The New Adventures of Speed Racer
| The New Adventures of Speed Racer | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Fred Wolf Films Dublin |
| Based on |
Speed Racer by Tatsuo Yoshida |
| Voices of |
Thom Pinto Jeannie Elias |
| Music by |
Dennis C. Brown Maxine Sellers Larry Brown |
| Country of origin |
Japan United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Fred Wolf |
| Producer(s) | Michael Algar |
| Distributor | Westinghouse Broadcasting International |
| Release | |
| Original network | first-run syndication |
| Original release | 1993 – 1994 |
The New Adventures of Speed Racer was an update of the Speed Racer animated series.[1] This new Americanized version was designed as a single 13-episode season (the first episode was entitled “The Mach 5’s First Trial”), with the intent of launching a feature film adaptation. Issues with Warner Bros. having the live action rights (which resulted in the 2008 release) forestalled negotiations and investments for the film and the series ended accordingly, though it did provide a massive merchandising reboot for the intellectual property, which found a resurgence thanks to a major toy line. The series concept was born out of a pitch from PANGEA to then property-owners, John and James Rocknowski of Speed Racer Enterprises, Inc. Fred Wolf of Fred Wolf Films, had also pitched the notion of rebooting the franchise. PANGEA, having worked developmentally with Playmates Toys in association with Fred Wolf Films on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, worked with Speed Racer Enterprises on the series development, including the merchandising, which included a toy line from Ace Novelty Toys, comic books by NOW Comics, and novelties by NJ Croce. The series also proved to be popular with the Russian audience. A new theme song was written.
The “New Adventures” part of the title comes from official documents used for TV listings. The show itself is referred to onscreen as simply “Speed Racer.” Coincidentally, Speed Racer X is known in Brazil as “As Novas Aventuras de Speed Racer,” which literally translates into “The New Adventures of Speed Racer.”
Cast
- Thom Pinto as Sparky, Racer X[2]
- Jeannie Elias as Trixie, Spritle[3]
Episodes and airdates
- The Mach 5's First Trial (18 September 1993)
- The Pleasantville Terror (25 September 1993)
- The Race Against X (2 October 1993)
- Creature From the Sombra Lagoon (9 October 1993)
- B.O.S.S. (16 October 1993)
- Trouble in Deep Twelve (23 October 1993)
- The Mach-5 Is Missing (30 October 1993)
- Race to the Future (7 November 1993)
- Escape from the Past (14 November 1993)
- Samurai Racers (21 November 1993)
- Dawn of the Mutants (28 November 1993)
- Return to the Future (5 December 1993)
- Attack from the Future (12 December 1993)
References
External links