(GO!)

[Touchdown]

Yeah, I know. Speed Racer got bad reviewws, and in truth, it's not a very good movie. But I grew up watching it, and thought they did a respectable job paying homage to the original, while throwing the whole 128 color box of crayons (and the built in sharpener) into a nuclear reactor to make this film something outrageous.

BUT!

*It is inventive. The colors of the world created is something to see, as is the speed at which it passes by.
*Those of us GenXers who remember the old TV show will get the references (including OOOH'oh'oh!) and enjoy it more than those who have sticks up their asses and hate Japanimation period.

It's my new guilty pleasure film, but I'm not epileptic, so your mileage (pun) may vary.:D

[tridim]

1. I just saw "Transformers" in HD yesterday for the first time.

And am upset I let my friends convince me that it sucked when it was in the theater. Sure it was a stupid story, but the CG was extremely impressive. Eye candy is fun too.

[DCKit]

2. Yeah, I'm a huge fan of CG too, but it never hurts to wrap it around a good story...

and a few good actors never hurt a film either.

That said, I'm also a fan of "so bad it was good" movies. However, I'm on probation since my SO realized we were on our fifth zombie-themed movie in a week a few months ago.

[swimmernsecretsea]

4. "Transformers" was great!

I was awestruck! And this is coming from someone who tends to watch documentaries and art films! Loved every minute of it!

[Beregond2]

3. I've hated

"Japanimation" my whole life, and the last time I looked, there wasn't a stick up my ass. When it first appeared on the scene, it was a joke in this country, and "Speed Racer" was considered the bottom of the barrel. The marvelous full animation of classic American cartoons, like the wonderful, witty, Warner Brothers output, was replaced by lousy, moronically written Japanese crap, because it was cheap for TV stations to buy. It was a shock to me when I realized that somewhere along the line, young Americans had been brainwashed into thinking this garbage was "cool."

Having said all that, the movie does look like it has an amazing look to it, though I wonder how my retinas would survive two hours of it. And if they treated the source material as camp, it could be fun.

"Transformers" was one of the best popcorn movies I have ever seen. It has a well-crafted, entertianing script, and the CG was truly jaw-dropping for once, not the greyish, blurry junk that usually passes for FX these days. And Shia LaBoef is terrifically appealing.

[tridim]

6. See FLCL now.

It's called "Fooly Cooly" here.

I agree that Saturday morning Japanese animation in the 70's and 80's was horrible.

[YOY]

10. Or Ghost in the Shell or Paranoia Agent

Paranoia Agent is so f***ed up it should be made into a film...

[Touchdown]

7. Apples & Oranges.

WB, MGM, Woody Woodpecker, Disney, Clampett, etc. were made for theatrical releases, not TV. They were always shown before main features after the newsreels. They did have a care to them that has always been lacking in TV animation. Mainly because they had the budgets and the time to do it properly, and not meet a weekly special. Hanna Barbera/Filmation threw that pride in workmanship in the trash.

Good fruit comparisons would be The Jetsons with Speed Racer... those same 2 towers passing by every 2 seconds (and why can't they live on the ground?). Wacky Racers and Mobile Suit Gundam. The early 70s Filmation verson of Tarzan and Star Blazers ( a japanimation with an excellent storyline).

At least Speed Racer's villains didn't have to wear masks for that meddling kid to pull off after a half hour.;)

[Touchdown]

8. Oh' yeah, and...

...was a joke in this country...bottom of the barrel...moronically written Japanese crap...it was a shock to me (elitist)...brainwashed into thinking this garbage was in quotes "cool"

Nope. No stick up there! My bad!:evilgrin:

[swimmernsecretsea]

5. Great image!

"throwing the whole 128 color box of crayons (and the built in sharpener) into a nuclear reactor"

Yes, that's quite how it looked. Even though I hadn't seen Speed Racer in literally decades, I was astonished at how accurately the movie captured not only the visual style (while pumping it full of steroids) but the way methods of capturing shots and scenes compared so well to the cartoon.

[Dr. Strange]

9. I don't think I'd go see it again in the theater...

but when it comes out on video, my son will probably want to get it. And I'll probably want to watch it again. Their version of racing is interesting, once you get the whole suspension of disbelief down.