Rally Road Racers – Film Review

Director – Ross Venokur
Writer – Ross Venokur
Stars – Sharon Horgan, J.K. Simmons, Chloe Bennet, John Cleese

Do you know what a loris is? No, I’m not talking about the former French international goalkeeper, I am in fact talking about the “nocturnal animal… found in tropical and woodland forests of India, Sri Lanka, and parts of Southeast Asia”. Top marks if you got that one correct. They have very big eyes and are especially cute. What you probably were not aware of about this slow-moving animal is that some of them have the propensity to be excellent rally car drivers! That is if you accept the word of this new animated feature.

With an obvious nod to famous cartoons such as “Speed Racer,” and “The Wacky Races,” this new feature follows a similar story, or lack of it to be honest! We meet Zhi (Jimmy O. Yang), a young Loris from a village who dreams of being a rally car driver. On his first race, he does well but crashes when almost at the finish line. The race is seen by Gnash (J.K. Simmons), a one-time famous driver and now a mechanic, who notices the kid and his talents.

John Cleese plays the evil toad Archie Vainglorious. Archie is the best race car driver in the world and has won multiple trophies. Archie is from a family of developers, who buy the town where Zhi lives and set about demolishing the houses. Zhi finds Archie and offers him a wager, if he beats Archie, he’ll give Zhi the deeds to the town, but if Zhi loses, Zhi will become the public face of the new Town development. Gnash offers to help the kid win the race.

The storyline isn’t the most challenging affair, and you know from the first moment where it will all end up! What the film does deliver is some good gags and a lot of cute characters. It also has the vocal talents of some impressive names. Sharon Horgan plays Abby Jacks, a reporter who commentates on the races. along with J.K. Simmons, and John Cleese. It could have done with a few more dastardly attacks and tricks from Archie Vainglorious, but there are some good fun moments. It’s not a classic, but there are enough colourful characters to keep your little ones amused on a wet Sunday afternoon!