Publisher: CinemaSerf October 22, 2023
This remind anyone of the "Tortoise and the Hare"? The rather aptly named "Vainglorious" is about to bulldoze the family home where the young "Zhi" lives with his grandmother. Now he's not a bad rally driver, but he tends to bottle it when he spies the winning post, so when he challenges his new nemesis to victory in the upcoming, and perilous, "Silk Road Rally" - his opponent thinks it's a bit of a no-brainer. "Zhi" doesn't even have a car! Well, luckily for the young man he alights on grizzly veteran "Gnash" who not only finds him a car, but soups it up for him and agrees to be his (grumpy) co-driver as they embark on a race that would test the mettle of anyone. Needless to say, "Vainglorious" has every gadget and gizmo available, and has no scruples about cheating - so the task is very much an uphill one for our dynamic duo. Can he save his home and make sure that it's his foe with egg on his face? It's actually quite a fun little animation, this. It uses the racing as a conduit to introduce us to lots of different characters, to make friends, evaluate priorities and, of course, to ensure the philosophical toast doesn't end up butter side down! It did look quite good on a big screen, the action scenes are fun and the characterisations engaging enough to keep it interesting, if entirely predictable, for ninety minutes. You'll never remember it, but you might enjoy it as brain-freeze fodder. I did.