From Carey Bryson,
Your Guide to Kids' Movies & TV.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

MPAA Rating: PG, for sequences of action, some violence and language
Genre: Action/Family
Age range: Ages 9 and up
Runtime: 135 mintes
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Paulie Litt, Rain
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Release Date: May 9, 2008

Speed Racer - Synopsis

Ever since he can remember, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch)has had an obsession with racing. Even after his beloved older brother,Rex Racer, mysteriously left home and later died in a horrible crash, Speed continued to excel in the sport he loved. Now, he has motored up to the big time. With his recent wins and obvious expertise on the track, all of the major sponsors want him. Speed does not want them, however, as he is determined to stick with the sponsor who has been by his side from the beginning - his own father's company.

One tyrannical tycoon, Royalton of Royalton Industries (Roger Allam), refuses to give up on a deal between his company and the Racers', though, and when Speed turns down his seemingly generous offer, Royalton brings his nice guy act to a screeching halt. After dashing Speed's dream of the Grand Prix by telling him that all the big races have been fixed by businessmen, Royalton tries to intimidate Speed into signing with him. Speed decides to stand up to him, but at a great cost to him and his family.

Just when all seems lost, the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) comes to Speed's family with a plan. Pops Racer (John Goodman) dismisses them immediately, but Speed decides to sneak away with his girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), and join Racer X in the most dangerous cross country race of all - the same one that claimed the life of his dear older brother. Speed wants to make things right in the world of racing, but this dangerous plan may do nothing more than get him killed too.

Speed Racer - Guide Review for Parents

A visually unique film, Speed Racer brings to life an exciting story and presents a strong moral. Excepting the girls in skimpy outfits, violence and language, the movie could be classified as awesome family entertainment. However, being that these elements are prominently included, parents may have a tougher decision to make.

Speed Racer is a live-action movie, but the action takes place within a computer animated world. Thus,the movie retains the feeling of cartoonish whimsy, and the colors really pop. Visually, the movie is downright impressive, and the story and characters are fun and exciting as well.

Kids will love this flashy, action-filled production, and they will likely walk away with a good feeling thanks to the uplifting story. The movie places a surprisingly strong emphasis on the importance of family, and the moral of the film teaches that "cheaters never prosper."

One element of the visuals that really stands out, though, is the clothing. While the boys wear snazzy, colorful racing outfits, the females in the movie wear outfits that are racy in a different way. The racing theme of the movie also lends itself to violence as cars race around at high speeds, with some drivers purposely trying to slam others off the track. When drivers crash, some of them turn into funky little crystals and disappear in the midst of the wreckage. In addition, the movie contains a lot of martial arts violence and other fighting as well as some language.

*For more detailed examples of possibly offensive content, please see "Content Overview" below.

Speed Racer - Content Overview

The following lists a few of the most prominent examples of possibly offensive content in the movie (may contain spoilers):

Violence (High)
- The movie contains several scenes of racing violence. When a racer crashes, he sometimes turns into crystals as if he died. Rex Racer is known to have died on the dangerous cross country track in the Casa Cristo race. In this race, which Speed later participates in, drivers equip their cars with weapons and use any means necessary to win.
- Characters in the movie engage in various types of fighting including martial arts. Guns and other types of weapons are used. Some blood is shown in a couple of scenes.
- In one scene, bad guys throw a meaty bone into a tank of piranhas, after they speedily devour the meat, the men threaten to throw a racer in, and they begin to force his hand in, saying that if he doesn't do what they say, his sister will be thrown in. While the racer narrowly escapes this torture, a bad guy is forced to put his finger in and we see him scream as some of the water turns red.

Sex/Nudity (Medium)
- Several women wear very short dresses and show cleavage.
- At the Grand Prix, the waitresses wear little bumble bee swim suit outfits.
- A boy and girl go to "Inspiration Point" and talk suggestively. They are interrupted just before they kiss, but they do kiss later in the movie.
- A bad guy tells a racer threateningly that he "has a soft spot" for the racer's sister.

Profanity (Medium)
- The phrase "Oh my God" and other variants of the phrase are used.
- The words "a**" and "hell" are used.

Alcohol/Drugs (Medium)
- A box of cigars is shown.
- Main characters are shown drinking what looks like wine. Other characters shown with drinks at a party.

Bad/Disrespectful Behavior (High)
- A boy fills in test bubbles to make a picture. He doesn't do school work and only cares about racing.
- A girl punches another girl in the face. Kids call each other names.
- Racers cheat and lie to win.

Scary Scenes (Medium)
- Racing scenes cause perilous situations that could be scary to young kids. Some of the scenes involve weapons and characters threaten each other.
- Ninjas sneak in at night and use various means to try and kill some racers.
- See also, scenes listed under violence.

Sad/Unsettling Scenes (Medium)
- Rex's father tells him that if he walks out the door he should never come back. Rex later dies, and the family mourns.
- Speed disobeys his father, and the family gets into an argument about what to do.

Speed Racer - Topics to Talk About

• After watching Speed Racer, children may have questions about the following topics: car racing, cheating, business tycoons, sports events being fixed, plastic surgery, losing a loved one.