Taking advantage of the buzz surrounding Larry and Andy Wachowski’s upcoming live-action Speed Racer movie, Nicktoons Network tonight (May 2) debuts its newest animated series, Speed Racer: The Next Generation. Featuring a blend of 2D and CG animation, the update of the classic anime show premieres at 7 p.m. (ET) on Nickelodeon’s sister network.
Speed Racer: The Next Generation focuses on a new racing academy cadet who learns that he is the son of the original Speed Racer from the 1967 show. He will also discover that he has a brother, the new Racer X. Speed’s monkey pal, Chim-Chim, has been replaced by a robot, and the driver’s younger brother, Spritle, shows up as head of the racing academy and is voiced by Peter Fernandez, who dubbed in Speed Racer’s voice for the English-language version of earlier series.
The show is executive produced by John and Jim Rocknowski (principals of Speed Racers Enterprises) and Larry Schwarz, CEO of Animation Collective, the New York-based studio behind Kappa Mikey and Ellen’s Acres. In the 90-minute premiere, “The Beginning,” Speed arrives at the prestigious Racing Academy and makes both friends and enemies. After finding parts of Speed Racer’s legendary car, the Mach 5, in a junk yard, Speed and his new friends Conor and Lucy rebuild the vehicle only to see it wrecked during an intense race. Dejected and in need of a new car, Speed discovers his father’s schematics for a revolutionary gasless engine and builds the Mach 6.
This is the third attempt to resurrect the franchise in animation, previous efforts being the short-lived The New Adventures of Speed Racer (1993) and Speed Racer X (2002). Lionsgate is producing 26 episodes and hopes to get a lot of mileage from the live-action movie, which is slated to hit theaters on May 9. Footage form the new animated series can be viewed online at http://nicktoonsnetwork.nick.com.
On Tuesday, May 6, Lionsgate will release Speed Racer The Next Generation: The Beginning on DVD. Carrying a suggested retail price of $19.98, the disc will feature the complete animated series premiere, as well as an interactive racing game and the featurette Creating the Next Speed Racer.
