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 | COMIC/CARTOON | MOVIE VERSION |
| Title | Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo in Japan) | Speed Racer |
| Date of Release | Aired on Japanese and American television in the mid- to late-1960s. Reran on MTV and Cartoon Network in the 1990s. | May 9, 2008 |
| Creators | Tatsuo Yoshida, the anime legend who helped define a new style of animation. | Directed and written by Andy and Larry Wachowski, the fraternal creators of The Matrix. |
| Genre | Animated action | Live action |
| Story | Centered on automobile racing,Speed Racer (voice of Fernandez) drives his high-tech car, Mach 5, in a series of races with the goal of becoming the world’s best racecar driver. | Speed Racer (Hirsch) aspires to win a cross-country car race called the Crucible, with the help of his girlfriend (Ricci), family and Racer X (Fox) |
| Characters | Speed Racer, a young man with a gift for racing cars; Trixie, Speed’s girlfriend; Racer X, a mysterious champion racer | Speed Racer, a young man with a gift for racing cars; Trixie, Speed’s girlfriend; Racer X, a mysterious champion racer |
| Stars | Peter Fernandez, Corinne Orr, Jack Grimes, Jack Curtis | Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, John Goodman, Nicholas Elia, Susan Sarandon |
| Dialogue | Crisp and enthusiastic!! | Standard action fare. |
| Aesthetic | Classic anime, with perky young characters immersed in a futuristic world dusted with cuteness. | Actors filmed most of the movie’s scenes in front of a green screen, allowing filmmakers to computer-generate the sets, the cars and race sequences. |
| Ambience | Sixties-era futurism with simplistic motion and settings. | Fast-paced, fluid feeling inspired by video games. Highly detailed. |
| Audience | Kids of all ages | Apparently a small one. The $100 million film grossed $20 million its opening weekend. |
| Cool Factor | High. Defined a genre, still looks fresh after 40 years. | Moderate. The special effects are amazing, box office withstanding. |
| Cheese Factor | That’s kinda the point. | More ham than cheese, thanks to John Goodman. |
| Adaptation Accuracy |
| Except for the aesthetic, the film did the original characters and story proud. |
| Better or Bastardization? | Better | Could have been better than the cartoon version. |
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