Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels
| 06 September 1969 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
  • 1
  • Reviews
    SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped
    ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
    Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
    Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
    richard.fuller1 In case I am grossly in error, let me say I think this was the first cartoon we learned of on the then-new ABC network, as we were visiting someone else.Up to that time, I seem to recall the CBS lineup of Smokey the Bear, Casper, tom and Jerry, among others, or Hot Wheels was on this network anyway. (Well, old comic book ads do have Hot Wheels on the same network with Casper and Smokey the Bear). Either way, the pounding theme repeating "Hot Wheels! Hot Wheels!" as tho it was composed lyrics sticks in a four-yr-old head.Because of this distinction, I eventually sought the show on Ebay and came across three episodes, and about three of the Skyhawks show as well, which I have no recollection of.Definitely enjoyed Hot Wheels, even tho about only one episode is in color (well, hey, we had a black and white back then anyway. Actually, when it aired, we did have that big color TV) It was a basic setup. The heroic Jack Wheeler, his father who owned or managed the Hot Wheels group, mini-skirted chickie, a tomboy, and another preppie white kid.The strangest one, at this time when blacks were entering TV programs as mere tokens, here we have an Arabian black youth, with a small turban on his head.and then we have the sinister Dexter, rich kid voiced superbly by Casey Kasem. Dexter has his gang of sidekicks, a long-haired motorcycle bunch.they all go to the hamburger hangout, Mothers, who I actually recall this woman. She was pleased to see the Hot Wheels kids, not so happy when Dexter showed up.Animation not on par with Scooby Doo or Jonny Quest or Space Ghost, I find the show strangely enticing and enjoyable in all its simplicity.Would love to see more of them sometime. and I didn't buy a single Hot Wheels car.well, not like I didn't see them thanks to my brothers and the kids in the neighborhood.The tape also has commercials on the first episode, cereal ads and a Shasta commercial narrated by Tom Bosley.There is also an ad for Henry Fonda in a failed TV show, The Smith Family.
    David Takeuchi I doubt the original posters will check back here since the comments are all several years apart but for future visitors here is a little more info. Mattel sold at least three cars from the show. I have three(yes, still have them!): the Jack Rabbit Special which was white and blue, the Sand Crab (the only one I have that is not the same color as the show's. Mine is hot pink.) and the Demon (Dexter's car). I read the lyrics posted and could not even come close to envisioning the melody. I am glad that my memory is not that cluttered. I don't know why, but I kept my cars, but I am glad that I did. They aren't in great shape because I actually played with them. I still regret taking my double decker super charger to the dump, because it still worked great.
    fivefids I still remember this cartoon that I never missed on Saturday mornings. The characters were the hero Jack Wheeler, Ardeth the tomboy, Kip, the minority rep of the gang who drove an MG and "Tank" the big guy. Each week they were involved in a different race scenario. Each time they were tormented by their arch-nemesis Dexter, the bad guy. Had that great 60s underpinning where the good guys always won and Dexter left in shame. Jack Wheeler always drove one of two cars, the Jack Rabbit Special or the Sand Crab. Both cars were white, probably to indicate the "good guy." Each episode featured lots of good information regarding automotive mechanics and motor mania in general. At the end of each episode, Jack Wheeler always gave the young audience a driving safety tip. He even did an anti-smoking commercial, which was aired during other Saturday morning cartoons. Its companion cartoon was "Sky Hawks" which had a similar theme but featured airplanes instead of cars. I still remember the Hot Wheels theme song - "Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels, always racing always chasing. Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels, keep a-turning now, keep a-burning now, keep a-turnin' Hot Wheels! Daytona, Indianapolis and Bonneville! Dune buggies, keep a-climbin', up the sandy hill! Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels, keep a-turning now, keep a-burning now, keep a-turnin' Hot Wheels!"
    Jonathan Bastock This was just one of the cartoons I would watch religiously as a kid. It never even occurred to me that it was a 30 minute commercial for the miniature cars. It and it's sister program "Skyhawks" had catchy '70's era theme songs which had my friends and me playing with our Hot Wheels cars and toy airplanes and singing the songs every time we let the cars roll down the track. The Hot Wheels show was almost the American version of Speed Racer and traced the exploits of the Hot Wheels race club from one race to the next. Looking back, I wonder how it held my attention for more than the first episode. But even after 30 years, I can still hear the theme song in my head... "Hot Wheels! Hot Wheels! Always racin', always chasin'... Keep a turnin' Hot Wheels! Please someone get it out of my head!!