Hot Wheels (TV series)

Hot Wheels is a thirty-minute Saturday-morning cartoon series broadcast on ABC from 1969 to 1971, under the primary sponsorship of Mattel Toys.[1] The show took pains to stress that it was "pro-safety", contrasting the safe and responsible behavior of the series' racing-club protagonists with the reckless behavior of their rivals.[2]

This article is about the 1969-71 television series. For other series and films based on the toy line, see Hot Wheels (disambiguation).
Hot Wheels
GenreAnimated series
Created byFred Crippen
Eddie Smardan
Ken Snyder
Voices ofBob Arbogast
Melinda Casey
Casey Kasem
Albert Brooks
Susan Davis
Nora Marlowe
Michael Rye
Theme music composerMike Curb
ComposerJack Fascinato
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producerKenneth C.T. Snyder
ProducersFred Crippen
Eddie Smardan
Ken Snyder
Camera setupI
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesKen Snyder Properties, in association with Pantomime Pictures
DistributorCBS Television Distribution
Mattel Creations
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 6, 1969 (1969-09-06) –
September 4, 1971 (1971-09-04)

The show was criticized by the FCC, which considered it a half-hour commercial for toy cars. ABC contested the charge, saying that there was no prior commitment to Mattel, and that Hot Wheels cars were never advertised during the program. The network was backed up by the National Association of Broadcasters, and the show remained on the ABC schedule for two seasons.[2]

Synopsis

The series mainly focused on the racing exploits of a high school student, Jack "Rabbit" Wheeler, who led the Hot Wheels Racing Club.

Voice cast

FCC action

Some time during the show's broadcast, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received complaints from toy companies who argued that it was actually a thirty-minute commercial for the toys; one of them was Topper Toys, a rival to Mattel.[3] The FCC obliged by ordering stations to log part of the airings as advertising time.[3][4]

See also

References
  1. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 142–143. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. Owen, David (1988). "The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning". The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning—and Other Adventures in American Enterprise (Essay). Villard Books (Random House). pp. 174–175. ISBN 0-394-56810-9.
  4. Wojahn, Ellen (1988). "Team Play". Playing by Different Rules. American Management Association (amacom). pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-8144-5861-0.


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