Cars (2006)

 

A Few Bumps Along the Way But Pixar Once Again Takes the Checkered Flag

 

 

It probably says something about my taste, but among the films I’ve reviewed this summer, thus far Cars is my favorite.  It’s a zany premise, personifying all objects with wheels and a motor; and after a few Love Bug viewings and watching Lindsay Lohan’s hideous fully loaded disaster I had made up my mind that I never wanted to see headlights flirting or cars swamping paint or oil or whatever ever again. But, much not to my surprise, Pixar once again brings home another winner.  Cars is fun, funny, moving, and it’s a wowing tune-up for the eyes.  And unbelievably, it’s most powerful element is that oddly enough it’s a genuine piece of Americana.

 

The animated film (Pixar’s seventh movie) centers around hotshot rookie race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson).  McQueen ends the season tied for the racing Championship with old-timer “The King” (Richard Petty) and incessant second-fiddle Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton).  Thus, a final race between the three hotrods is set to decide who will take home the “Piston Cup.”  But on the way to the big race, McQueen runs into trouble in a small town called Radiator Springs, where he is caught speeding and then trying to speed away from the police cars.  To pay for his crime he must pave the road leading to Radiator Springs.  Naturally, at first McQueen hates the town, but quickly it and its quirky rides grow on him; Old Judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), hot Porsche Sally (Bonnie Hunt), and the memorable “Mater” (Larry the Cable Guy).  Lots of leaking, racing, and chrome bonding ensue.

 

As outstanding as their animation work has been, Pixar may have just outdone themselves again.  Cars is absolutely astounding.  The gleaming lights, the curving tracks, the dirt, the grime; the makers’ excessive attention to detail is jaw-dropping.  For example, the movie drops the usual headlight automobile eyes and creates eyes on the cars’ windshields to make them more emotionally expressive.  Cars is a beauty.

           

The voice work is good.  I’m not a big fan of Owen Wilson, but as the main character he makes it work.  I’m not a big fan of Larry the Cable Guy either, but he grows on you and has some really funny moments (like the tractor-tipping scene (you’ll see if you see the movie)).

 

Unfortunately, Cars still only qualifies at 3 stars though because it’s a little slow.  There’s a point about 30 or 45 minutes into the film where the engine shuts off. It just dies. But eventually it cranks back up and recaptures its momentum.  There’s also a few too many celebrities included, the overexposed Darrell Waltrip and the unneeded inclusion of Dale Earnhardt Jr. taking away from the film instead of adding to it.  I did enjoy the inclusion of Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers from the NRP radio show “Car Talk” (though I doubt many kids, or many folks period for that matter would have a clue who they are).

 

Cars’ greatest strength is how, through Radiator Springs, it amazingly captures old-time small-town America.  A time lost, where the roads were more for cruising than hurrying, things moved a little slower, and people cared a little more about one another.  The way it portrays that classic “Route 66” is nostalgic and glorious.  And Cars has a lot of substance and ideas that extend far beyond a simple cartoon.  It emphasizes that you should think about other people besides yourself, and that you should appreciate people and the wonderful things that they do:  truly universal truths for kids and everybody. 

 

Pixar also continues its inclusion of an animated short before the main attraction. It’s a winner as well, called “One Man Band” in which two musicians battle for the admiration, and more specifically, the coin of a little girl.  It’s sort of like the dueling banjos of Deliverance, except for kids.

 

I loved both Toy Storys, enjoyed The Incredibles (though I thought it wasn’t that “incredible”), liked A Bug’s Life, and didn’t care much for Monsters Inc. (and haven’t seen Finding Nemo).  Cars is no Toy Story, but what is?  I liked it better than The Incredibles.  Again, it’s a little slow, it’s got a few too many laps and a few too many sponsors, but it’s the best movie I’ve seen this summer.  Cars has just got heart, and doggone it, it cares about its cars, and it runs all the smoother because of it.  And in the way of animation, Pixar is still laps ahead of its closest competitor.

 

- Movie Review By G. Roger Priddy (6-10-06)