The film Text copyright Filmverdict 2006-2007. Any film stills are copyright of their respective owners. Used without permission, sorry!
I should never have doubted Pixar. Before 2006 they had never come up with a dud, and despite all the warning signs, after Cars they still haven't. In fact, amazingly, I enjoyed Cars more than most other Pixar films, making it probably my third favourite of theirs (after The Incredibles and Monsters, Inc). As with any Pixar film, the visuals are fantastic, but I had expected that. What I hadn't expected was a clutch - ahem - of endearing characters and an engrossing storyline. The design of the film made it look like Pixar's youngest-targeted film yet, but the narrative was surprisingly grown-up, if unoriginal. Much of it was also very charming and funny, like the tractor tipping scene. It was a bit long for an animated film (as, you could argue, was The Incredibles) at about two hours, but it never dragged at all and was capped off by some great end credits, showing events after the main story of the film. The Pixar-trademark short film at the beginning was the only main negative, in fact, as for once I didn't particularly like it. Basically, I found Cars to be a very entertaining, engrossing and mature film, wrapped up in child-friendly clothing.
The summary
Cars is a change of pace compared to most family fare, but the racing scenes provide top-notch action too. Pixar have done it again.
