For the lack of better words, actor Emile Hirsch feels the need for Speed.

Fresh off his critically acclaimed role in the adventure drama "Into the Wild," Hirsch has ditched his hiking boots for a seat in the iconic Mach 5 race car in "Speed Racer" -- the big screen, live-action adaptation of the classic Japanese anime series that's sped across the pop culture landscape for more than 40 years.

"It's so exciting and so visually stunning and such a good story," Hirsch gushed in a recent @ The Movies interview. "It's a movie that has something for everybody. The parents can take their kids, and maybe end up loving it more than them."

Hirsch plays Speed Racer, a natural-born racecar driver whose only real competition on the track is the lasting memory of his late brother, Rex Racer, whom the younger Racer idolized.

Loyal to his family's business -- his Mach 5 racing machine was designed by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman) -- Speed angers Royalton Industries head (Roger Allam) when he turns down a lucrative offer from the honcho's racing company. Discovering that Royalton is part of a group of moguls that fixes races and is conspiring to make sure he never wins again, Speed joins forces with former rival Racer X (Matthew Fox) to beat Royalton at his own game.

Opening in theaters and on IMAX screens Friday, "Speed Racer" also stars Susan Sarandon as Mom Racer and Christina Ricci as Speed's girlfriend, Trixie.

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A fan of the anime show since he was a kid, Hirsch, 22, had his reservations when he first heard that the "Speed Racer" was being adapted for the big screen. "At first when I heard they were making 'Speed Racer,' I went, 'Hmm?,'" said Hirsch in a doubting tone. "I was a big fan of it when I was 6 years old and used to watch it every day on Cartoon Network. It was just a really cool show."

But any worries of his childhood memories being muddied by a film version of the series came to a screeching halt when he heard the magic words, "Andy and Larry Wachowski."

"But then when I heard the Wachowski brothers were making it, I was like, 'Oh, my God! I've got to do it,'" Hirsch said of creators of "The Matrix" trilogy. "I respect them so much as directors. I was so crazy about 'The Matrix' and knew anything that these guys were going to do with 'Speed Racer' was going to be awesome. Their sense of precision and artistry is daring. Their films have such slick, visually explosive looks."

The unique thing about "Speed Racer" is that the settings, races and vehicles are almost exclusively computer-generated. It's a decidedly different school of filmmaking than the school of small character dramas that Hirsch is used to. "You really have to go into filming thinking, 'I'm not going to freak out that nothing's there. I'm just going to take a deep breath and pretend that it's there and going to fool them all," Hirsch said, laughing.

But after seeing the completed product, the actor found himself just as engrossed as any average audience member. "I'm so grateful that the shots are so amazing with the visual effects, I can't believe that they created this world around us," Hirsch said. "It feels like we're actually in it."

But while the look of "Speed Racer" exists in the matrix of Wachowskis' visual imaginations, Hirsch was also content during filming knowing that the special effects wouldn't override the emotional substance of the film.

"The story goes deep and it's not just about corruption in corporations. 'Cheaters never prosper' is a theme that gets repeated over and over -- but the movie also talks about the importance about being supported by your family and working as a team, as well as loving your children and brothers and sisters," Hirsch observed.

And there are residual benefits to being in a film like "Speed Racer," too. After all, summer action movies often spawn action figures of the lead actors -- and in this case, Speed Racer is accompanied by, among other cool vehicles and gizmos, a toy Mach 5.

But when you're playing with his Speed figure outside of the same confines of the vehicle, Hirsch has one simple request: Be gentle.

"I just hope the kids don't rip my arms out like I used to do to some of my action figures when I was a kid," Hirsch cracked.