
The second DVD release in the Speed Racer Collector's Edition series hits retail on May 18 with a 12-episode collection with a suggested retail price of $22.98. Like the previously released first volume in the series (see DIC in Dispute Over Speed Racer'), which featured a limited edition 'wheel rubber' box, Volume 2 has its own packaging gimmick -- a button which plays the Speed Racer theme song and turns on the headlights of the Mach 5. Volume 1 in the series presented the first 12 Speed Racer episodes in the order in which they were released in the U.S., and Volume 2 will include the next dozen. Retro twentieth century toons have done well in the twenty-first century (see 'There's Gold in Them Thar Old Cartoons') and continue to exercise a strong nostalgic appeal to today's 25-40 year-olds. Clever packaging has been part of the retro appeal and the Speed Racer Collector's Edition Volume 2 is loaded with it.