The Wachowski brothers’ live-action take on the classic anime property Speed Racer debuts on home video today after a less-than-stellar theatrical run. Warner Bros. is hoping the film finds a significant audience on DVD, and is offering an extra Windows Media-compatible digital copy. Also hitting retail today are a special edition release of Disney’s animated sequel 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure, a 50th anniversary collection of Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoons and the first two seasons of the adult-oriented animated series Duckman.
Based on Tatsuo Yoshida’s iconic manga and anime series, Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ Speed Racer features a mix of live-action and CG effects animation as it follows the adventures of young racecar driver Speed (Emile Hirsch) as he strives to drive his famous Mach 5 to victory while tangling with his mysterious arch-rival, Racer X (Matthew Fox). The cast also includes Christina Ricci as Speed’s Girlfriend, Trixie, and John Goodman and Susan Sarandon as Speed’s devoted parents. The extensive visual effects work was completed by ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Digital Domain, CIS Hollywood, Rising Sun Pictures, Evil Eye Pictures, BUF, CafeFX, Pacific Title and Lola Visual Effects.
DVD extras include Spritle in the Big Leagues‘a tour of the movie set with actor Paulie Litt, and a featurette titled Speed Racer: Supercharged!, which introduces the drivers of the WRL and explores the film’s dynamic racing machines and racetracks. The Blu-ray version also includes a DVD game dubbed Speed Racer Crucible Challenge. The DVD edition carries a suggested retail price of $28.98, while the Blu-ray release can be had for $35.99 or less.
101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure debuted in 2003 and won the award for Best Animated DVD Premiere Movie at the 3rd Annual DVD Exclusive Awards. Directed by Jim Kammerund and Brian Smith, the movie picks up where the first film left off and finds the canine clan and their human “pets,” Roger and Anita, preparing for their move to the Dalmatian Plantation. Puppy Patch (Bobby Lockwood), who longs to be one in a million rather than one in 101, gets left behind and decides to go out in search of his TV hero, Thunderbolt (Barry Bostwick). Meanwhile, the ever-plotting Cruella de Vil (Susanne Blakeslee) hooks up with an eccentric artist named Lars (Martin Short) and rekindles her obsession with spotted pelts. Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes documentary, a pair of music videos, a featurette titled Thunderbolt: A Look Inside and the games Patch’s Twilight Adventure and Lost in London. The DVD lists for $19.95.
Alvin & the Chipmunks: The ALVINNN!!! Edition is a two-disc set celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Chipmunks in December. The Paramount release offers fourteen cartoons and lists at $26.99.
Also from Paramount comes Duckman: Seasons One and Two, a three-disc set with 22 episodes of the animated series that first aired during USA’s Up All Night programming block and features the voice of Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander as the title quack-up. Retailing for $49.99, the set includes episode commentary featurettes titled Six Degrees of Duckman, What the Hell Are You Starin At? and Designing Duckman.
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