Needless to say, as with all races in the Speed Racer universe, the bad guys don't play fair. Radford cheats. Billionaire Zile Zazic, oil baron and race fanatic, joins the race to win so he can controle Radford's company. Zazic drives his huge new SUV and uses it to run his competition off the road. And Speed Jr., X Racer, and Zazic's daughter Annalise race to see if they can win the prize themselves.
Is this a great series? I'm afraid not. It suffers from many of the same issues other series reboots have had, including a disconnect between the 2D animation for the non-race portions of the show and the 3D, computer-generated animation for the race bits. And though it tries to honor the spirit of the original series of the '60s, it's become very watered down to meet the needs of a younger audience.
That said, my daughters (ages 4 and 8) liked the movie. They were on the edge of their seats waiting to see if Speed Jr. and his friends would somehow beat the cheating and conniving Radford and Zazic.
The movie itself only lasts 66 minutes and the DVD contains no extras beyond a number of previews for other Lionsgate series. The box that contains the DVD does however include a plastic collectible Mach 6 car, which I can see burning rubber in my house for some time to come.
If you're looking for something to entertain a youngster for a a little over an hour, Comet Run might be a good choice. But if you're looking to recapture the magic of the original series, Next Generation doesn't quite do it.
Speed Racer: The Next Generation: Comet Run the Movie arrived on DVD earlier this month (May 2009). To find more information about the series, go to the Speed Racer website from Lionsgate, watch the series on Nicktoons, or look for the series on DVD at your local video store.
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