History YMMV / SpeedRacer

* VindicatedByHistory: As the years have gone on, the film has found several defenders and even a decent sized fanbase, with even Time Magazine, Den of Geek and [[http://observer.com/2018/05/looking-back-at-the-wachowskis-2008-masterpiece-speed-racer/ Observer]] looking back at the film as being underappreciated, and is sometimes even compared to works like ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' and ''Film/PacificRim'' in terms of quality. Creator/Egoraptor has stated on numerous occasions that it's his favorite movie.

* VindicatedByHistory: As the years have gone on, the film has found several defenders and even a decent sized fanbase, with even Time Magazine, Den of Geek and [[http://observer.com/2018/05/looking-back-at-the-wachowskis-2008-masterpiece-speed-racer/ Observer]] looking back at the film as being underappreciated, and is sometimes even compared to works like ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' and ''Film/PacificRim'' in terms of quality.

* MisaimedMarketing: The advertising blundered just enough to make a difference. It appeared to be a purely badass action movie with eye-popping inventive visuals. It turned out to have a more childish tone, in keeping with the anime. The advertising also downplayed the presence of Spritle and played up the presence of Christina Ricci.

%%* HarsherInHindsight: Snake Oiler's final scene in the movie has him being thrown off a cliff, during the Casa Cristo race, eliminating him from the race. While his fate is left ambiguous, the parachute is shown deploying, indicating he survived the crash with Speed Racer. Snake Oiler's actor, Christian Oliver, would later be involved in a plane crash in 2024, and unfortunately would perish in the plane crash,

** In ''Race for Life'', Speed just won a South American Grand Prix cup and is being serenaded with flamenco music and a dancer. Right after a brief comment with no animation from him, ''[[HellIsThatNoise hellish screaming]]'' ensues as it cuts back to the dancer.. and just lingers on her for the next couple seconds as if no one heard it. It's hard to tell if it was a horribly misfire on dubbing a flamenco shout as agonized terror, or if it's the crowd reacting to a wounded José stumbling into the scene and everyone inexplicably has a huge DelayedReaction.

* {{Woolseyism}}:
** The "ninjas" were changed to "Assassins" in the dub. Which is actually correct, given their role in history.
** Also while it did have renames, cut scenes and so on, it was one of the very first anime imports that tried to keep the spirit of the original show as faithfully as possible.

* CommonKnowledge: Secretly unknown to pop-culture osmosis, Rex Racer ran away from home after an argument with Pops and wasn't FakingTheDead like later adaptations and the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' homage episode would have them believe.

* TearJerker: The very fact that the Racer family, while happy and tight knit, is incomplete, given that the oldest brother Rex ran off years earlier after a fight with Pops. To make it worse, Rex actually ''wants'' to go home, but because of his involvement with secret organizations and crime-fighting, [[KeepingSecretsSucks he can't.]]
** From "The Most Dangerous Race" three-parter, Speed crashes into a ravine and wakes up temporarily blind from the sun-exposure. As he struggles to find the Mach 5, Snake Oiler arrives to gloat over his anticipated victory and Speed's misfortune. For a brief moment, Speed actually ''cries,'' either for a devastating loss, the feeling he'll never get help, or both. Thankfully, he powers through with the help of Racer X.
** In "The Man on the Lam", the robber Lawson Lanster is reunited with his daughter Delicia whom he hasn't seen since she was a baby. He also learns that she became blind, and that her mother is busy trying to earn money for Delicia's operation. He doesn't tell her that he's her father, letting her think he's a friend of his. At the end of the episode, his dying wish to Speed is to give his eyes to Delicia. Speed and Trixie tells her that he had to leave and to look up at the sky whenever she thinks of him.

* TearJerker:
** The family watching Rex's FaceHeelTurn and subsequent death. Even knowing what will probably happen as a result of knowing the cartoon, watching the family deal with this is downright ''heartbreaking.''
-->'''Pops:''' Don't you turn your back on me! [[PartingWordsRegret If you walk out that door now, don't you ever come back]].
** Few people with a sibling can avoid InelegantBlubbering or at the very ''least'' ManlyTears when Speed lets his foot off the gas to let his dead brother's lap record stand.
** Near the end of the film, John Goodman's Pops is heartbreakingly sincere as he refuses to make the same mistake he did with Rex, assuring Speed that he will always love him and welcome him home no matter what.
-->'''Pops:''' I didn't lose Rex when he crashed. I lost him here. I let him think that a stupid motor company meant more to me than he did. You'll never know how much I regret that mistake. It's enough I'll never make it again. Speed, I understand that every child has to leave home. But I want you to know, that door is always open. You can always come back. 'Cause I love you.
** The scene in the end where we see the truth about Racer X's identity; [[spoiler: he truly is Rex, having faked his death and undergone plastic surgery in order to disguise his true identity to protect Speed and his family.]] Made all the more heart-wrenching by [[spoiler: Rex's decision to not reveal the truth to his family, saying it's a mistake he will have to live with.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J43sqfh_p0&t=105s The score during the moment only adds to the waterworks.]]
** When Racer X visits the Racer home with Inspector Detector. [[spoiler: First and foremost, it's Rex's first time home in ten years, and there is no chance of it being a happy homecoming.]] Secondly, there's a two second look that X gives Spritle. [[spoiler: In that moment, Rex realizes that he has another little brother, but he'll never be able to get to know or develop a relationship with this one.]]

** In ''[[https://youtu.be/BAM8CtlQnnk?t=200 Race for Life]]'', Speed just won a South American Grand Prix cup and is being serenaded with flamenco music and a dancer. Right after a brief comment with no animation from him, ''[[HellIsThatNoise hellish screaming]]'' ensues as it cuts back to the dancer.. and just lingers on her for the next couple seconds as if no one heard it. It's hard to tell if it was a horribly misfire on dubbing a flamenco shout as agonized terror, or if it's the crowd reacting to a wounded José stumbling into the scene and everyone inexplicably has a huge DelayedReaction.