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''Speed Racer'' is the title of an English adaptation of the Anime '' Mach Go Go Go '' which centered around automobile racing. The series is an early example of an anime becoming a successful franchise in America . BACKGROUND The characters and storylines originated in Japan as the Manga and anime series ''Mach Go Go Go'' (マッハGoGoGo) from the anime studio Tatsunoko Productions . ''Mach Go Go Go'' was first created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida ( 1933 – 1977 ) as a manga series in the 1960s and made the jump to TV as an anime series in 1967 . The central character in the anime and manga was a young race car driver named Gō Mifune (三船剛 ''Mifune Gō''). Yoshida selected the names and symbolisms in his creation very carefully. The M Logo on the hood of his race car and the front of his helmet stood for his family name Mifune, an homage to Japanese film star Toshiro Mifune (and not "Mach 5" as the dub would suggest). His given name Go is also a Japanese Homonym for the number 5 (the number on his race car). This is also represented by the letter G embroidered on his shirt. The English rights to ''Mach Go Go Go'' were immediately acquired by American syndicator Trans-Lux . The main character Go Mifune was given the name "Speed Racer" in the English version. A major Editing and Dubbing effort was undertaken by producer Peter Fernandez , who also Voiced many of the characters, including Speed Racer himself. Fernandez was also responsible for a retooling of the Theme Song's melody and its subsequent English lyrics. When the series emerged before U.S. TV audiences as ''Speed Racer'', fans were quickly drawn to its sophisticated plots involving fiendish Conspiracies , violent action, hard-driving Racing , and soulful characters with sparkling eyes. In an effort to squeeze the complicated plotlines into existing lip movements, the frenetic pace of the dubbing made ''Speed Racer'' famous for its quirky "fast" dialogue. The car Main article: Mach Five The Mach Five, the car Speed Racer drove in the series (known as the "Mach Go", or simply the "Mach" in the Japanese version), is a technological marvel containing useful pieces of equipment. These gadgets were easily deployed by pressing buttons marked 'A' through 'G' on the steering wheel hub. The "chyock chyock" Sound Effect played whenever the car jumped through the air is instantly recognizable to the show's fans. The Buttons had the following functions:
The characters Speed Racer had a younger brother named Spritle (Kurio Mifune, 三船くりお ''Mifune Kurio'') who along with his pet Chimpanzee Chim-Chim (Senpei) constantly got into mischief and hid together in the trunk of the car. Other regular characters included Sparky (Sabu サブ), the company mechanic; Speed's father, Pops (Daisuke Mifune, 三船大介 ''Mifune Daisuke''); and his mother, (Aya Mifune, 三船アヤ ''Mifune Aya''); and also Speed's girlfriend Trixie (Michi Shimura, 志村ミチ ''Shimura Michi''). She flies around in a Helicopter during each race and advises Speed Racer via a radio link to the Mach Five. A frequent recurring character, driving car number nine (the "Shooting Star"), is the enigmatic "Racer X" (覆面レーサー ''Fukumen (Masked) Racer''), a mysterious Soldier Of Fortune whose Secret Identity is that of Rex Racer (Ken'ichi Mifune), Speed's older brother, who years earlier had a falling out with the family and exiled himself. THE LEGACY ''Speed Racer'' was the first truly successful anime franchise in the United States. The pivotal episode in which Racer X reveals his identity to Speed was selected by '' TV Guide '' as one of the most memorable moments in TV history. Many real-life race car drivers became fans of the show. The title character was " Interview ed" in a humorous series of promotional ads for auto racing that ran on ESPN . The Speed Racer characters even appeared in an animated Commercial for the Volkswagen GTI . In the ad, entitled "Sabotage", Speed drives a GTI to victory after the Mach Five is disabled. The ad also incorporated the '' Matrix ''-style rotating freeze frame shot from the cartoon's ending credits, with the GTI replacing the Mach Five in the shot. Speed, Trixie, Spritle and Chim-Chim currently appear in a North America n TV commercial for the car insurance company Geico . The commercial makes use of the show's original footage. Newer series
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Other The show and its style have been frequently referenced and Parodied , including in an episode of a Cartoon Network animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory '', in a '' TV Funhouse '' cartoon in which George Clooney is seen dodging Paparazzi , more recently in Geico TV commercials, and Nick Gibbons , a cartoonist who used to be part of MTV 's '' Cartoon Sushi '' staff, worked on a cartoon short called "Fast Driver", which was first shown on Cartoon Sushi's '' UltraCity 6060 '', which is a fad about Dub bing random ''anime'' with comedic speeches. A parody of the Mach Five also appears in '' Excel Saga '' as Nabeshin's "Flying Mitsubishi". It also was parodied in '' Channel Chasers '' (the movie of '' The Fairly Oddparents '' mocking contemporary and past TV shows). Finally, in the Homestar Runner online cartoon, there was an obvious reference by Stinkoman . In Thunderbolts #1 (vol. 2), M.A.C.H.-4 comments that if he upgrades to another version, he's going to have to add a compartment for a kid and a chimpanzee. In 1999, a real life fullscale replica of the Mach 5 was built for the Child Safety Network at a cost of more than $650,000. Afterwards it was used in a national automotive safety tour, and then sold for $180,000. A live-action movie version of the cartoon is in development at Warner Bros. Vince Vaughn is signed to star as Racer X, as well as being one of the film's executive producers (along with Joel Silver ). As of early 2006, Hype Williams was the last director attached to the project. In the Japanese , (known in entry forms as Mach-Go Ferrari Dunlop) has a Ferrari F360 Modena that is also stickered to appear like same car . One of their drivers is Go Mifune, who changed his name in honor of the character and used to drive for the former team. In addition, the show has been referenced often by many musical artists. EXTERNAL LINKS
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