The brothers Wachowski (“The Matrix” trilogy) wheel “Speed Racer” from ‘60s animation into cutting-edge live action in what's considered to be the one of the eagerly anticipated movie events of the year.
Directors Andy and Larry Wachowski were huge fans of the Speed Racer TV series, one of the first Japanese cartoons to make it to the U.S. “The TV show was the brothers’ introduction to Japanese animation,” says Joel Silver, a friend of the press-shy Wachowskis and producer of the film. “They fell in love with the genre. They said they'd been making R-rated movies their whole lives and wanted to do something their nephews and nieces could watch.”
For the big screen adaptation, “The effects are beyond belief,” says Silver. “We called it ‘car fu,’ because it was like kung fu with the cars. We couldn't have made this movie until right now.”
But the effects, he says, take a back seat to the Wachowskis’ true love of the old series: the cars, costumes and message. “It obviously has a present-day aesthetic to it,” Silver says. “But it’s still a great yarn about family and not selling out. That’s an important message to the Wachowskis and why we all connected to the show.”
Actor Emile Hirsch was 6 years old when he saw his first episode of the cartoon Speed Racer and, more important, caught a glimpse of the Mach 5, the thundering race car.
“It was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen,” Hirsch says. “That’s when I started thinking it would be great to be on TV. And have one of those.”
Sixteen years later, he finally got behind the wheel of the speedster. “My first thought was, ‘Yeah, they got the car right,’” he says. “That’s one of the best things about the show, so it was always going to be one of the most important parts of the movie.”
The film, Silver says, will have a “retro future” look and will center on Speed (Hirsch) trying to make a name for himself in the racing world despite the efforts of corporate giants to foil his career. The film also stars Christina Ricci as girlfriend Trixie and Matthew Fox as the mysterious Racer X.
Like the “Matrix” films and the Wachowski-produced “V for Vendetta,” “Speed” “has a lot to say about remaining independent and thinking for yourself,” says Hirsch. "The brothers weren't just looking to do the TV show on film.”
Unlike those darker movies, Racer “is going to be very bright, very family-friendly,” Silver says. “And it will have great effects like ‘The Matrix,’ just with the car.”
In the film, Speed Racer (Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel, hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill.
Opening soon across the Philippines, “Speed Racer” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.