Mattel is going to be crazy busy this summer with new movie launches.

But in a way, Batman is easy – people pretty much just want the Batmobile – give it us in every scale and at every price point, we’re in.

But Speed Racer beyond the Mach 5 is going to require a little more work but it’s almost a can’t miss.

You have the Wachowski brothers who brought us the Matrix directing, so you know the Special Effects and CGI won’t be the local weather guy’s green screen … based on a story that’s hard to foul up – a kid who likes to drive fast on a circuit where the rules of gravity don’t seem to apply. Throw in a cute girl named Trixie, a monkey and a fat guy named Pops … who cares what the real plot is?

I’ll be at the theater on May 9, 2008 so I haven’t watched the trailer that closely other than to see things flying through the air … I’m in! 🙂

And of course, there are some toys to go with it.

But you really need the proper music to play along with this post … so, click PLAY …

If the WordPress player is just buffering, open this link in a new page and hit play.

There are two 1:18 (ish) scale of the Mach 5 & 6. The detailing looks nice but not metal diecasts. They have a sound feature:

There are several 1:24 (ish) scale “Speed Racer Deluxe Battle Vehicles” (plastic – not diecast) with cars that open up & a 3″ action figure (Mach 5, Mach 6 & Racer-X version):

There is a also a “Race & Flip” Series of cars.

There is another series “Speed Racer Battle Vehicles” which are smaller than the 1:24ish “deluxe” version:

I think this Race Track Trailer is for this series … otherwise, it’s honky huge if it’s really for the 1:24ish series cars to park inside:

But, what’s a Mattel Hot Wheels line without 1:64 scale cars?

The first lineup is 12-cars. I suppose with real investigating, we could figure out each name but it might be more fun to wait for the movie 🙂

Each car comes with a plastic attachment – as of course, each car has its own unique set of attack and defense weapons … in our world, we have to rely on hand gestures and small arms 😉

Here is a close up of the blister …

And of course, two-packs where you get an “exclusive” car …

There is also a very nice 1:64 scale transport and launcher …

And a 4-pack with accessories!

And some Toy Fair photos:

Of course, you also need some playets or in this case, tracks …

There are at least three introduced at Toy Fair, a Casa Cristo 5000 Ice Caves set, the Speed Racer Fuji Helexicon set – nice – much like the sets they sell now that you can attach to a door frame …

But I am saving this best for last – the most kick-*** track Mattel has ever put together … the innocuously named, “Speed Racer Sky Jump Box.”

Let’s crack that bad-boy open and set ‘er up!

That’s right, drop cars into the giant funnel and off to the launcher it goes – and around the track … where’s our official Speed Racer bucket to dump the cars in?

The only disappointing thing is that the Speed Racer 1:64 are mostly all plastic but I suppose that’s the keep the weight down for the flying sky jump (and of course, save Mattel some money).

If you don’t mind all-plastic, Target has this exclusive for $7.99:

Most serious diecast collectors are going to want the metal series. Surprisingly Jada is offering a set of 4 (so far?) that are super nice at $2.99 – great detailing, solid – all metal – 1:55 scale:

Jada is also offering a 1:32 version that is a great deal at $4.99:

For collectors, Mattel is offering a 1:64 version that is all metal – it’s more spendy at $4.99 each but it is attached to a display case like the Kyosho cars:

(I have not seen the Mach 5 version yet, not sure if it’s short-packed or not shipped yet).

Mattel has two 1:24 scale metal Mach 5 & Mach 6 at $29.99 – Jada is doing the Mach 5 1:24 for a great price at $14.99.

A few years back, Johnny Lightning did up a great set of Speed Racer diecasts made of solid heavy metal (in other words – real diecasts) and great sculpts (as always) – AllAboardToys still has them in stock.

Some great Toy Fair photos here of other Speed Racer gear.

There are also some great Legos – we’ll cover those in a separate post.

Not exactly up my alley but for once, Ken does not look like a dork or as the clearly-gay beard of Barbie …

Christine Ricci plays Trixie – not a bad likeness of her.

Most everything should be out for sale by end of March. The movie doesn’t open until May 9, 2008.

It’s clear that the Mach 5 is like the 1966 Batmobile – cool in any era …

Though this other car from the movie … DAAAAAMMMMMMNNNNNN ….

The official website is pretty sparse … though for film buffs, there is an interesting audio podcast of the press conference at the Berlin Film Festival with all the stars and Joel Silver, the producer.

You can listen by opening a new window or browser tab or right click to download it.

Official SPEED RACER movie trailer:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=MQyYPP9zR7M]

Or if you prefer the HD version to download.

Int’l Trailers …

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8CJ9BpG8cM]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRfPVRJr7gI]

The original animated series is available on DVD – All 52 episodes are available split up on 5 discs (Amazon Link) 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5.

And just as the Ford Futurama show car was the basis for the Batmobile, when you see the Ferrari 250TR Testarossa … you can see where the Mach 5 was inspired by … and of course, the Ferrari’s headlights are pointed forward – a little more useful when going 150 MPH than headlights that point to the ground like the Mach 5 … though the saw blades and weaponry are more useful 🙂 … though I think Trixie would join you if you had either car 🙂