IMDb > Speed Racer (2008)
Speed Racer
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Speed Racer (2008) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 67 | slideshow) Videos (see all 22 NEW)
Speed Racer (2008) -- Speed Racer - Sneak Peek
Speed Racer (2008) -- MyMovies.Net - Clip - Grand Prix (WMV)
Speed Racer (2008) -- MyMovies.Net - Exclusive interview with Emile Hirsch (WMV)
Speed Racer (2008) -- This is the third theatrical trailer for Speed Racer, directed by the Wachowski Brothers.
Speed Racer (2008) -- Speed Racer - Trailer #2

Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   29,428 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Writers (WGA):

Andy Wachowski (written by) &
Larry Wachowski (written by) ...
more

Contact:

View company contact information for Speed Racer on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

9 May 2008 (USA) more

Genre:

Action | Family | Sport more

Tagline:

Go more

Plot:

The story begins with Speed Racer who is a young man with natural racing instincts whose goal is to win The Crucible... more | full synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

8 nominations more

NewsDesk:
(355 articles)

Ricci Shows Off New Boyfriend
 (From WENN. 2 November 2009, 4:06 AM, PST)

Brad Pitt and Josh Brolin May Hop in Some Race Cars and Go Like Hell
 (From Collider.com. 28 October 2009, 2:52 PM, PDT)

User Comments:

I Don't Know What Haters Were Expecting But It Did Exactly What It Set Out To Do more (365 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Emile Hirsch ... Speed Racer

Nicholas Elia ... Young Speed

Susan Sarandon ... Mom Racer
Melissa Holroyd ... Speed's Teacher

Ariel Winter ... Young Trixie

Scott Porter ... Rex
Gian Ganziano ... Everyman Announcer

Peter Fernandez ... Local Announcer

Harvey Friedman ... Harold Ledermann Announcer
Sadao Ueda ... Japanese Announcer
Valery Tscheplanowa ... Russian Announcer

Sami Loris ... Italian Announcer
Olivier Marlo ... French Announcer
Sean McDonagh ... Celtic Announcer

Kick Gurry ... Sparky
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:

Race Chasers (USA) (fake working title)
Speed Racer (Germany)
Speed Racer: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
more

MPAA:

Rated PG for sequences of action, some violence and language.

Runtime:

135 min

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

At one point, after winning a race, Speed jumps out of his car car while it still moves, and strikes a pose as his car slows and stops just behind him. This is the trademark pose of Speed Racer, shown during the cartoon's opening credits. more

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When first visiting the Racer family, Royalton says one line in German - "Pfannkuchen sind Liebchen" - and translates it to "pancakes are love." "Liebchen" is a very old fashioned German word for lover, the correct German sentence would have been "Pfannkuchen sind Liebe." more

Quotes:

[first lines]
Race Announcer: All drivers to your cars, please. All drivers to your cars.
more

Movie Connections:

Spin off Speed Racer (2008) (VG) more

Soundtrack:

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered more


FAQ

Do Racer X's cars have names?
What are the names of the songs used in the trailers?
Can you explain the events that occur between Rex leaving home and Racer X's first appearance?
more
300 out of 435 people found the following comment useful.
I Don't Know What Haters Were Expecting But It Did Exactly What It Set Out To Do, 3 May 2008
10/10
Author: moinsyyed from United Kingdom

and that would be, entertain.

I can't describe how many times I thought 'whoah!' it's one of those moments that could only ever happen in cartoons or 'whoa!' that was anime level crazy! This film set out to create a literal live action adaptation of a lovable & cheesy retro cartoon anime. That's exactly what it did.

Let's start with the PG rating, this was appropriate not because this film is 'aimed' at kids (which it wasn't clearly, as box office disconnect showed) but because it's a 'family' film for all ages based on a cartoon that most of the older generation watched when they were kids, the source material barely even bordered a 12A and yet the film managed to in fact surpass it's source material in maturity.

Fans of anime will seriously lap this up despite what the recent comments have said. Not only has every care been taken to preserve elements of the source material but it also has those cool retro and also modern anime moments. Good and bad guys with crazy cartoon anime hairstyles, crazy over-the-top kung fu, elaborate motion line effects just like in mangas, crazy death defying races, cheesy as hell dialogue which fits perfectly in context! Performances were quite impressive given it's a predominantly 'kids' PG film and that they were filming against green screen.

I also commend the Wachowski's use of such a strong colour palette.They didn't tone it down or diverge from the theme and each scene had a contextual wash of colour.Serious or more intimate moments had darker shadows while remaining colourfully vibrant. They were bold and not shy about what this film was going to look like.

To the haters again i say ,'what exactly where you expecting? The Matrix with cars?, people getting there throats slit?, symbolic commentary on capitalism,corruption, religion or the new world order? Go into this movie expecting high adrenaline scenes and all campy fun that only a 60's anime adaptation can provide, but don't just to go and watch it just to 'see what the fuss is about' until you actually understand what the source material was like. That way the movie will exceed your expectations.

I don't have complete praise for this movie however, in that towards the end of the film they got a little overboard with the editing and i was really let down by the final antagonist type drivers. Speed seemed to have a harder time in the casa cristo race in the film where the other drivers were far more menacing. It seemed like 'Cannonball Taylor', 'Gray Ghost' and especially the bad ass, white haired yakuza driver (for musha motors by the way) were just a flash gone by and Speed just beat them without any problems at all. Let's hope they make more of a presence in any semblance of an extended/directors cut

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