Speed Racer

    That was the best movie for children I have ever seen. If that can’t hold a little kid’s attention, I don’t know what would. Bright and vivid colors, constant movement, epic race cars, explosions, awesome transitions, a chimpanzee for a brother, and a perfectly horrible villain make the two hour long movie a gripping tale from start to finish. There is no way I could walk away, and I would be shocked if even my energy-filled-4-year-old nephew wouldn’t watch the entire thing in awe. However, in Speed Racer, there were many things that I noticed and subtle messages that stuck out to me that a child might not, at least consciously, realize.
    There is a strong message about the importance of family. It was forgetting that which lead to the problems in the beginning of the movie, as the eldest son left home. It was remembering the importance of family that healed the cracks years later, when the second son, Speed, was going to leave home. Family is more important than money, more important than a business, more important than fame. What a great principle to teach to the children who are watching this.
    There is also a strong underlying message about the dangers of politics and “Big Brother.” The villain is a wealthy, seemingly kind and generous, businessman. He owns a giant corporation and is offering the benefits of it all in return for Speed giving up his ideals, honesty, and faith in the world. Mr. Royalton controls everything without anyone knowing it. The races are rigged, the companies control all the resources. According to Mr Royalton, everything in life is controlled by companies and it is all about the money and the economy. That is what truly matters. Using the games and the public through these is what everything is really about. Is this making a statement about our sports and our big corporations and controlling government?
    Staying true to yourself and finding your purpose for living and fighting is the true meaning of life, according to Speed Racer. That is how success is really found and how true happiness is achieved. Mr Royalton had everything he could have wanted and dreamed of, yet always wanted more and always seemed to be on the edge of anger and a temper tantrum. Speed lived a decent life, but he had a family, his morals, and his dream, and he was at peace as long as he stayed true to those. To doing what he knew he should and what was right. The true win at the end of the movie was not the race, but the battle inside himself as he tried to reconcile who he was and what the world was. In finding himself, he was able to come off conqueror.
    Speed Racer was filled with great messages and lessons for the viewers. Honesty, family, the purpose of life, the dangers of big business and big government. I might not have noticed these, or noticed that I noticed, as a kid, but they definitely had an impact on me as an adult. It was wonderful.