The Perils of Penelope Pitstop

I am a fan of Hanna-Barbera and have enjoyed watching some of their TV series and films, such as "Charlotte's Web" and "Heidi's Song." I have nostalgic memories of watching Wacky Races on Teletoon many years ago. Penelope Pitstop and her Compact Pussycat were always my favorite racers. I was perplexed by her car's moniker, The Compact Pussycat, because it bore no resemblance to a cat. The show was a success, spawning spin-off shows such as Dastardly and Muttley in their Flying Machines and The Peril of Penelope Pitstop. In the 1960s, Wacky Races set the stage, but the characters and settings of The Perils of Penelope Pitstop strongly resembled the 1920s and 1930s.

I'd bought the complete series on DVD, and after watching all seventeen episodes, I thought it's a very funny show; it has scenes you will remember and make you laugh your head off. In this series, Penelope's sinister guardian (voiced by Paul Lynde), Sylvester Sneekly, aka The Hooded Claw, constantly chases her, as she is unaware she is a heiress to a vast fortune. The Ant Hill Mob (also from Wacky Races) and their anthropomorphic car Chug-A-Boom (like Herbie from Disney's The Love Bug) are always there to help her. But they sometimes screw up the rescue, and it's always Penelope who ends up saving them.

They never explain why Penelope is a wealthy woman. Why are the Ant Hill Mob Penelope's friends? They just jump right through it. I have an imagination. Penelope was the daughter of a wealthy family. When her parents died, Sylvester Sneekly, her "dear daddy's" secretary, became her constant companion. He was her oracle, guide, and hero. Maybe that's why she refuses to believe that Sylvester is the Hooded Claw. The Ant Hill Mob are her friends because she may have reformed them with her kind heart, or perhaps they had already reformed years ago. So overall, I love this series and would watch it again and again.

I've known about Wacky Races and this other Hanna Barbera cartoon for several years. I've never seen either of them growing up as they were before my time and I probably would've watched it sooner if my parents had gotten Boomerang (or if that cable channel had already been a part of our cable package). But I've always been curious about it and, if not the most curious, as well as interested in checking it out, more so than Wacky Races. The former show I might explore eventually in the future.

At last, instead of having access of viewing it via Boomerang, I did begin watching the first three episodes of it so far (on different late nights) at the Kiss Cartoon site. I'd like to start off by stating that this is one of the few H-B productions that stand out more, so I've got to give it that, as at least it isn't one nor does it follow any of the three formulas that were the norm of most H-B shows, especially throughout the 1960s and '70s: Talking animals who impersonate comics of the day, mysteries that crib from Scooby Doo, and family-centric series that came from the Flintstones. I haven't seen every H-B program growing up, but I learned and now know just how formulaic the majority of them were once I began reading about what others were saying about them on the 'net. Secondly, despite the few flaws there may be with it, according to some people's comments I read outside of this site, I still find it enjoyable. It's not the first nor one of the first by H-B that I'd have high on my list of favorites, as I like some of their movies and specials/one or two-off productions even more, which should've been expanded into series, but I still like it just the same and might at least consider it a late '60s/early '70s animated series favorite. I wouldn't say this is all bad nor a total loss.

The notion is a former race-car driving, blonde Southerner who frequently gets kidnapped by her guardian, Sylvester Sneakly, disguised as his alter ego, the Hooded Claw, and puts her in jeopardy one way or another in order to steal her inheritance. Somebody in one thread on a forum on another site compared her to Princess Peach of Super Mario Bros. fame, but times 10. Another person in a thread on a second forum on a second site complained about her never noticing her guards having gone missing. Although Penelope is a blonde, therefore the point is the creators of this may have been simply pandering to the ditsy blonde stereotype. I'll admit it would've been nice to see her wise up to that in due time, even though that recurring gag went on for too long. Her obliviousness to that fact is one bad quality about her but I've got to counter it with a good quality. What else I've got to say is that she hasn't always been totally incapable of getting herself out of predicaments nor has she always been reliant on the Ant Hill Mob, who are gangster parodies/versions of the seven dwarfs. I must admit that Penelope is also resourceful and sometimes gets herself out of jams. Did Princess Peach ever do that? I may be somewhat defending this, but I just have to give my take/viewpoint on it. Some may have beef with the Ant Hill Mob often failing to rescue Penelope as one of the shticks of the show. I know that they should've done better at their rescue attempts, but at the same time, the point of that shtick is to provide comic relief to balance out the perils. However, it would've been nice to see them succeed, at least once. Clyde, the leader, seems to be the most competent out of them though. Another good quality Penelope has about her is she is a lady of many talents and sometimes she uses her cleverness to her advantage. Somehow, things still manage to work out well for her in the end. In addition to those, she's not that bad of a protagonist/heroine. The settings in this show aren't too much of the same, which is another thing I like about it.

I, too, would still consider it to be one of the strongest productions as far as H-B series go. So I'd still check it out any way if anyone reading it is as curious as I was. Don't listen to what anybody outside this site says otherwise. It may not be one of the best, but it isn't one of the worst either. I rather this than any of the gross-out, sick-humored, mindless cartoons any day, even though I know there have been other shows that are free of those. One other thing: I wish this series had a more proper ending rather than being open-ended. It would've been nice to see just how this whole thing is resolved.

I liked this series when I was a boy. The horrid cackle of the evil Hooded Claw (brilliantly voiced by veteran US actor the late Paul Lynde)used to give me goosebumps. I recently watched the whole series online and while I still very much enjoyed it,I was rather bemused at all the elaborate traps devised by HC to bump off his female victim The finale ending the series was inconclusive. I had hoped the evil Claw might himself be killed by one of his own devices thus ridding Penelope of him for good or being captured and unmasked as the treacherous Sneekley Indeed he did blow himself up at the very end by accidentally tripping and falling on a detonator plunger but sadly he survived it,and swearing to continue to think up further nefarious ideas to murder Penelope. Verdict? Still very watchable but disappointed there was no definite outcome to the series.

I've been catching reruns of this old cartoon on Cartoon Network over the last couple of weeks, and frankly I'm probably in the minority. I actually like this show. It stars Penelope Pitstop (a female racer from "Wacky Races") who is being constantly on the run by her laywer Sylvester Sneekly (aka The Hooded Claw who is just Sneekly in disguise) whom wants to elude of her since she inherited a fortune, and would give it to him if something were to happenn to her (you know like death or something like that for an example). But Penelope has protection thanks to my fave characters from "Wacky Races" the Ant Hill Mob (those guys rule!!!!!) who will keep our damsel in distress from being captured by the Hooded Claw.

I really like this cartoon a lot. I know that Hanna Barbera has made some lame spinoffs in the past, but this is great. 10/10

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop follows Penelope Pitstop (Janet Waldo) a rich woman who travels the world only to be chase and place in danger by The Hooded Claw (Paul Winchell).

This show was a spin off of Wacky Races another cartoon by Hanna- Barbera. HB always makes interesting and classic cartoons and this is one of their more interesting ones.

It has a female protagonist with a villain who laugh always can make you shake.

Now that's rare for villains these days and even in the day.

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop had some good animation as HB is known for along with some good voice acting and music to boot.

The Narrator (Gary Owens) always makes the show interesting as he tells the story of each episode.

Some people may have different opinions on the show but I find it to be interesting if you are a fan of Hannah Barbera cartoons then give this one a try.

I'll get you Penelope Pitstop