Variety is reporting that Lionsgate, which has released all the vintage Speed Racer cartoons here in the U.S. on DVD, has announced the production of its first animated cartoon series, a new version of the classic 1960s anime series Speed Racer. The New York-based Animation Collective, which is responsible for Nickelodeon's anime-like hybrid Kappa Mikey (see 'Mock Anime Series on Nicktoons'), will produce the new 26-episode Speed Racer series, which will debut on Nicktoons around the time the Warner Bros. live action Speed Racer film arrives in theaters on May 9th, 2008.
In the new Speed Racer series, which could be called 'Speed Racer: The Next Generation,' the young Speed Racer, who turns out to be the son of the original Speed, is attending a racing academy where he takes on all comers with his ultra-fast Mach 6 and eventually discovers that he has a long-lost brother -- a new Racer X. Speed Racer fans will be happy to learn that Peter Fernandez, the voice of the original Speed Racer, will voice the character of the original Speed Racer's younger brother Spritle, who has grown up to become the headmaster of the racing academy that the new Speed Racer attends. Fans may be less excited to learn that the chimpanzee Chim-Chim will now be played by a robot.
The new series will be plotted in three-episode arcs, which can be stitched together into a mini-feature film or shown separately. The original Speed Racer series, created by Tatsuo Yoshida, was first broadcast in the
If the new series becomes a hit, it should prolong the life of the Speed Racer property and the viability of Speed Racer merchandise well beyond the short term boost the venerable brand will receive from the release of the Warner Bros. movie and movie DVD in 2008.
