show's hand-chiseled Mark VII logo.

Characters

Wheelie, Chopper, Scrambles, Deputy Fishtail, Rota Ree, Hi-Riser, Revs, Captain Tuff

Credits

Directing

Director
Charles Nichols (as Charles A. Nichols)
Unit Director
Jerry Hathcock

Producing

Producer
Joseph Barbera, William Hanna (Executive Producers)
Creative Producer
Iwao Takamoto

Writing

Writer
Larz Bourne, Len Larsen, Chuck Menville, Robert Ogle, Dalton Sandifer
Story Editor
Ray Parker
Executive Story Consultant
Myles Wylder

Voices

Voice
Franklin Welker (Chopper), Don Messick (Scrambles, Deputy Fishtail), Judy Strangis (Rota Ree), Lennie Weinrib (Hi-Riser), Paul Winchell (Revs, Captain Tuff), Rolinda Wolk

Music

Music
Hoyt Curtin

Art Department

Production Design
Bob Singer
Character Design
Jerry Eisenberg, David High
Backgrounds
Fernando Arce, Gino Giudice
Storyboard Editors
John Ahern, Carl Fallberg, Gary Hoffman, Earl Klein, Paul Sommer
Background Supervision
Fernando Montealegre
Ink and Paint Supervision
Billie Kerns

Editing

Supervising Film Editor
Larry Cowan

Sound

Sound Effects Editor
Richard C. Allen
Sound Direction
Richard Olson, Bill Getty

Music Department

Music Editor
Chip Yaras
Musical Supervisor
Paul DeKorte

Casting

Recording Director
Art Scott

Production Management

Production Manager
Art Scott
Production Supervision
Victor O. Schipek
Post Production Supervision
Joed Eaton
Assistant Production Manager
Jayne Barbera

Crew

Titles
Iraj Paran
Technical Supervision
Frank Paiker
Negative Consultant
William E. DeBoer

Companies and other credits

  • A HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTION
  • © 1974 Hanna-Barbera Productions
  • Inc

Production notes

Wheelie hangs with a motorcycle gang called the Chopper Bunch. Wheelie is a stunt-racing Volkswagen.

Hanna-Barbera's Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch revolved around a friendly Volkswagen named Wheelie and his Volkswagon girlfriend, Rota Ree. The two amiable vehicles were constantly being antagonized by a rebel gang of evil motorcycles called the Chopper Bunch.

Wheelie, unlike the car in Speed Buggy (another Hanna-Barbera creation), could not talk. Instead, the bug expressed himself through his horn and his windshield, which displayed his inner wishes and feelings (a beating heart, an "idea" lightbulb, the word "CHARGE," etc.) Rota Ree could talk, as could the members of the Chopper Bunch, including the spiked-helmeted leader Chopper and his comic sidekick, Revs. The American Primitive-style background art was drawn by none other than Fernando "Monte" Montealegre, of The Flintstones fame.

Lacking the fan base Speed Buggy, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch was scrapped after only one season.