2008 Woodie Awards
'Speed Racer' Crashes and Burns at Starting
Jake Madrigal
Issue date: 5/28/08 Section: Entertainment
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When many hear the title "Speed Racer," they begin to think back on childhood memories of watching the popular cartoon that first hit television screens in the late 1960s, brought to America by Japanese creator and writer Tatsuo Yoshida and Tatsunoko Productions.
As the release of the new "Speed Racer" hits the theater, I think it is clear to any classic "Speed Racer" fan that it's just not the same without Yoshida around.
Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, who brought us the "Matrix" trilogy (1999-2005), and "V for Vendetta" (2005), they accepted the job of bringing this classic cartoon back to life.
As the movie begins with young Speed Racer (Nicholas Elia, "White Noise," 2005) sitting in class dreaming about one day being a great racer like his older brother Rex (Scott Porter, "Prom Night," 2008) the newcomer to this classic cartoon gets a weak background compared to the original plot where more detail of Speed's childhood is given.
When Speed's brother, Rex, kills his identity in a fatal car accident, Speed is driven even harder. The family racing company is closed and Speed's father, Pops, played by John Goodman ("Evan Almighty," 2007) doesn't step foot in the garage for a year.
As Speed grows up and turns into the racer that he knew he could always be, played by Emile Hirsch ("Into the Wild," 2007, "Alpha Dog," 2006), he begins to dominate the racing world with his style, speed and intensity - always chasing the ghost of his deceased brother Rex.
While the popularity of Speed begins to grow, he is approached by many mainstream sponsors, which try and tear him away from the family team and business.
When he gets the unbelievable offer from Mr. Royalton, played by Roger Allam, he has second thoughts about his past and his future.
As flashbacks of memories with his brother, past races, and classic times with his father go through his head his future is more and more on his mind.
When he declines the offer that was given to him, Royalton lets him in on a little secret revealing the truth of the racing business, leaving Speed in a pickle. He is left to decide whether to fall into the pit of popularity and corruption, or to race from the heart and play by the rules.
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