Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

show1969

42%

WISE Score

1969 Hanna-Barbera cartoon where bumbling villains chase a pigeon in WWI biplanes—nostalgic for boomers, borderline unwatchable for modern kids.

Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines

show

TV-Y7, 1969

42%

WISE Score

1969 Hanna-Barbera cartoon where bumbling villains chase a pigeon in WWI biplanes—nostalgic for boomers, borderline unwatchable for modern kids.

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Screenwise Verdict

Let's be real: this show is a museum piece. Yes, it's completely safe and harmless—no parent ever needs to worry about what their kid is seeing. And yes, Muttley's snicker is legitimately iconic.

But it's 1969 animation with a formula so repetitive you could watch one episode and you've seen them all. Dick Dastardly tries to catch Yankee Doodle Pigeon, his plan backfires, he crashes, repeat. Modern kids raised on the narrative sophistication of Bluey or the visual spectacle of Spider-Verse will be bored to tears.

The 7.1 IMDb rating is pure nostalgia from Gen X and Boomers. If you want to do a 'look what cartoons used to be like' history lesson, throw on one episode. Otherwise, there are infinitely better ways to spend 20 minutes of screen time. This scores low not because it's bad for kids, but because kids simply won't want to watch it.

Age Fit

Common Sense Media says 7+, which tracks for content safety, but honestly most kids under 10 will find this incredibly boring within minutes. This is really for nostalgic parents who want to show their kids 'what we watched,' not for kids who actually want to watch something engaging.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Classic Hanna-Barbera slapstick with bumbling villains who always fail. The antagonist setup (trying to catch a pigeon) is harmless, and the tone is comedic rather than mean-spirited. However, the show does center on characters whose entire goal is sabotage, even if they're incompetent at it. The pacing is repetitive by modern standards, and the humor relies heavily on physical gags that land as more silly than genuinely kind or cooperative.

Imaginative

WWI-era flying machines and cartoon physics offer some visual creativity, and the Wacky Races-style contraptions have a certain inventive charm. Muttley's iconic snickering laugh became a cultural touchstone. However, the formula is extremely repetitive—every episode follows the same chase structure with minimal variation. It doesn't invite kids to build, explore, or create; it's purely passive viewing with predictable outcomes.

Safe

Extremely safe by content standards—it's classic Saturday morning cartoon fare with no gore, scary imagery, or inappropriate content. The 'violence' is pure Looney Tunes-style slapstick (crashes, explosions that leave characters sooty but unharmed). Common Sense Media rates it for age 7, and it has a kids mode available. No toxic behavior or disturbing elements. Loses a few points only because the constant crashing/explosions might be slightly intense for very sensitive preschoolers.

Enriching

Minimal educational or emotional growth value. The show is pure entertainment built on a repetitive chase formula with no character development, moral lessons, or skill-building. Kids won't learn about WWI history despite the setting (it's pure fantasy). The humor is one-note physical comedy. IMDB rating of 7.1 suggests nostalgic adults remember it fondly, but that doesn't translate to enrichment for modern kids.

Parent Info

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Why It Might Be Great

Completely safe slapstick humor with zero inappropriate content—you can leave the room without worry
Muttley's iconic wheezy laugh is genuinely funny and became a pop culture staple
Short 7-minute episodes mean you're not committing to much if your kid is curious about 'old cartoons'
The vintage animation and biplane contraptions have a certain retro charm if you're into animation history

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What to Watch For

Painfully repetitive—every episode is literally the same plot with minor variations
The animation quality and pacing will feel ancient and boring to kids raised on modern shows
Zero educational value or character development—pure empty entertainment
Your kid will probably ask to turn it off after one episode unless they're really into vintage stuff

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think Dastardly and Muttley never catch the pigeon? Is it funnier when the bad guys lose?"
"These cartoons are from 1969—what looks different compared to shows you watch now?"
"Muttley doesn't talk but you can tell what he's thinking. How does the show do that?"

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