10 Criminally Underappreciated Classic Cartoons

Spinoffs are another tricky proposition for a cartoon franchise as many have also signaled the end of a series' success.

"Wacky Races" was an iconic cartoon about a Cannonball Run style race around various locations. The show spawned two spin-offs in 1969, the most memorable of which was "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop".

Penelope Pitstop was a stereotypical southern belle driver in "Wacky Races" who finds herself in a variety of dangerous (RE: perilous) situations throughout her spinoff thanks to the scheming of The Hooded Claw. The Ant Hill Mob, a reimagining of the seven dwarfs as gangsters, are the "Wacky Races" drivers who usually come to her rescue, but the show tended to go a little deeper than the typical damsel-in-distress formula.

Pitstop would oftentimes save herself from some of these dangerous situations, or be forced to save the bumbling Ant Hill Mob from their own disastrous fate in creative, almost MacGyver-esque ways. It makes for a fun show that also featured a fairly-strong heroine during a time where that was blatantly lacking. Of course, it wasn't perfect in that respect either, but it was at least something.

It also gave us the joy of having Paul Lynde going all out as The Hooded Claw. If you're unfamiliar with Lynde and why he has one of the most underrated voices in comedy history, check out the spiritual precursor to any Tim Allen sitcom, "The Paul Lynde Show".

Combine that together, and you have one of the better shows to come out of its time period.