Now I understand people’s reservations, but CGI does not always have to be the bad guy. Some might remember Speed Racer best for its aesthetic. Instead, these scenes have enough heart to speak to both children and adults, without ever talking down or patronizing either’s feelings. This moment, as well as many others, are not patience-testing loading screens for the next spectacles either. He masterfully communicates everything with Rex’s eyes but speaks in Racer X’s words. Matthew Fox is still just as good as I remember him to be. Looking back on it now, nothing has changed. This scene lasts for two minutes, and yet we feel the suspense, disappointment, and tragedy of Racer X’s situation one emotion after the other, with each emotion as complete as the last. I remember how quiet and necessary it all felt.
And while this movie might be best remembered for its look, I remember it for the character moments.Īfter all these years, I can still remember Racer X encouraging Speed at Thunderhead to continue racing. It is as real as a mother’s love, as meaningful in its simplicity as a proud glint in a father’s eye. Do not let the zany presentation of Speed Racer deceive you, there is something real here. But very few directors handle the subject with as much love and kindness than the Wachowskis. It is almost so obvious a theme that it is not very obvious to begin with. The one thing that nearly all children’s movies celebrate is family. He loves his family and art more than any purple laced lifestyle. You see, Speed is not interested in signing with any slimy sponsors. And this tragic passing has haunted the Racer family ever since, leaving them as independent as Racer Motors can ever be. Rex Racer, Speed’s older brother, did not make it out alive when he first started out (or so they thought). We follow Speed and his family as they navigate the corrupt corporate underbelly of the racing world… a second time.
But it is a testament to the TV show’s charm, and the Wachowskis have bewitched this adaptation with the same magic. If a cartoon could hiccup, I would imagine that Speed Racer drank one too many sodas because the dubbing and animation were off, to say the least. It was the painful kind of laughing, the kind that leaves you feeling sore. I remember laughing so hard through the late 60’s Speed Racer cartoon at a sleepover. It is on the nose and ham-fisted like all silly Saturday morning cartoons should be. It is like coming home from school on a Friday afternoon, and falling half-asleep to Totally Spies! on channel 45.
The Wachowskis have masterfully captured this happiness. We may get wrinkles and gray hairs down the road, but childhood is more of an outlook, a way of dancing in the face of bleary-eyed cynicism. The Wachowskis have directed something truly timeless, a movie that reminds us of one simple fact: childhood is never lost with age.
I was afraid that the 22-year-old watching it now would be different, that I would not resemble the child I once was. And to tell you the truth, I was afraid to rewatch it. Sometimes these memories are closer than they appear. I look back on these memories in the rearview window of my life, and I can only smile. We collected all of the toy cars, and Google ‘Imaged’ as many unblocked promotional pictures as we could find at school. We played the DS games and the Wii games because the DS games were not enough. Nothing was more important to my best friend and me Speed Racer was all that mattered. I still remember it vividly, it was a sugar rush of glittering colors and sticky Happy Meal toys. Speed Racer came out when I was in 5th grade.