speed racer was an old japanese cartoon from the 60's or 70's (i watched it in the 70's), about a young lad who drove a race car (the mach 5) built by his family. he got into all sorts of adventures, usually hinged around competitive auto racing and his various and sundry rivals in the racing world. the cool thing for me was that the cars had all kinds of neat attachments: jacks that sprang from the bottom of the car to allow for cool jumps, wings, tire shredders that came out from the axles, etc.
the movie is more of the same, but the computer graphics and effects are pretty stunning.
critics will hate the movie, of course. it's by no means a cinematic tour de force.
imdb page for the movie