Fancast: The Big Picture

Speed Racer - 5/9
Technically originating as a manga, it came to fame as a cheesy anime cartoon from the 1960s and will now hit the big screen as a monumental visual feast from the Wachowski Brothers, who should shine on a project that does not require them to make any sense - a major failing of the Matrix trilogy.

Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) and his parents Mom and Pops Racer (Susan Sarandon and John Goodman), his girl Trixie (Christina Ricci), and his kid brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) with a chimpanzee friend named Chim-Chim have all helped build the unstoppable racing machine known as the Mach 5 as they seek to expose the race-fixing scandal by winning The Crucible which is the very same deadly cross-country race that killed Speed's older brother the legendary driver Rex Racer long ago but can he trust his longtime rival and dark nemesis the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) to help him against the sinister leader of Royalton Industries who will protect the secret of his corruption at all costs including the cost of making sure Speed Racer dies in the very same deadly race that killed his brother Rex Racer, waah?!

The Wachowskis look to be so faithful to the original 1960s cartoon that they're even going to include giant run-on sentences like that to simulate the awkward overdubbing into English, if the first trailer is to be believed. That's not likely to be a distraction, though, from the absolute sensory overload they'll be cramming into your retinas from the starting gun to the checkered flag, with colors so bright and vivid that one might think the drab color palate of the Matrix was like a set of shackles that they've finally escaped from. Speed Racer has literally made the art of bombastic cinematic spectacle a spectator sport.

Watch the trailer for Speed Racer.
Watch a clip of the Racer family working on the Mach 5.
Watch a ninja attack Racer X!
Watch a clip of the Grand Prix race in Speed Racer, complete with Richard Roundtree on play by play.
Go behind the scenes of Speed Racer.
Watch the music video for the new Speed Racer theme song.
Watch the trailer for The Matrix.
Watch one for The Matrix Reloaded.
Watch one for The Matrix Revolutions.