Check out the first 7 minutes of the new ‘Speed Racer’ movie out now. Technicolor nightmare or a groundbreaking vision?

Advertising Age has an interesting article on how brands are leveraging this years blockbuster hit to increase their sales, especially since the movie is seen to appeal to a very wide range of audiences. The upcoming Wachowski Brother flick, Speed Racer, will have tie-in deals with General Mills, Yokohama Tire Corp., McDonald’s Corp., Nintendo, AutoTrader.com, esurance.com and Mattel. A Warner Spokesperson has said that the deals vary.

Similar to Burger King’s marketing tie-in with “Iron Man”, BK gets a mention in the movie. There is no branding for McDonalds on Speed Racer, though, Mcdonalds has the rights to sell Speed Racer toys with it’s Happy Meals.

Mattel is making a similar move by branding it’s Hot Wheels range with the Speed racer logo. General Mills will get a “Cheerio’s” Racing car. Yokohama Tires gave away Speed Racer key Cahisn and Posters at it’s paddock at the Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix. Nintendo give consumers a reason to buy the Nintendo Wii’s wheel Accessory and launches the Speed Racer Game.

See More Speed Racer Artwork at IGN.com

Less than a month away from the live-action Speed Racer film directed by the Wachowski Brothers, IGN has posted the final one-sheet. Here is their plot synopsis.

Born to race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed’s thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company’s maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won’t drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family’s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother’s life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

Speed Racer hits theaters May 9th.

A new Speed Racer trailer has been released. Check it out here.

A little recap. Awesome directors (The Wachowski Brothers) Awesome actors (well…John Goodman). Awesome graphics. Hopefully 1+1+1=Awesome movie. Not long to wait now.

Keifer