A loris is determined to save his village by living his dream in this fun animated film!

Zhi is a loris who dreams of being a car racer. However, his grandma Bai feels he is just living a pipe dream and feels he needs to slow down. When Zhi learns that his village is in danger of being taken over, he decides to do something about it. He learns the current racing champion in the world, Archie Vanglorious, has the deed to the village. Archie convinces Zhi to join the Silk Road Rally, a race where the best in the world competes. Should Zhi win, he gets the village.

Under the guidance of a legendary racer, Gnash, Zhi begins training hard for the rally. As he trains hard for the competition, his determination leads him to master the basics needed to compete. With Gnash by his side, the race begins and Archie, learning of the legend’s involvement, decides to go to any great lengths to ensure Zhi doesn’t finish the race. This including hiring another loris, Shelby, to help. Will Zhi be able to save his village and stop the evil Vanglorious?

There have been some good racing films and while this generation has had animated films in the form of Disney and Pixar’s Cars and its off brand ripoff, A Car’s Life, we haven’t had a fun and wacky film going around the racers. That all changes here with this story of a loris (known for its lack of speed) determined to live his dream of being a racer. This is similar to the recent live-action film Gran Turismo, which focuses on the dreamer Jann Mardenborough, who to this day, lives his dreams of being a racer.

A great ensemble cast must be necessary to make the film work. Who better than stand up comedian and actor Jimmy O. Yang to play the central role of Zhi? He does a great job voicing the character determined to both live his dream and save his village. We even get some of his comic style when he imitates his idol and mentor the Amazing Gnash, a goat played by J.K. Simmons. Gnash is a beloved character who has a dark secret and sees working with Zhi as his chance for redemption.

John Cleese is the perfect voice for the antagonist, Archibald Vanglorious. Sounds like a perfect name for a aristocratic toad, which is exactly what he is. Similar to Gru of the Despicable Me franchise, he has little followers, which are called “echoes” instead of “minions”. Chloe Bennet is great as Shelby, who is a loris who has a bit of resemblance to Barbara, the metal troll in Trolls World Tour and yet she has a moral compass about doing Archibald’s bidding or helping Zhi out. Sharon Horgan and Catherine Tate also get props as siblings-in-law and rally commentators Abby and Juni.

Rally Road Racers is fun, heartwarming, and inspiring with a great voice cast and those who love a good animated racing film will definitely want to see this!

WFG RATING: A-

Vertigo Entertainment presents a Riverstone Pictures/Kintop Pictures production in association with Vanguard Films and Animation and Virtuso Productions FZE. Director: Ross Venokur. Producers: Jacky Bhagnani, Vashu Bhagnani, Nik Bower, Deepshika Deshmukh, Deepak Nayar, Peter S. Seaman, and John H. Williams. Writer: Ross Venokur. Cinematography: Alexei Nechyataylo. Editing: Adam Garner.

Voice Cast: Jimmy O. Yang, J.K. Simmons, Chloe Bennet, John Cleese, Lisa Lu, Sharon Horgan, Catherine Tate, Rebecca Yeo.

The film will hit theaters this Friday (9/15) in the UK and Ireland.