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)

 

[Rob]

I thought it was fine, a solid film that kids will enjoy. Obviously it is not something I would have gone to see had to not been for the EP connections! Voice acting was great, as was the animation. The story was simple enough but had a nice little twist in it which makes it more fun for the kids.

My biggest criticism is as follows:

Spoiler

"I'm not sure I liked how they choose to portray Ed. For the most part he came across as a selfish and unlikable person (sorry mouse) which just seems completely at odds with the Euromaus that we have known and loved for years."

It worked for the film itself, and if you have no knowledge at all of Europa-Park then this doesn't matter. And it all worked out well in the end, there was meaning behind why he was that way etc. But for large parts of the film I was just sitting there thinking "this feels so so wrong."

For a seasoned Europa-Park geek such as myself, the credits where the absolute highlight of the film. Seeing all of the Mack's names plastered over the screen, logos for all of the many different Mack companies, Mack Rides making the credits, the Europa-Park logo and DJ Bobo's Celebrating Under the Stars as the final song. I like staying until the end of the credits regardless but these were hilariously brilliant and somewhat obscene. Europa-Park on a cinema screen in the UK!?

I did think that the park itself may have featured in the film beforehand, but having seen it I can see why it did not. It would not have made sense to show a grand modern theme park when one of the main settings of the film is a smaller amusement park. There are enough EP easter eggs in the film for park fans though!

 

[Rowe]

Spoiler: biggest criticism

"I'm not sure I liked how they choose to portray Ed. For the most part he came across as a selfish and unlikable person (sorry mouse) which just seems completely at odds with the Euromaus that we have known and loved for years."

It worked for the film itself, and if you have no knowledge at all of Europa-Park then this doesn't matter. And it all worked out well in the end, there was meaning behind why he was that way etc. But for large parts of the film I was just sitting there thinking "this feels so so wrong."

Spoiler: spoiler chatter

Yes, Ed is very, uh, hmm... interesting and he feels anthithetical to what Euromaus stands for (though his self-congratulatory nature does bear resemblance to the Macks' own 'look at us, we're amazing' mentality).

I understand why Ed was given that self-absorbed, vain, superiority complex characterisation to effectively show Edda both that her hero is a jerk and he uses pomposity to hide his loneliness as an orphan. His arm sprain does give him reason to be caustic towards Edda, especially since she directly caused the injury, and the situation he's effectively been blackmailed into, but there's definitely an inconsistency on how Ed is portrayed and developed. One moment he's showing glimmers of compassion and romantic attraction towards Edda (*cough* Swiss cheese moment *cough*) and the next, he's being dismissive and blunt about her sabotage concerns. He also shows no interest in the park itself and doesn't even learn that her dad used to race! What a missed opportunity. Still, Ed does learn to shed his self-absorbed nature and takes saving Edda over winning the final race and finally offering to work as a team, reuniting in the end at the go-cart track but we don't get to see that moment for ourselves. We just hear about it.

I think it might've worked better if Ed and Erwin HAD met when Edda took him to Rosa. Ed could've recognised Erwin as his role model in race driving and trying very coolly to not be a fanboy. He would've learnt about their circumstances surrounding the park, what the park means to them and he perhaps wouldn't have taken in its importance but he may have been less reluctant in helping fund the park. Erwin would've taken Ed under his wing, reluctantly giving his blessing to Edda secretly taking Ed's place in the Grand Prix. That way, Ed would've finally found the family he secretly always wanted and grow into a more good hearted, altruistic character that, when the final race happens and Edda's in trouble, his decision to u-turn at the finish line and we see him actually offering her the job. It would've been so much more satisfying that way.

...

I've spent nearly 3 hours writing this, maybe I should just re-write the film myself

 

[Squiggs]

Spoiler: 😬

I think he's been on a downward spiral ever since he got hold of a set of human teeth, tbh.