How to Win on the Thruway

How to Win on the Thruway treats a drive as an occasion for short, comic instruction. The cartoon strings together a series of scenes on a busy highway, using simple animation and timing to set up visual gags about motorists, signs, and roadside behavior. Arthur Treacher provides a dry, measured narration that comments on what drivers do and what they ought to do, while the images push small chaotic moments into comic relief. The short keeps its focus tight, offering quick lessons wrapped in humor rather than a conventional story, and it balances didactic notes about courtesy and safety with playful exaggeration.

Released in 1962, the short was directed by Gene Deitch and narrated by Arthur Treacher. Deitch made numerous economical animated shorts, and this title reflects his spare, graphic style and preference for deadpan voiceover over elaborate animation flourishes and pacing.

As an early 1960s animated short, it did not generate notable box office returns and saw limited theatrical exposure. No reliable gross is recorded, and the film survives mainly through archival prints and occasional festival or classroom showings today widely.

Though not a household name, the short has a small following among animation historians and enthusiasts who study Cold War era American shorts and Deitch's work. Its deadpan narration and economical visuals are cited as examples of mid century instructional satire, and it appears in director retrospectives and niche screenings.

There are few contemporary reviews, and its Vote Average reflects limited polling. Critics who note it point to humor about driving etiquette, the absurdities of automobile culture, and a didactic undercurrent about safety. The short feels like a compact comic PSA with visual wit and a steady narrator and timing.