Here He Comes, Here Comes Speed Racer!

Last night, Number 2 and I snuck down to the basement to watch our new Speed Racer DVD. When I was Number 2’s age (10) it was my favorite cartoon, although I admit I couldn’t remember it very well so I ordered Speed Racer vol. 1 on DVD at Amazon.com and anxiously waited by the mailbox.

We planned to watch only one episode, but it ended with a cliff hanger, so we just had to watch the second part, despite Taco Queen hollering at us from upstairs that it was getting late.

I’m pleased to announce that I remember now why I loved Speed Racer as a kid. It totally rocked. The best cartoon ever made!

Here’s what I enjoyed the most:

1. The English dubbing crammed into the mouths of cartoons animated for Japanese dialog. The writing isn’t tight, so the actors have to say their lines very quickly with no pauses between ideas. It’s hilarious and wonderful.
   
2. The sinister villains with the bad James Cagney-esque accents: “If you want those plans, it’ll cost you 5,000 clams, see.”
   
3. The racing animation, especially the signature crashes through the guardrails. Cars and motorcycles constantly break through guardrails, fly through the air for miles, and then explode in massive flames.

But of course, the greatest thing in the world of Speed Racer is his awesome car, the Mach 5. It’s a very fast car; I saw it take a corner at 300 miles per hour. It has a roomy trunk to hide Spritle and Chim-Chim who constantly stow away. It also features a set of buttons on the steering wheel that activate a lot of cool features like jacks that make the car jump, an air-tight cockpit so the car can drive underwater, and two awesome buzz saws.

I can’t wait to keep watching this wacky, violent, ridiculous cartoon. But, as loyal readers know, I’m even more excited to see the movie to be released May 9, 2008, and directed by the Wachowski brothers, creators of The Matrix. How cool is that?