The Royal Racer

Part 1

Pops has built a mini-racing car for eight year old Prince Jam of the Kingdom of Saccharin (with emphasis on the second syllable, like Sa-Karen). In celebration of the prince's upcoming coronation, the Baby Grand Prix will be held for drivers from eight to thirteen years old. The prince's mini-racer is, of course, number one and is a red formula one type racer. It's the finest mini-racer ever built. Pops is happy to have been asked. He figures he's becoming world famous as the designer of the Mach Five. Spritle, though, is upset because he can't race in the Baby Grand Prix. Pops reminds him to enter you must be 8 but Spritle is only 7 years 11 months 23 days and 8 hours old. But Spritle is doubly upset when Pops says with all the luggage, there's no room for Spritle on this trip.

As the plane flies over Saccharin, the country looks like India. After the plane lands, Pops, Speed and Trixie are driving through a town when, unobserved by them, a suitcase falls from the car. It lands in front of a snake charmer, and Spritle and Chim-Chim pop out!

Detail from production cel sold by Bess Cutler Gallery.

At the palace, Pops, with Speed and Trixie there as well, presents the mini-racing car to the King of Saccharin. He loves it. Trixie wonders aloud if Prince Jam likes it. But the boy -- more than a little on the dumb looking side -- is not Prince Jam, but Jam's cousin Prince Sugarin. Prince Jam is in town. When Pops, Speed and Trixie want to give the king a present, it seems to have been in the lost suitcase. Embarassed, Speed and Trixie hop in the Mach Five and run back to town.

In town, they spot the empty red suitcase, but it's empty. As they begin wondering what happen to the contents, they see Spritleand Chim-Chim get thrown out of a restaurant for eating but having no money to pay. Speed chases them after telling Trixie to pay what they owe and go tell Pops his little brother managed to come along after all. During the chase, Speed comes to a parade of many soldiers dressed in the red uniforms of Saccharin. At the rear of the procession on an elephant is Prince Jam, who looks just like Spritle.

On a nearby roof, three small ninja-looking bad guys each throw a smoke bomb. In the fog, they try to kidnap the prince, who manages to break free. At the same time, Speed has spotted Spritle and begins the chase anew. By chance, Speed, Spritle and Chim-Chim as well as the Prince Jam and three kidnappers, all head towards a temple. Inside the temple, Spritle and Prince Jam, running full speed, collide at a corner, knocking each other down. The ninjas (what are these guys anyway? The have green faces, blond hair and are the size of an 8 year old) mistake Spritle for the Prince and try to grab him. But Chim-Chim gets there first and rolls the unconscious Spritle down the temple steps to wake him. The prince's convoy arrives and also mistake Spritle for the prince and take him to the palace. Poor Chim-Chim is thrown out of the royal car (really, that's what they called it).

In the temple, Speed sees the prince, mistakes him for Spritle and brings him back to the hotel.

That night, probably at the palace, a hot air balloon ties onto a spire. The three would-be kidnappers slide down to meet with Omar Offendem, one of the king's ministers. Offendem is mad at the ninjas, yelling at them as the hang from the ceiling like bats using metal claws. He wants Jam out of the way so that not-so-bright Sugarin can be coronated. That way, Offendem will have real control of the country while Sugarin is nothing more than a figurehead.

Elsewhere, Spritle is literally living the life of a prince. Many attendants are supplying with so much food and drink that he soon falls over, bloated. But he's happy! As the prince, he'll be avle to drive in the Baby Grand Prix tomorrow.

Knowing the prince will be driving in the race, Offendem decides to have the ninjas put a remote control device in the mini-racer, so that they can cause the car to run into trouble at a convenient time during the race.

The next morning at the Racers' hotel room, Pops is angry with ``Spritle'' for sneaking along and also for pretending to be a prince. Punishment is being locked in the bathroom during the race. The prince cries at being kept from the race but gets an idea. He turns on the bathtub faucet to flood the room.

At the race track just prior to the start, Spritle is sitting in the racer getting advice from Pops and Speed who still don't recognize him.

In the hotel room, a bellboy shows up and hears the pleas for help from the bathroom. When he opens the door, a torrent a water washes him and the prince away. It's 11:35 am according to the wall clock. As the prince tries to run to the race, he's blocked by a herd of cattle in a street. When he finally gets to the track, he can't get through the crowd. Of course no one believes he's the prince since he's dressed in rags and still dirty from his earlier escape from the kidnappers. He hears the race begin.

