Choose Your Mach Speed Racer

Speed Racer, the movie, got mixed reviews from our About.com Guides. Rebecca Murray, Hollywood Movies, gave it only 2 stars while Kids' Movies & TV Guide Carey Bryson gave it a more generous 3.5 stars. Personally, I thought it was a fun movie. Goofy outfits but cool cars and action. My stepdaughters and I took my wife to see it as a Mother's Day outing. The TV cartoon version was one of her favorite shows as a kid. If you have a Speed Racer fan in your household you might be considering one of the many Speed Racer RC toys out there.

To help you narrow your choice I've tried to sort through the different Mach 5, Mach 6, and Racer X versions out there. Mattel makes the largest variety of Speed Racer radio and remote controlled toys in several sizes for different ages. You can tell them apart by the style/shape of the controller. All the Jada Toys are the Mach 5 in different sizes but with the same basic functions for ages 8 and up.

If you want to carry a little piece of the movie with you to the office, the 1:38 and 1:64 scale cars are the perfect size to play with in the break room then tuck into a desk drawer when you have to get back to real work. For a fun gift combo, get a Mach 6 or Racer X Speed Racer RC Toy along with a DVD of the 2008 Speed Racer movie (Compare Prices) or combine the classic Mach 5 with a Speed Racer Gift Set (Compare Prices) containing all 52 episodes of the original 1960s cartoon.

Go Speed Racer. Go Speed Racer. Go Speed Racer, Go! (I write that with a little twinge because in my head I'm hearing my wife sing that line over and over and over again.)