View Larger Image

Speed Racer The Movie Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Animated, Dolby Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 80 minutes Studio: Pioneer Video Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-02-27 Buy from Amazon

From Amazon.com Despite the title, this disc is not a feature, but three episodes of the Japanese animated series that debuted in the U.S. in syndication in 1967. In "The Car Hater" (episode 26) a whip-wielding tycoon whose son was killed in an accident damns all autos as "rolling weapons"--until Speed teaches him the error of his ways. In the two-part "The Race Against the Mammoth Car" (episodes 7 and 8), Speed enters the No Limit World Race and finds himself competing with a vehicle "200 yards long." In addition to winning the race, he helps Officer Detective recapture the stolen gold hidden in the monster vehicle. The animation is extremely limited, the storytelling is rudimentary, and the dialogue sounds like it was taken from a 19th-century dime novel. But Speed Racer is a rare example of pre-anime Japanese animation. Speed and Trixie recall the characters from a Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning show, with rounder heads, broader chins, wider mouths, and smaller eyes than recent heroes and heroines. (Speed looks like a blue-eyed Tony Curtis.) Speed Racer retains a following among Gen Xers who grew up watching the show; for anime fans, it's little more than a curiosity. Containing cartoon violence, including numerous car crashes, this unrated video is appropriate only for children 6 and older. --Charles Solomon From Description Speed Racer, space hero Colonel Bleep and all their friends join up for this exciting animated feature. First, Speed Racer, his girlfriend Trixie and all the gang are in a desperate race to save hundreds of lives from the evil clutches of the "The Car Hater". But wait, there's more as Colonel Bleep and his pals Scratch and Squeak are off through outer space after "The Treacherous Pirate." Then Speed Racer returns at breakneck speed to battle evil, on and off the track, with "The Race Against the Mammoth Car." All this fun and excitement is interspersed with the three wonderfully creative classic animated "words from our sponsor" from the 1960's. So grab your popcorn, fasten your seat belt and get ready to blast off for the best in animated action!

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 10 Average rating: 3.5 "Racer X I know who you are.(jerry hixon)" This is Garry Hixon Jr.(speed racer) and Racer X is my long lost dead brother Jerry Hixon, (formerly rex racer) I know who you are so don't try to escape me. Ill find you someday and youll have to talk. Don't think I don't know what your up to, I can feel you behind me when I'm driving, and I know it is Jerry under that mask. I know you ran away from home in the 60's, I know you are the most important and powerful man in the world and you are protecting me, but I don't know why you won't speak to me. Everybody knows who you are, there's no use hiding anymore, you are the mystery of my life, someday youll come home to us, someday will be together, please come home Jerry Robert Hixon Jr., because I know your my older brother Racer X, speed,(spritel, Rick, Chris and John, and Deanna)Red 1985 Mazda RX7 "Excellent value" This is a very good DVD production of Speed Racer. The picture and sound are good as well as the added features. The commentary from two of the voice actors was very interesting in describing how Speed Racer was produced as well as how it differs from how cartoons are made today. One of the actors was also charged with `Americanizing' this Japanese cartoon and he gives insight into how he did this. Lots of extras such as bonus features that much more expensive DVDs have. Overall, a very good value. "Suitable for all ages?" O.K., so I ignored my wife's repeated warning about letting my 3-year old son watch this without checking it out once through. Speed Racer? It was my favorite, he'll love it! Well he did, but I'm glad I caught the Music Video that some [one] decided to produce...and [someone else] that decided to place it on a video "suitable for all ages". I am glad I noticed it before he had a chance to absorb the gangsta-rap ... that was going on. What a joke, and big dissapointment to an otherwise great video. "Music Video Was Inappropriate!" My 10 year old son just received this dvd in the mail and i was looking at it with him, and knowing how much he and his younger brother like to sing the theme song to speed racer, I said "hey there's a music video - let's watch it" After a few seconds, I sent my children out of the room while I continued to see what other vulgar scenes were in this thing. The girls in the bathing suits and feeling themselves up in front of my children was very very inappropriate!! This is a child's video for god's sake, can't people leave sex out of anything!!! I plan to write the company that is listed on the back of the video and voice my opinion as well. "Don't mess with Speed!" I ran a search at Amazon.com to find any DVD's of Speed Racer. There was a single hit, Speed Racer The Movie. So, I bought it. I was really in the mood to be taken back to my youth and have a great time watching a Speed Racer "movie." I knew that I had not actually purchased a "movie," but a collection of episodes...I would have picked a different set by the way....You get the "Car Hater," and "The Mammoth Car" (parts 1 and 2). Of the two, the Mammoth Car is the most fun. I particularly like the omnious sounds of the Mammoth Car. The supplemental material comes from one of the first (if not the first) episodes where Speed describes the capabilities of the Mach 5. This is fun, but I would like to see better selections of episodes. Hey, why not put them all on DVD in their proper order like Harmony Gold did for ROBOTECH?