Bob The Builder Wiki
Advertisement
Bob The Builder Wiki
Bob the Builder Wiki
1,849
pages
in: Specials, Project: Build It specials, 2008 UK,
and 5 more

Race to the Finish

View source
Main Page
Gallery
Home Video
Watch Episode

Race to the Finish (released in the US as Race to the Finish: The Movie) is a 2008 Bob the Builder special. It was the last special in the series to be produced in stop-motion and to be animated by HOT Animation.

Plot

It's the first ever Sunflower Valley Games and Bob and the team have a big job to do: building a huge sports stadium!

For such a big project, Bob brings in some very special help from the big city - two new machines called Gripper and Grabber. But with Wendy off training as Sunflower Valley's star athlete and Gripper and Grabber exploring the valley instead of working, the stadium is in jeopardy - until a nerve-wracking mountain-top crisis pulls the team together!

Characters

Characters Introduced

Voice Cast

United Kingdom & Australia

North America

Sweden

Trivia

  • This is the last special for a few things:
    • The last special to be part of the Project: Build It era.
    • The last special to be animated in stop-motion and produced by HOT Animation.
    • The last special to take place in the original continuity to date.
    • The final special to have the late Richard Briers as part of the voice cast, prior to his death in 2013.
    • The final cameo appearance of J.J. to date.
    • The final appearance of Robert until the Bob the Builder Reboot Series.
  • This marked the first appearance of Gripper and Grabber.
  • The possibility of an arena/sports stadium was foreshadowed in Go, Mr. Bentley, Go! (Series 15).
  • This used the most unknown machines in the whole stop-motion series.
  • This special takes place sometime during the sixteenth series.
  • This special features Gripper, Grabber, Bob, Wendy, Scoop and Lofty as the main characters.
  • According to Wendy, the Bobland Bay Sports stadium is indeed the biggest structure they ever built, which is true as it took the whole team three days to build.
    • This is the longest time Bob and his team stayed up long enough even when it's dark for the games to be held.
  • This special is based off the Olympics. Thomas & Friends would eventually adapt this idea in a special in 2016 called The Great Race.
  • The fairy tree topper from A Christmas to Remember makes a re-appearance in Spud's bedroom. Spud's skateboard from Skateboard Spud (Series 5), the dragon head from Spud the Dragon (Series 5), JJ's aeroplane and the remote for the aeroplane from Spud the Pilot (Series 7), the cork hat from Snowed Under: The Bobblesberg Winter Games and Spud's helmet from The Knights of Can-A-Lot can also be seen in Spud's bedroom.
  • This special marks David Dixon's first appearance since Wendy's Party Plan (Series 10) and currently his final appearance in the franchise to date.
  • This is the second special that does not have a Japanese dub.
  • This is the second special to have a scene in which the machines recieve medals. The first one being Snowed Under: The Bobblesberg Winter Games.
  • This is the only time Packer appears in a Project: Build It special.
  • Wendy's training montage is an obvious parody of the Rocky movies.
  • In the Swedish Dub David Dixon is referred to as Mr. Dixon, since both characters are boiced by Steve Kratz in that dub.
  • "Pomp and Circumstance" plays as Mr. Bentley says, "Ah, to where the Sunflower Logo, the Yellow Badge of Glory. Yes, you. You could be our sporting hero!".
  • In the US dub, Mr. Bentley's audio dialogues are "A heptathlon, Roley, is a series of seven different kinds of sports." and "Bob, tell us where the games are going to be!", and "Oh..." and he mouths "A heptathlon, Roley, is a series of seven sporting challenges.", "Bob, tell us where the games are to be held!", and "Ah...".
  • When Bob says, "We won't have time, Dizzy." and Wendy says, "We're going to be far too busy!" it means it's a rhyme.

Goofs

  • Kate Harbour and Rupert Degas are not mentioned in the US credits.
  • On the US release, when Gripper imitates Mr. Beasley when explaining him to Grabber, the subtitles incorrectly say he's imitating Mr. Bentley.

In Other Languages

Language Name Meaning
Spanish Carrera a la meta Race to the Finish
Hebrew המירוץ אל הסיום The Race to the Finish
German Die Sonnenblumental-Spiele The Sunflower Valley Games
Swedish Från Start till Mål From Start to Finish
Polish Wyścig po złoto Race for Gold
Slovenian Hitro do cilja Quickly to the Finish

Trailers and Featurettes

Bob the Builder Episodes
Original Series
Specials
Project: Build It
Specials
Ready, Steady, Build!
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement