Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch
On-screen title card.
Network	NBC
Production company	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Original release	September 7—December 21, 1974
Run time	30 minutes
Starring	Franklin Welker Judy Strangis Paul Winchell Lennie Weinrib Don Messick
Executive producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Producer(s)	Iwao Takamoto
Music composed by	Hoyt Curtin
Writer(s)	Larz Bourne Len Janson Chuck Menville Robert Ogle Dalton Sandifer
Director(s)	Charles A. Nichols Art Scott (voices)

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for NBC's Saturday morning children's programming. It ran in 1974, airing 16 episodes that spanned one season.

The series is set in a world where anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles live. It centers on the adventures of an innocent, but heroic little Volkswagen Beetle named Wheelie and his girlfriend Rota Ree, who deal with a bad, troublemaking motorcycle gang known as the Chopper Bunch, who are led by their leader Chopper.

The entire series has been released on DVD.

Music

The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin, credited as musical director, with musical supervision from Paul DeKorte.

Episodes

Episode	Original air date
1x01 "Get a Doctor" "A Day at the Beach" "Ghost Riders"	September 7, 1974
1x02 "Double Cross Country" "The Infiltrator" "The Stunt Show"	September 14, 1974
1x03 "Razzle Dazzle Paint Job" "The Autolympics" "The Delivery Service"	September 21, 1974
1x04 "The Big Bumper" "Surprise Party" "On the Town"	September 28, 1974
1x05 "Black Belt Fuji" "Our Hero" "Wheelie Goes Hawaiian"	October 5, 1974
1x06 "The Inspection" "The Old Timer" "The Copter Caper"	October 12, 1974
1x07 "Dr. Crankenstein" "Bulldozer Buddy" "Happy Birthday, Wheelie"	October 19, 1974
1x08 "Wheelie, the Super Star" "Down on the Farm" "Roadeo"	October 26, 1974
1x09 "Carfucious Says" "Mighty Wheelie" "Camping with a Go Go"	November 2, 1974
1x10 "Lenny Van Limousine" "Snow Foolin" "Wheelie in Paris"	November 9, 1974
1x11 "Dragster Net" "Dragula" "Boot Camp"	November 16, 1974
1x12 "Dr. Cykll and Mr. Ryde" "Johnny Crash" "Wheelie and the Smoke Eater"	November 23, 1974
1x13 "Friday the Thirteenth" "Wings of Wheelie" "Wheelie's Clean Sweep"	November 30, 1974

Cast

• Franklin Welker as Wheelie and Chopper
• Judy Strangis as Rota Ree
• Paul Winchell as Revs
• Lennie Weinrib as Hi-Riser
• Don Messick as Scrambles

Legacy

Reception-wise, several watchdog critics reacted negatively to the violence and portrayal of motorcycles in the series, and prompted viewers to write letters to NBC in hopes that the show would be pulled off the air.

Hi-Riser, a member of the Chopper Bunch, had a cameo in "SPF," a 2004 episode of the Adult Swim parody series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

Web Premiere Toons released a flash animated short titled "The Chopper Bunch," which follows the Chopper Bunch singing their version of the opening title while being reckless before ending up going into a "weird" place called Yukaigiga Cartoon.