A New Speed Racer Returns To TV

Lionsgate will announce today plans for its first animated series, a new version of the 1960s toon “Speed Racer” with a plan for a minimum of a 5-year run. Nickelodeon’s 24-hour cartoon channel, Nicktoons, will air the first 26 episodes, according to Variety.

Ready to launch in 2008 to coincide with the big screen, live-action film premiere, (however, the television series will not be related in anyway to the film) this new animated “Speed Racer” will enter a racing academy for the fastest kids on Earth with his environmentally friendly Mach 6 vehicle, where he finds out that he’s the son of the original series’ Speed Racer. He will also learn that a new guy, Racer X, is a brother he never knew he had. The brothers become a team to not only keep the bad guys from stealing the Mach 6, but also investigate who was responsible for the disappearance of their legendary dad. Spritle (voiced by original actor Peter Fernandez), from the original series is now the racing academy’s headmaster and a mechanical Chim-Chim will provide the comic relief.

“It seemed like the right time to do a revival,” said Ken Katsumoto, exec VP of family entertainment at Lionsgate. “When this opportunity arose to revive such a classic property, we jumped.”