''Wonder Wheels'' is a Saturday morning animated series produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

that originally aired as a 5-minute segment on ''

The Skatebirds ''The Skatebirds'' (onscreen title: ''Skatebirds'') is an American live-action/animated package program produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 10, 1977, to January 21, 1978. Overview The Skatebirds consisted of ...

'' from September 10, 1977, to January 21, 1978, on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. In the fall of 1979, ''Wonder Wheels'' continued to air on ''The Skatebirds'' when the show returned to CBS in a shortened half-hour version on Sunday mornings until January 25, 1981. In the late 1980s, it resurfaced in a different syndicated half-hour version of ''The Skatebirds'' on

USA Cartoon Express The ''USA Cartoon Express'' was a programming block consisting of animated children's series which aired on the USA Network from September 20, 1982 to September 15, 1996. ''Cartoon Express'' was the first structured animation block on cable tele ...

and later on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

and as an interstitial segment between shows.

Plot

A 17-year-old high school journalist named Willie Wheeler (voiced by

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He is best known as the drummer and one of three primary vocalists for the pop-rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunions ...

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

) and his girlfriend Dooley Lawrence (voiced by Susan Davis) solve crimes with the help of his

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

motorcycle Wonder Wheels. Whenever Willie goes into action, he utters his catchphrase: "This looks like a job for Won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-wonder Wheels!" and at the press of a button, Willie's beat-up motorcycle transforms into a flashy version with a mind of its own.

Episodes

Voices

– Willie Wheeler/Wonder Wheels * Susan Davis – Dooley Lawrence

Production credits

* Executive Producers:

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the ani ...

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian im ...

* Produced by: Terry Morse Jr. * Creative Producer:

Iwao Takamoto Iwao Takamoto (April 29, 1925 – January 8, 2007) was a Japanese-American animator, television producer, and film director. He began his career as a production and character designer for Walt Disney Animation Studios films such as ''Cinderella ...

* Associate Producer: Neil Balnaves * Animation: Sue Speak, Cecil Collins, Rodney D'Silva, Dick Dunn, Peter Eastment, John Ellis, Warwick Gilbert, Gerald Grabner, Sebastian Hurpia, Greg Ingram, Richard Jones, Cynthia Leech, Paul McAdam, Henry Neville, Ray Nowland, Di Rudder, Michael Stapleton, John Tych, Kaye Watts * Animation Directors: Charles A. Nichols,

Chris Cuddington Chris Cuddington is an Australian animation director who worked at Hanna-Barbera Australia studios in Sydney during the 1970s and 1980s. At Hanna-Barbera (Australia), he was Animation Director for the following TV series: *''Clue Club'' (197 ...

* Assistant Animation Supervisor: Paul Maron * Story: Kathy Colburn, Tom Dagenais, Dill Dailey, Dianne Dixon, Kari Oaurs,

Andy Heyward Andrew B. Heyward (born February 19, 1949) is the former Chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment, an animation production company. He is currently CEO of Genius Brands, Genius Brands International. Early life Heyward was born in New York City, ...

, Chris Jenkyns, Mark Jones, Joan Maurer, Michael Maurer,

Norman Maurer Norman Albert Maurer (May 13, 1926 – November 23, 1986) was a comic book artist and writer, and a director and producer of films and television shows. Comic books Maurer's lifelong association with the Three Stooges began about the time ...

Jack Mendelsohn Jack Mendelsohn (November 8, 1926 – January 25, 2017) was an American writer-artist who worked in animation, comic strips and comic books. An Emmy-nominated television comedy writer and story editor, he had numerous credits as a TV scripter, ...

, Howie Post, Cliff Roberts, Sandy Sandifer * Story Editors:

, Sid Morse * Story Direction: Alvaro Arce,

Carl Fallberg Carl Robert Fallberg (September 11, 1915 – May 9, 1996) was a writer/cartoonist for animated feature films and T.V. cartoons for Disney Studios, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Brothers. He also wrote comic books for Dell Comics, Western Publishi ...

, Cullen Houghtaling, Mike O'Connor, Don Sheppard, George Singer, Karren Wright * Editors: Peter Berger, Warner Leighton, Peter Jennings * Supervising Film Editor: Dick Elliott * Assistant Film Editor: Barry Gold * Recording Director:

Wally Burr Walter Story Burr (June 2, 1924 – July 9, 2017), also credited as Wally Burr and Walter Burr, was an American voice actor and director. As the voice director for '' The Transformers'' and '' The Transformers: The Movie'', Burr was known for h ...

* Graphics: Iraj Paran * Musical Director:

Hoyt Curtin Hoyt Stoddard Curtin (September 9, 1922 – December 3, 2000) was an American composer and music producer, the primary musical director for the Hanna-Barbera animation studio from its beginnings with ''The Ruff & Reddy Show'' in 1957 until his ret ...

* Musical Supervision: Paul DeKorte * Character Design:

Bob Singer Bob Singer (born 1928) is an American animation artist, character designer, layout and background artist and storyboard director of animated television programs, most memorably of several Hanna-Barbera productions such as ''The Flintstones'', ''Jonn ...

, Lew Ott, George Wheeler * Layout Supervision: Steve Lumley * Layout: Bob Fosbry, Terry Moesker, Joe Shearer, Mike Trebert * Backgrounds: Richard Zaloudek, Milan Zahorsky, Jerry Liew, Michael King-Prince, Peter Connell, Ken Wright, Michael Chojecki, Lesley Nicholl * Animation Checking: Narelle Nixon * Xerography: Ellen Bayley * Ink and Paint Supervision: Narelle Derrick * Production Managers: R. J. Louis, James Cranston * Production Coordinator: Tobi Singleton * Production Supervision: Doug Patterson, Mark D'Arcy-Irvine, Adrienne Smith * Art Director: Kirk Axtell * Script Supervisors: Mary Jane Ferguson, Lester Hoyle * Sound Direction: Richard Olson, Bill Getty * Sound Mixers: Manuel Topoto, James Pilcher * Animation Photography: Terry Smith, Carole Laird, Mark D'Arcy-Irvine, Kieren Mulgrew, Tom Epperson * Dubbing Supervision: Pat Foley * Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer * Post Production Supervision: Joed Eaton

References

External links

*
''Wonder Wheels'': Behind the Voice Actors
{{Children's programming on CBS in the 1970s 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American animated television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated superhero television series English-language television shows CBS original programming Fictional motorcycles Teen animated television series Teen superhero television series Television series about shapeshifting Television series by Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera superheroes Hanna-Barbera characters