We were promised cars. We were not prepared for other worlds and ancient aliens.

This week on Toonami Absolution, Alyx, Jon, and Sam cover the 2003 Cartoon Network film Hot Wheels: World Race. And I’m going to be honest with you, none of us were quite ready for what this movie actually is.

On paper: a racing film where 35 drivers compete for a multi-million dollar prize on the most extreme tracks in the world. Think Cannonball Run if it was trying to sell you toys for the entire runtime.

In practice: Dr. Peter Tezla is sending a load of drivers onto Highway 35, a racetrack in an alternative dimension that was built by aliens (who we never see). His goal, to collect the Wheel of Power, a magical artifact created by the aliens that can produce unlimited energy.

I want to remind you, this is a Hot Wheels movie.

But hey, this is made by Mainframe Productions, the team behind Transformers Beast Wars, so it can’t all be bad right?

Plus, we scan some old interviews to find some fascinating behind-the-scenes stories about this film (turns out, it was originally meant to be even weirder!)

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Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon, and Sam revisit the Toonami and Adult Swim shows that made them, and you, you.

From the block's early days with shows like Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Transformers: Beast Wars to the imported anime that made Toonami and Adult Swim appointment television for a generation of kids, such as Cowboy Bebop, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball.

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