DVD Review

Speed Racer Collector's Edition (2003)

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Speed Racer Collector's Edition | 123521__speed_l

SET FOR A 'TOON UP ''Speed Racer'''s visual tricks set the pace for waves of future anime-tors

Speed Racer: Photofest

Credits

Rated: Unrated; DVD Release Date: Apr 22, 2003

By Noah Robischon

Noah Robischon

Noah Robischon is a senior writer for EW

Every formative event in 18-year-old Speed Racer's go-go life is explained in Speed Racer Collector's Edition, the first 11 episodes of the enduring Japanimation series. What caused Pops Racer to quit his job, why his oldest son (Racer X) left home, and how Speed uses the Mach 5's retractable wings to beat the Acrobatic car team are especially vital facts because the animation is often about as fluid as a flip book. To compensate for the technical shortcomings, creator Tatsuo Yoshida combined punctuated illustrations and ingenious visual tricks to impart a feeling of big action with only limited motion. These techniques are now trademarks of the anime form and helped this demon on wheels pave the way for all the saucer-eyed protagonists and sickly-sweet sprites ruling the airwaves today.

Posted Apr 29, 2003

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