Last month, a mysterious new program appeared parked in the virtual garage over at Netflix. TEAM HOT WHEELS appeared for viewing, but what exactly was this 22-minute episode? With my two car-obsessed girls at my sides, we pressed play and opened the doors to “Larry’s Garage” to check out this new adventure, based on Mattel’s long-running line of diecast cars… the same ones that we have several hundred of here at Rock Father HQ. The show – focusing on four, go-kart riding kids that transform into TEAM HOT WHEELS to cruise a world lined with bright, orange track – was a ton of fun, but it played like a “pilot episode,” and a quick web search came up largely dry. Today, that mystery has been solved.
In my mailbox today was a package from Netflix – a “Stream Team Exclusive” – that contained a single, mainline Hot Wheels car – the Team Blue QUICK N’ SIK, branded with TEAM HOT WHEELS: THE ORIGIN OF AWESOME.
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What’s on Netflix now is just a preview of things to come…
TEAM HOT WHEELS (produced by Playground Productions):
Not your average CARtoon, Team Hot Wheels™ brings Hot Wheels™ “Go For It” attitude to life through a cast of fun-loving daredevil kids who are always up for racing adventures. When a mysterious black car begins transforming the sleepy town of Hilly Woodlands into a wild mess of orange track and outrageous obstacles, four kids are tasked to stop it before the whole world is overrun with chaos. With the help of an eccentric gearhead scientist named Larry, these lifelong racing fanatics get the keys to the fastest, coolest cars of all time. Now Gage, Rhett, Wyatt and Brandon must learn to work together in order to out-race the mystery car and ultimately become Team Hot Wheels™.
Hot Wheels enthusiasts will immediately notice the nod to Hot Wheels designer Larry Wood, and there’s other Easter Eggs hidden throughout. The one thing it’s missing is girls (I know my little ones would love to see at least one female on the team), but that tends to be a running issue with the Hot Wheels line, which Mattel still files under “boys.” But worry not, parents – TEAM HOT WHEELS is fun for boys and girls, kids and grownups alike.
Perhaps we’ll see a female join the team later this year, because there’s a 74-minute special coming to DVD later this year, and like the car that arrived at HQ, it will be titled, TEAM HOT WHEELS: THE ORIGIN OF AWESOME.
Additionally, keep your eyes on the pegs at your local retailers, as four vehicles based on the show will be arriving in the “mainline” assortment (Mix ‘H’ for the hardcore collectors) – the cars that are usually priced at around $1. New versions of the TWIN MILL, BONE SHAKER, QUICK N’ SIK and BAJA TRUCK have been confirmed…
And what about that “mysterious black car”? Since this image appeared online, I have a feeling it won’t be far behind…
