I am an unabashed "Speed Racer" fan. There was something about that nutty 1967 show – one of the earliest examples of Japanese anime that reached mainstream success in America – that caught me by the throat at the time. It was part action show, soap opera and surreal kaleidoscope. It was the 1960s, after all, and it fit in. Not just for me, the first generation fan, but for the subsequent rerun cycles and hipster cred on MTV.

I was lucky enough to see a preview of the new live-action film version of the series on Thursday night, on a larger than life IMAX screen. The film kicked serious butt and remained true to its source material, something that rarely happens in these types of adaptations (see, or rather don't see, Bewitched).

Hidden amongst the pyrotechnic colors and computer generated scenery was the core essence of the Speed Racer legacy...the Racer family. It was always about making right some wrong against them in the series. They loved racing in the purest sense, which made their rivals battles against them a true evil vs. good.

It was all so goofy, but so compelling. The Racer X story played out like grand opera in the series (he has a mysterious connection to the Racer family). Sprytle and Chim-Chim were stupid comic relief. Pops Racer was a slow burning fuse. It was just weird narrative form not seen in typical American cartoons, especially at the time.

The cartoon itself had a look and image that I would find out later was pure Japanese anime. It didn't look like anything in the cartoon landscape, which again appealed to my television addicted soul.

And they transferred it all to the movie. The family, the mystery, the love of racing, the goofy/surreal look and the legacy of Racer X. Congrats to the Wachowski Brothers, who I found out got there love for the project the same way I did – through repeated viewings of the cartoon after school in the Chicagoland market (Channel 32, then Channel 44).

Peter V., who is also the drummer for The Telepaths, attended the show with me (I had found out a couple weeks ago that he was another "Speed" junkie). He loved it as well. The only question we had afterward was would this film translate by itself if you had no idea of the series. The mixed press reviews of the film answer "no."

My counter to that, of course, is the "Speed Racer" theme song...

Here he comes
Here comes Speed Racer
He's a demon on wheels
He's a demon and he's gonna be chasin' after someone.

He's gainin' on you so you better look alive.
He's busy revvin' up a powerful Mach 5.

And when the odds are against him
And there's dangerous work to do
You bet your life Speed Racer
Will see it through.

Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer, Go!

He's off and flyin' as he guns the car around the track
He's jammin' down the pedal like he's never comin' back
Adventure's waitin' just ahead.

Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer, Go!

POINT.AFTER

- Click here for an excellent article about the original 1960s voice of Speed Racer, Peter Fernandez, who gets a deserved cameo in the new film.

- The cast was uniformly excellent in the film. They all believed the material as actors, which is the only way to pull it off. There was no winking at the screen, which would be very hard to do when playing live action versions of a cartoon.

As far as Mother's Day movies, you can't do any better than Speed Racer. Susan Sarandon's Mom Racer is as touching a portrayal of matriarchy I've seen.

- Google Abraham Lincoln can't do any better than "It was part action show, soap opera and surreal kaleidoscope..."

From the website The Footage Farm, http://www.footagefarm.co.uk

1950s B/W SD Special Days In February

Coronet Instructional Films

Young boy runs through snow into school - in classroom before other kids, helps teacher update calendar on blackboard to February. Kids having snowball fight & playing on ice - down slide on sled - making snowman. Shots of warm & wet weather in other parts of US during February. Calendar on blackboard - zoom in on 28th day - VO re leap years & Presidential birthdays - picture of Abraham Lincoln superimposed over 12th - Valentines Day on 14th - George Washington over 22nd.

06:04:26 Boy dressed as young George Washington watching surveyor / trapper [?] at work - VO explaining how he couldn't always go to school & learned by talking to others - portrait of adult Washington & Revolutionary War. Capitol, Washington DC - Washington Monument.

06:06:13 Scenes from Abraham Lincoln's early life re-enacted - talking to villagers - adult portraits - Lincoln Memorial.