Grand Prix of Europe: General Discussion

[Rowe]

GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE​

"Edda, a young mouse with big dreams, seizes her chance to race in the Grand Prix disguised as her hero, Ed. She rises to the challenge of outwitting her rival's sabotage and proving that even the smallest racer can make the biggest impact."

Directed by: Waldemar Fast
Written by: Kirstie Falkous, Jeffrey Hylton, John T. Reynolds, Ben Alexander Safier
Produced by: Michael Mack
English Dub: Gemma Arterton (Edda) Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Edda), DJ Bobo (Boeckli), Hayley Atwell (Cindy), Lenny Henry (Erwin), Rob Beckett (Enzo)
Edited by: Björn Teubner
Music by: Volker Bertelmann
Production companies: Mack Magic, Warner Bros. Film Productions Germany
Box Office Gross: $2,630,743 (Box Office Mojo, 28.8.25)
Full IMDb credits

As of Friday 22nd August, 2025, producer Michael Mack's much anticipated 6 year long passion project Grand Prix of Europe has been released in UK cinemas via distributor Kazoo Films and currently screening at chains such as Cineworld, Odeon, Showcase and Vue. The film is also in a separate canon to the existing Magic 4D Cinema shorts (Das Geheimnis von Schloss Balthasar, Das Zeitkarussell, Nachts im Park) and Veejoy has an... eh, alright Making-Of video.

I've already seen the film twice (planning my third, as local cinemas have confirmed the film is running for a second week) and I have so many thoughts because I genuinely do love it and think it's fun for what it's worth, but I also have some negative thoughts and others very much in the 'well, that was a Choice™' category.

So, who here has also seen the film? What are your thoughts? Did it live up to your expectations, or even surprise you? And do they really need to cut Cindy's budget?

And please use the spoiler tag to keep the topic spoiler free.

 

[pluk]

Yes, I saw it on a preview screening a few weeks back. I really enjoyed it, as did my 6 year old, and it seemed to go down really well with everyone in our showing.

I thought the story was simple and neat without being dull, the characters quite well rounded for a kids film, and overall it looks good even if there's nothing groundbreaking about the animation. Highlight is the voice acting, which is superb. Only Rob Beckett grated a little.

I CANT GET SPOILER TAB TO WORK ON MY PHONE, VERY MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

The 'who is the bady' twist might be blindingly obvious to adults, but I think works for kids and does provide a meaningful leson for little ones to take away.

The way they've built the narrative around the various grand prix and tied them together using the tv coverage works, but also made it feel like less of a film and more like a TV program. It could have worked just as well as a series of 20 minute kids shows, so from that aspect it is probably not the best use of the medium.

Choices I thought were odd were not having any of the GPs in Germany, and not using Europa Park as a setting, both of which I would have thought they would have wanted as a bit of tie in across the company. As it is there are just some little bits for geeks to pick up, like Snorii making a cameo and EP attractions on some t-shirts.

Overall though I think it is really very good and certainly worth a watch.

 

[Rowe]

Choices I thought were odd were not having any of the GPs in Germany, and not using Europa Park as a setting, both of which I would have thought they would have wanted as a bit of tie in across the company.

Yes, it was strange with the only real Germany glimpse being Neuschwanstein Castle (for the Voletarium reference ofc). The Making-Of said the team elected to 'de-centralise' the park focus to make the film and characters more accessible and relevant to a general worldwide audience.

 

[Thameslink Rail]

I actually enjoyed it

Spoiler

I found it a bit strange that they made Ed a bit of a jerk given that he's the park mascot but I think it worked. The voice acting was pretty good with Sir Lenny Henry being a lovely inclusion as the Dad. Otherwise it felt a bit like a cross between the F1 movie and the old Wacky Races cartoons

The issue though is that the film has flopped badly, the film made £108k on its first weekend across 478 cinemas (17th highest gross that weekend). My local cinema showed it on their largest screen (325 seats) and sold 14 tickets. I don't recall seeing much marketing for this which is a shame since usually naming Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Gemma Arterton and Sir Lenny Henry would be enough to get people in.
(source: https://core-cms.bfi.org.uk/media/41822/download)