DVD REVIEW

Speed Racer  (1967)

Voices: Jack Curtis, Peter Fernandez, Corinne Orr

Rating: NR

Studio: Artisan Entertainment

Review Posted: 4.29.03

Spoilers: Minor

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

Originally a Japanese comic strip called "Mach Go Go Go", the animated series Speed Racer has now become a cult classic and one of the most popular "Japanimated" series to hit the U.S. airwaves. Featuring Speed and his ultimate driving machine, the Mach 5, Speed Racer combines racing with intrigue.

Already hailed as a classic, Speed Racer features fascinating and innovative animation, which takes center stage every time Speed battles villains or races for his need for speed. The show premiered in 1967 and to this day is considered by a select group of people as the revolution of animation. Speed Racer’s premise also deserves some attention, so enough with talk about the animation. Speed Racer operates on a weekly villain formula, which means every other double-episode features a new villain or menace. The most recent example of this formula is applied in WB’s Smallville. The world of racing is explored minimally, since most of the races on the show are concerned with beating villains or winning some sort of bet or competition.

Much emphasis is placed on the characters and they all come across as friendly and realistic. The Racer family includes Speed, Pops, Moms, Spritle and Chim Chim. Friends Sparky and Trixie, Speed’s love interest, show up in support. There are instances of silly behavior, but that is to be expected from an old show such as Speed Racer. Speed’s famous race car is the Mach 5. It was designed and built by Pops and is equipped with incredible features, operated by seven buttons on the steering wheel. The features are as follows:

A: Jet propulsion and car elevation.
B: Special tires for rough terrain.
C: Saw blades at the front of the car for cutting through anything in his way.
D: Bulletproof windshield.
E: Super bright headlights.
F: For driving underwater, equipped with an oxygen supply and periscope.
G: Robot bird released as a messenger pigeon.

Episode Index:

1-2: The Great Plan: Pops etches plans for new Mach Five onto the windshield.

3-4: Challenge of the Masked Racer: Speed becomes a professional race driver

5-6: The Secret Engine: An engine block has a treasure map on it.

7-8: Race Against the Mammoth Car: A gigantic car made of smuggled gold.

9-11: The Most Dangerous Race: Speed versus the Car Acrobatic Team.

Artisan Entertainment’s release of Speed Racer is a great start to bring attention to the show again and surprise the fans. However, fans of the show will most likely be the only ones getting a kick out of the release.

6 out of 10

Speed Racer dates back to the late 1960s and therefore the quality of the video presentation is less than average. Some grain and dirt spots show up in many instances, but it is the lack of color detail and consistent image clarity that decreases the video quality. I’m not sure if the cause for these problems is the transfer itself, but the presentation is just not very technical or updated.

5 out of 10

There is not much quality going for Speed Racer in this department either. On the same level with SpongeBob, for example, which offers Dolby 2.0, Speed Racer doesn’t offer much quality in sound presentation, as the soundtrack is available in Mono. The sound effects of the many racing scenes come across nicely and loud, but not in any form of surround sound fashion. The audio presentation is fine, but Speed Racer warrants something of more quality.

4 out of 10

Since all 11 episodes are crammed on one disc, there isn’t much room for special features. However, there are some features available, but they’re all in text. Some of it is on the production with the history of Tatsunoko Productions, information on the translation, the theme song with lyrics and the US cast. One particular fun section is called the Mach 5, which takes you to a demonstration or tutorial of the car’s controls. Select a letter and you can view an excerpt of the features in action. There is also a Villain’s Gallery and a Speed Lives On! section that covers merchandise information, a clip of the 1993 Speed Racer show, and a little bit about the 1996 Volkswagen commercial.

The packaging of the Speed Racer Limited Edition DVD comes in a cardboard sleeve over the case that consists of a real rubber tire design with the logo carved into it. In addition, English subtitles are available. The menus are not animated, but navigation is very easy. The approximately 120-minute length of 11 combined episodes is organized into circa 52 chapters, but individual chapter selections are not available.

3 out of 10

Speed Racer is a fun show with some innovative animation, but its weekly villains and race formula grows somewhat predictable. Fans of the show should go crazy for this release, but might be disappointed in the lackluster video and audio presentation. Artisan’s Limited Edition DVD is worth a rental, but nothing else. Let’s hope the next installment of Speed Racer will receive better care.

Overall DVD Rating: 5 out of 10 (not an average)