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Speed Racer: Series
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For those of you not familiar with the premise, Speed Racer was originally a Japanese animated television series in the 1960s. In 1967, the 52 episodes were dubbed into English and sent into syndication. The series follows the exploits of Speed Racer as he attempts to gain fame and fortune on the racing circuit while avoiding villains, including the mysterious Racer X. Speed is helped along in his quest for glory by his parents, Mom and Pops Racer; his best friend and mechanic, Sparky; and his loyal and tough girlfriend, Trixie.
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In addition to all the licensing of Speed Racer-associated merchandise, Speed Racer Enterprises ... found that cable channels were willing to re-air the original series. In 1992, Speed Racer was part of the MTV lineup. A few years later, the series went to the Cartoon Network. By 2004, it was a regular broadcast on the Speed Channel, a racing-oriented cable network.
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Playing Mantis released a wide range of the Speed Racer miniatures, including replicas of the villains' cars and "mini-dioramas" under their "Johnny Lightning" line. A limited-edition release of the Mach Four from the Wildstorm comic series remains one of the hardest-to-find collectibles to this day. In 1998 Playing Mantis acquired the rights to the "Captain Action" action figure line, a vintage line about a hero who disguises himself as famous super heroes. Playing Mantis had planned to produce new costumes of Speed Racer, Racer X, and Captain Terror for the revamp of the line, but they were never produced. Control art for the Speed Racer costume appear on the packaging of some figures, and pictures of the prototypes are available online.
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A new series titled "New series of Speed Racer" was produced by Fred Wolf films from Teenage Mutant Turtle fame and released in 1993, but was not as popular as the original, for a few reasons. The animation was done by American cartoonists, losing that great Manga effect; the storyline and animation seems only to appeal to small children and not to adults as the original one did. The artwork is nowhere near as good and the theme song was changed. The only things remaining are the original names. A big disappointment!
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Speed Racer made its debut in 1967 in Japan and was dubbed into English and syndicated on U.S. television. Speed Racer: The Next Generation aims to rev up 6-14-year-old viewers as a new hotshot arrives at the Racing Academy and discovers that he is the son of the world famous Speed Racer, who had gone missing many years ago. Lionsgate is producing 26 episodes and will launch the series in time to benefit from publicity surrounding the live-action movie, which is written and directed by Matrix creators Larry and Andy Wachowski. The film is slated to hit theaters on May 9, 2008.
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The second assortment of the Speed Racer line are due in stores this month. Some new figures will include Grand Prix Speed, Racer X, Assassin and Inspector Detector. Also be on the lookout for Series 1 repaints.
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