Speed Racer: Race to the Future

Speed Racer: Race to the Future
DVD cover art
Directed by	Robert H. Fuentes III
Produced by	Vinish Viswan
Written by	Michael Maurer (screenplay)
Starring	Zach Cohen Victoria Feinerman Karine Hyman Gabriella Lewis Simon Shocket Nitzan Sitzer
Music by	Rotem Hect
Edited by	Philip John Hari R. Suchithan R. K.
Distributed by	Viva Pictures
Release dates	January 12, 2016 (2016-01-12) (United States)
Running time	66 minutes
Country	India Spain United States Ireland China
Language	English

Speed Racer: Race to the Future is a 2013 Indian-American flash animated film based on Tatsuo Yoshida's Speed Racer manga franchise.^[1] The movie was directed by Robert H. Fuentes III and produced by Toonz Entertainment for Imira Entertainment. Unlike Toonz's work on the second season of Speed Racer: The Next Generation, Race for the Future is set in the universe of the original animated series.

Viva Pictures acquired the rights to distribute the film in North America in 2015.^[2] Through Cinedigm, the film was released direct-to-video on DVD and streaming platforms on January 12, 2016.^[3]

Plot

To prevent car accident fatalities, Pops Racer and his company develop an orb that can send a vehicle and its occupants 15-seconds back in time. Fearing for his son's safety during a race in poor conditions, and without Speed's knowledge, Pops installs the object in the Mach 5 before it can be properly tested. Just as the race begins, a bolt of lightning strikes the car sending Speed, Trixie, Sparky, Spritle and Chim-Chim fifty years into the future.

Now in 2062, the group is immediately arrested and brought to a sorting facility where the Mach-5 is seized. A robot parole officer explains that in an effort to keep humans safe, all labor is now handled by machines designed by Leland Industries, a company that formerly competed with Pops Motors in automotive sports. After tricking the robot into telling them the location of the Mach 5, the group comes across Sparky's son, who operates the recycling plant. He reveals that their future selves were imprisoned 10 years ago for starting the Road Rebels, a resistance group that's against a society run by robots due to a fear of eventual human enslavement. Claiming it would be futile to try to defeat Leland, Speed instead suggests they travel back in time to prevent the company from ever gaining that level of control. Sparky's son notes that the only way to afford an energy source powerful enough to fuel that level of time travel would be to win the Super Dome 1000, an exceedingly difficult racing event for robots. To prepare, the crew uses the plant's scrap vehicles to upgrade the Mach 5 to the Mach 5 Ultra. Speed, under the disguise as a robot named Speed Demon, and the group arrive at the arena where they're greeted by John Leland Jr., the owner of Leland Industries. Impressed by the Mach 5 Ultra and Speed Demon's design, he offers to buy them from Trixie should they finish the race.

The Road Rebels launch an attack on the streets just as the event begins. Trixie, Spritle and Chim-Chim assist in the offensive and get picked up by one of their members, Sparky's future wife Jennifer. Seeing Jennifer's glee at being able to see a version of her missing husband, Trixie is convinced to expose Leland's goals. Against Speed's orders, she and the rest of the group, including Sparky's son and Racer X, concoct a plan to disable Leland Industries' security and delete any of their ulterior motives, while Jennifer, Spritle and Chim-Chim stay on lookout. However, Leland Jr. catches onto to the ruse when Trixie walks into his office and has the three detained by his robots. Outside, the parole robot from earlier catches up on Jennifer, Spritle and Chim-Chim, sounding the alarm to Leland's police robots who capture them.

As the third segment of the race begins, one of the competitors slams Speed into a pillar revealing his identity to the world and disqualifying him from the prize money. As Leland realizes the plot to go back in time and prevent his company's rise, the crowd cheers Speed on, convincing him to keep racing. Confused as to Speed's new motive, Leland reveals that he isn't actually a human, but an android built by the company's late founder. Fearing Speed may encourage a major rebellion, Leland then changes the prime directive of all robots from protecting humans to enslaving them.

Trixie, Racer X, Sparky's son, Jennifer, Spritle, Chim-Chim, and the now captured Sparky, quickly escape from the containment bay and plan another assault on Leland Industries. Trixie calls Speed and tells him to join the attack, but he refuses. 100 miles from the finish, he makes his move to take first place, but in the struggle drives the Mach 5 Ultra off the track, plummeting into a pool. A 92 year-old Pops Racer rushes out from the sidelines to his son's rescue, activating the time orb and sending the Mach 5 Ultra back in the past and in the race. While talking to his father, Speed realizes that he can't just go back to the past and hope to prevent this future. Activating the Mach 5 Ultra's new hover functionality, he flies out of the stadium to rally nearby humans into confronting Leland. Leland then gets into his own jet to engage Speed. With the office empty, Sparky and his son try to shutdown the invasion plan while Trixie, Racer X and Jennifer mount a ground assault against the robots.

Speed eventually gets the upper hand in his dogfight with Leland by pretending to have lost flying functionality. As the android goes in to kill Speed, the Mach 5 Ultra suddenly flies causing Leland to crash. Just as that happens, Sparky successfully disables the robot army. They rush outside to tell everyone the good news and to install the power cell needed to take them back to the past. Sparky finishes up on the Mach 5 Ultra and the group begin to head home. Just as they do, Leland reactivates and chases them to the time warp portal. The group narrowly evades his attack and pass through as Leland crashes into the closing gate and explodes.

Back in their time, Sparky makes plans to go on his first date with Jennifer as Speed apologizes to his father for being so reckless. Elsewhere, a shadowy figure steals the time orb.

References

↑ Fuentes, Robert (December 10, 2013). "Speed Racer "Race to the Future" on Vimeo". Vimeo. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
↑ Wolfe, Jennifer (April 16, 2015). "Imira Entertainment's 'The Aviators' Flies to North America". Animation World Network. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
↑ "Speed Racer Race to the Future - New Video Digital - Cinedigm". New Video. Cinedigm. Retrieved November 28, 2016.

External links

Speed Racer by Tatsuo Yoshida

Franchise	Manga Anime The New Adventures X The Next Generation episodes characters Film soundtrack Race to the Future

Video games	The Challenge of Racer X My Most Dangerous Adventures Speed Racer (1995) Speed Racer (1996) Speed Racer (2008)

Miscellaneous	Mach Five Racer X Lego Speed Racer

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