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Speed Racer (also known as Mach GoGoGo (マッハGoGoGo Mahha GōGōGō?), hit the airways back in 1967 after first becoming a Japanese manga series in the early '60s. It was created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshido who used as his influence Elvis Presley, specifically his movie Viva Las Vegas, and the movie Goldfinger with its myriad gadgets. Both movies were popular in Japan at the time and by drawing inspiration from both he managed to meld American, British, and Japanese pop culture into one action packed series.
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The live action film had been in the works since 1992 and after a series of script changes, and actor / director / writer swap-outs, filming finally started in June of 2007 and the movie premiered on May 3, 2008 to mixed reviews. It was panned critically for story, characters, and dialogue but was praised for the cast, score, and cinematography. It only made nearly $94million at the box office after an estimated budget of $120million and was therefore dubbed 'bomb', however sales of 'associated' products - like our toys from McDonald's - will probably cause the movie to at least break even.
On a more personal note, I never really got into Speed Racer and would normally never have bought the toys we'll be featuring the next few days, however fate dealt a kind hand. My oldest daughter, knowing my admiration of toys, got me these as a present at the time they came out in 2008 and am I glad she did! Okay, maybe I'm not a fan of the cartoon or movie, but this has turned out to be a really nifty set of cars. I do like their design and enjoy the special features each has. They're also compatible with O-gauge railroads so if you wanted to stage a race on your layout these would fit the bill just fine! The complete set consists of eight vehicles and I'm gonna try to post post all eight this week. Enjoy! Bettina & Fritz Berg :)
The Happy Meal bag with Speed Racer artwork
Speed Racer's Mach 5
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Each vehicle features a special feature. By sliding the lever on the bottom of the car this twin saw blade pops out
The background was bought on eBay
Along with the 66 Batmobile and FAB 1; the Mach 5 is an amazing example of great fictional automobile design. Still iconic today.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right my friend. Like I said, I'm a late comer to the world of Speed Racer but after seeing this it definitely belongs in the pantheon of television super cars.
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