Muttley first appeared in Hanna-Barbera's Wacky Races in 1968 as Dick Dastardly's loyal but mocking sidekick, voiced by Don Messick. His wheezing snicker became his signature in that series and in Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines the following year. Clips of the laugh later circulated on cartoon soundboards and in meme edits, where its raspy, knowing tone made it perfect shorthand for gloating at someone else's failure. Decades after the original broadcasts, creators still use it to instantly reference classic cartoon villainy.