Speed Racer licensing lawsuit settled

[usamimi]

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014 ... s-settled/

So it sounds like everything's reverted back to being solely owned by Tatsunoko Pro now.

It makes me wonder if Sentai will be interested in releasing any of the Speed Racer properties, since they signed that exclusive contract with them? Maybe if Gatchaman or Cashern sells well?

[Kame-Sen'nin]

This could be an interesting opportunity for Sentai Filmworks. Personally, I'd love to see an official release of Speed Racer X/Mach Go Go Go in the United States. It would be great if they could include the handful of episodes that were dubbed into English as well!

[usamimi]

Yeah, I was wondering about that one, myself! I've never seen any actual episodes of it (just the op, lol), so I'm curious about it.

[greg]

My ears perked up recently when I heard the Speed Racer theme song on TV a few days ago. I think it was used for a car commerical. (The theme song wasn't changed for the English audience.) Ironically, it seems that more younger people know Speed Racer in American than their counterparts in Japan know Mach Go Go Go. I grew up watching it on TV in the morning before school since kindergarten. My wife's never seen it, but my mom-in-law knows it, of course.

Does anyone remember that incredibly awesome BMW commercial that used the animation and theme song from Speed Racer from over 15 years ago? I was in college at the time and we had a Japanese man staying with us that summer as a part of the WYVEA exchange program. His face brightened when that commercial came on and was so surprised to see Speed Racer used in an American TV commercial. If my memory serves me correctly, that was the Summer Olympics in Atlanta when the terrorist bomb was set off.

[usamimi]

I used to watch reruns of Speed Racer in the mornings before school...my dad would sometimes watch with me and say how he used to watch the show when he was a kid, and he and his friends would laugh over how cheesy the animation and the voices were. I actually got to meet Peter Fernandez at a convention & got his autograph & a photo a year before he passed away...I felt really lucky I got the chance to meet him, he was such a nice man.

I remember that commercial! haha, that's pretty awesome. I wish I could find it online or something, but it doesn't look like anyone's uploaded it, oddly enough. (The one time I can't find a commercial online, lmao.)

[davemerrill]

I don't know about a BMW ad, but there was a Speed Racer VW television ad for the GTI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3odqSMgQjf4

There's also a Speed Racer Geico ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P6qKcV1OFQ

I think it was Carl Horn who was talking about the influence of Japanese animation on American popular culture, and he remarked that any standup comedian anywhere in the country can mention Speed Racer, and any audience will immediately know what he's talking about. It was an immensely popular show, at least for people of my generation.

[usamimi]

Oh, that VW one was the one I was thinking of, at least. Thanks for posting that, Dave!

Yeah, almost everyone I know knows what Speed Racer is...even younger kids might at least know of the movie that came out a while back.

[greg]

That's it! Thanks, Dave! It was VW, not BMW. One of those German cars. I was not aware of the Geico commercial. SNL spoofed Speed Racer once with a George Clooney cartoon. The theme song was, "Here he comes, here comes George Clooney!" He was racing against the paparazzi in his limousine and inexplicably had a chimp sidekick. It was funny.

I still have yet to watch the Speed Racer live action movie. I remember when it came out, people were complaining about how lame, cartoony, and unreal it was. I just replied, "So you mean that it's just like the show was?" It sure looks colorful. I would be disappointed if it was realistic and not goofy, actually. Just as long as it's faithful to the characters.

[usamimi]

I actually TOTALLY LOVED the live action movie! I know a lot of people hated on it; but it was fun, the world was colorful and cartoony, and you can tell it really WAS made with the original in mind. It hit all the nostalgia buttons for me and reminded me of watching the old re-runs with my dad as a kid.

[davemerrill]

I really enjoyed the Speed Racer movie myself. It worked hard to capture the spirit of the cartoon and the racing scenes were fantastic. At the end of the movie I was like, "wait, give me one more race!" I think they worked a little too hard with the green-screen and the CG to try and make everything look "cartoony", and there's a Racer X reveal that involves a guy we don't recognize having had a face-changing operation to become ANOTHER guy we don't recognize, but overall it was a fun movie.

John Goodman is great, Christina Ricci is great, Susan Sarandon is great, and whatisname playing Speed Racer is a big hunk of wood, but I guess he gets the job done. I mean, it's Speed Racer, not a lot of subtlety to the role.