Speed Racer: The Next Generation
| Speed Racer: The Next Generation | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Peter Fernandez Michael Sinterniklaas Kurt Csolak Robbie Sublett Carter Jackson Sahra Mellesse David Zen Mansley |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nickelodeon |
| Release | May 2, 2008 |
Speed Racer: The Next Generation is an update of the classic Speed Racer franchise, in which the internal events take place decades after those in the Japanese 1967's series. It is the fourth television adaptation of the franchise, and is executive produced by Lionsgate, Larry Schwarz, and Ken Katsumoto. Animation Collective produces the series. The show is set to premiere on Nicktoons Network on May 2, 2008, with a three-episode pilot movie called 'The Beginning', a week before the live-action feature adaptation releases in theatres.[1]
Premise
Prior to the events of the series, Speed Racer has disappeared for unknown reasons. Only one of the original characters, Spritle, has a major role in this show. The rest of the original cast is unseen, and their whereabouts are unknown.
The series follows the adventures of Speed, an orphan who never knew his parents, and dreams of being a famed car racer like the one he is named after. He takes a bus to the elite Racing Academy, founded by the Racer family, and soon experiences the difficulties of fitting in and competing with X, the best racer/student in the school, and Speed Racer's son. Spritle himself is now the headmaster. Speed finds enemies in Annalise, X's girlfriend, and Zile Zazic, the school's esteemed trustee, oil tycoon, and Annalise's father. Speed befriends fellow students Lucy, an obsessive workaholic, and Conor, a geeky Speed Racer fanatic and mechanic. He also befriends Chim-Chim, an all-purpose robot chimpanzee that Conor designed and built himself. In the pilot movie, Speed discovers that he himself is another son of Speed Racer, which means X is his brother!
Through the rest of the series, Speed and his new allies set out on a quest to get through the courses, discover the mystery of Speed Racer's disappearance, and try and build the Mach Six, a car that captures the spirit and gadgets of the Mach Five for the new generation, and the first car to run on solar energy.[2].
Characters
- Speed, voiced by Kurt Csolak.
- X, voiced by Robbie Sublett.
- Headmaster Spritle, voiced by Peter Fernandez.
- Lucy, voiced by Sahra Mellesse.
- Conor, voiced by Carter Jackson.
- Chim-Chim.
- Annalise Zazic, voiced by Michal Friedman.
- Jared and Jesse, voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas.
- Zile Zazic, voiced by Dave Skigen.
- Stan, voiced by David "Zen" Mansley.
- Professor Armand Aniskov, voiced by David "Zen" Mansley.
- Professor Susan Winn, voiced by Mami Kimura.