In the fifteenth lap, ``Prince Jam'' is leading. Offendem uses a mirror to signal the ninjas. They surround Spritle in their black mini-racers and turn on the remote control device. It makes Spritle have trouble steering and stops the brakes from working. Speed can see that something's wrong and hops in the Mach Five to go help.

When Spritle and the ninjas reach a wooden bridge, Spritle stops, afraid of the ninjas. The ninjas drive off the bridge and cut the ropes holding it up just as Speed arrives.

With the ropes cut, both the Mach Five and the prince's mini-racer fall. Luckily, the bridge was over a heavily wooded area, so the many trees break the speed of the fall somewhat. The soldiers on the road above see the accident and believe the prince is dead. Prince Jam's father, the king, is very, very sad. Offendem of course has to hide his jubilation, especially when the king says he has no choice but to have Prince Sugarin coronated. Blaming the accident on Pops bad engineering, Offendem has Pops and Trixie thrown in jail. He worries when hears Speed is not there because he went to save the prince during the race. He fears Speed will figure out the plot.

By the river the bridge had spanned, Chim-Chim is throwing water on Spritle to revive him. He succeeds, and then they notice Speed is hanging over a tree limb also unconscious. They toot the Mach Five's horn with no effect. But then Speed fals from the tree, and hitting the ground wakes him. Spritle confesses then that he's not the prince.

Meanwhile, the prince can't get anyone to believe that he in, in fact, Prince Jam. He's angry because he can't get food or get into the palace. Then to make a really bad day worse, it starts raining, and he has to huddle in a tree for protection. When the tree is hit by lightning, he leaps away just in time and runs into a tunnel. He's dismayed at his situation and wonders why people are judged by the clothes they wear. In the tunnel, a tall man -- actually the three ninjas on each others shoulders and wearing a single, long trench coat -- approach the prince. When they see his royal birth mark, a playing cards style ``clubs'' or clover symbol, they know he's telling the truth and capture him.

Realizing the mistaken identities, Speed goes back to the hotel to free Prince Jam from the bathroom. When he arrives the same ``man,'' the three ninjas, are waiting there. They prod Speed to see what he knows, and decide he knows too much. They try to capture him and Spritle, but the other child racers are there to help. A big car chase involving all the racers ensues. Spritle, with the help of the children, not only eludes the one ninja chasing him, but the children capture the ninja! Speed isn't so lucky and is hauled away in the Mach Five by the other two ninjas to Punchkey Temple. By 11:50 am, with the one ninja restrained, Spritle is telling his story to the children. Chim-Chim roughs up the ninja a little, and forces him to divulge that the prince is held at Punchkey Temple.

At the palace, the coronation ceremony has begun. But the child racers decide to have Spritle once again impersonate Prince Jam to avoid having Prince Sugarin made king. Just as the crown is being lowered to Sugarin's head, ``Prince Jam'' arrives and declares that Minister Offendem is to blame. At that, the king releases Pops and Trixie from jail.

At Punchkey Temple, the two ninjas still hold Speed and the real prince and call Offendem, telling him. Offendem rushes back to the coronation just in time to stop Spritle from being crowned. He shows that Spritle doesn't have the royal birthmark and must be an imposter. Offendem demands that the child racers all be thrown in jail.

characters.html#chimChim>Chim-Chim, who probably had been in the Mach Five during Speed's abduction, helps free Speed and Prince Jam from the temple. They escape in the Mach Five and rush to the palace. The Mach Five has to leap a group of soldiers and go under water, but they finally get there. They rush in as the crown is again being lowered on Sugarin's head. This time, Prince Jam himself is coronated by his father, overjoyed that his son is alive and well. Bells toll throughout the town, and the Go Team clap.

Later, Trixie has heard that Minister Offendem disappeared. Pops says the guys should be ashamed to show his face anywhere. But the really good news? The Baby Grand Prix will be run again tomorrow. And because they crossed the international date line to get to Saccharin, Spritle is one day older than they thought, which means he'll turn 8 tomorrow! Overnight, Pops builds another mini-racer, #2, that is painted like the Mach Five. Spritle and Prince Jam tie for first place.