Subject | Speed Racer |
---|---|
Licensed from | Warner Bros. |
Availability | 2008–2009 |
Total sets | 4 [1] |
Characters | Speed Racer, Snake Oiler, Racer X, Taejo Togokahn, Cruncher Block, Cruncher's driver, Gray Ghost, Cannonball Taylor, Pops Racer, Spritle, Trixie and a commentator. |
Lego Speed Racer (stylized as LEGO Speed Racer) was a 2008 Lego theme based on the 2008 film Speed Racer (which is based on the anime of the same name). It consists of four sets which were first released in April 2008. [2] The product line was discontinued by the end of 2009.
The product line focuses on Speed Racer, an 18-year-old automobile racer who follows his apparently deceased brother's career, choosing to remain loyal to his family and their company Racer Motors, which causes difficulties after he refuses a contract that E.P. Arnold Royalton, owner of Royalton Industries, offers him. Lego Speed Racer aimed to recreate the main characters in Lego form, including Speed Racer, Snake Oiler, Racer X, Taejo Togokahn, Cruncher Block, Cruncher's driver, Gray Ghost, Cannonball Taylor, Pops Racer, Spritle, Trixie and a commentator. [2] [3]
Lego Speed Racer was inspired by the 2008 film Speed Racer . The construction toy range was based on the film and developed in collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The construction sets were designed to recreate the story and characters of the film in Lego form. [2] [4]
In January 2008 it was announced that The Lego Group had acquired the rights from Warner Bros. to produce four sets based on the upcoming Speed Racer film. [4] Lego has previously partnered with Warner Bros., creating Batman and Harry Potter themes. The Lego Speed Racer theme was released under the Lego Racers brand. [4]
The four sets were first released in the United States on April 3, 2008. [5] In the United Kingdom the sets Speed Racer & Snake Oiler, Racer X & Taejo Togokhan, and Grand Prix Race were released on April 6, 2008, while Cruncher Block & Racer X was released later at the start of May. [5] [2] [6]
According to BrickLink, The Lego Group released 4 playsets based on the Lego Speed Racer theme. [1] The product line was eventually discontinued by the end of 2009. [7]
Speed Racer & Snake Oiler (set number: 8158) is a 242-piece set. It features the Mach 5 supercar and Oiler's orange race car, both around 17 cm (6.5") long, and two minifigures: Speed Racer, wearing a blue pullover, and Snake Oiler. [2] [8] [9]
Racer X & Taejo Togokhan (set number: 8159) is a 237-piece set. It features a red and black racecar, a yellow and black race car, both around 16 cm (6") long, and two minifigures: Racer X and Taejo Togokahn, wearing a white suit. [2] [10]
Cruncher Block & Racer X (set number: 8160) is a 367-piece set. It features the same yellow and black race car from the Racer X & Taejo Togokhan set, a 33 cm (13") semi truck and four minifigures: Racer X, Cruncher Block, Cruncher's driver, and Taejo Togokahn. [2] [11]
Grand Prix Race (set number: 8161) is a 595-piece set. It features the Mach 6 racecar, the GRX racecar, a black and grey race car, a commentators box, a car workshop, and seven minifigures: Speed Racer wearing white racing coveralls, Gray Ghost, Cannonball Taylor, Pops Racer, Spritle, Trixie, and a commentator. [2] [12] [3]
The Lego Speed Racer product line briefly appeared in the 2014 film The Lego Movie as one of the many lesser Lego worlds described by Wildstyle.
Animetion.co.uk rated the set 'Speed Racer & Snake Oiler' (8158) four out of five, stating the set is "great fun to build and are good enough to display or play". [13] They however criticized the use of stickers due to the large margin of error when applying them to the bricks and that one sticker covers three bricks, which could lead to problems when deconstructing the set. [13]
Speed Racer, also known as Mach GoGoGo, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuo Yoshida. It was originally serialized in print in Shueisha's 1966 Shōnen Book. It was released in tankōbon form by Sun Wide Comics and later re-released in Japan by Fusosha. Adapted into anime by Tatsunoko Production, its 52 episodes aired on Fuji Television from April 1967 to March 1968. In the US, the show aired in syndication at approximately the same time. The anime was later re-broadcast on Tokyo MX from July 1 to September 25, 2008.
This article lists notable events and releases in the history of the Lego Group.
Lego Adventurers was a Lego theme based on an early 20th century 'explorer' concept. It centred around the main character named Johnny Thunder and a team of explorers who go on adventures. Unlike other Lego themes, which take place in a fictional "Lego Universe", most of the Adventurers sets took places in real-world locations, such as Egypt, the Amazon rainforest, the Himalayas, India, and China. The only fictional sub-theme took place on an island where prehistoric creatures still lived. The theme was first introduced in 1998. The product line was discontinued in 2003 and replaced with the Lego Pharaoh's Quest theme in 2011.
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Speed Racer is a 2008 sports action comedy film written and directed by the Wachowskis, based on the manga series of the same name created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The film, an international co-production between the United States and Germany, stars Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, and Richard Roundtree. The plot revolves around Speed Racer, an 18-year-old automobile racer who follows his apparently deceased brother's career, choosing to remain loyal to his family and their company Racer Motors, which causes difficulties after he refuses a contract that E.P. Arnold Royalton, owner of Royalton Industries, offers him.
Lego Toy Story is a Lego theme based on the Disney·Pixar's Toy Story film franchise. The first four sets were released on December 30, 2009, with an additional two sets being released on January 4, 2010. In May 2010, five Lego and four Duplo sets were released under the Toy Story 3 sub-theme. The original theme was discontinued in 2011. For the release of Toy Story 4 there was one Duplo set based on the third film and 6 Lego sets based on the fourth film. These sets were released in March and in April 2019 this time under the Juniors line. The minifigures in the sets were also now redesigned. The revival theme was discontinued in 2021.
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Lego Ninjago is a Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninjas since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja theme in 2000. It was produced to coincide with the animated television series Ninjago, which was superseded in 2023 by a new series titled Ninjago: Dragons Rising.
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The Lego Movie is an American media franchise and shared universe based on Lego construction toys. It began with the 2014 film The Lego Movie, which was directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The success of the film led to the release of two licensed video games, a 4D film theme park attraction, two spin-off films titled The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, which were released in 2017, Unikitty! an animated television series that also came out in the same year, and the sequel to the original film titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019. Plans for a third spin-off film and a sequel to The Lego Batman Movie were later shelved. Development would end in 2020, with Warner Bros. letting the rights lapse back to The Lego Group after The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part underperformed at the box office and the studio failing to create any new projects within that time frame.
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