Cars

Cars: The newest animated feature from Pixar/Disney is a roaring success. The greatness of the movie starts with the idea – a whole world of cars with certain personalities. The personalities shine through with the actor voicing it, but also through the make/model/year of the car. Big Thumbs up to the creativity team over at Pixar, they think of it all. Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, and Larry the Cable guy and many others all lend their voices to give character to particular cars. Wilson plays Lightening McQueen, a young race car who is a rookie on the circuit. He has one race left out in L.A. to win the Piston Cup. On his way out to L.A. he gets lost and comes to the Town of Radiator Springs, an old rundown town off route 66 that use to be thriving before the days of the interstate. It is in this town he meets other cars…..from old pick-up trucks to a Porsche. They all have a different outlook on life than the young hotrod. It is here Lightening McQueen learns what it is like to have true friends. It is not a mystery how the story is going to end, but the joy of it is watching it all unfold. The animation is pushed to a new level, there are some shots I would actually describe as beautiful. My only semi-complaint is the idea of finding these funny, corky friends is getting a little worn out by these cartoons. Back to the positives – The cartoons always have a point or message and this one may just be the best of the bunch. Because it is not simplified down like Nemo _”Family is important”, but rather makes you reflect on the speed of life. Make sure you don’t hop out of your chair when the credits come up, because the film keeps rolling and actually has some of the funniest moments right at the end. I love when movies have something during the credits!
* * * and ½

If this movie had parents they would be: Days of Thunder and Toy Story

With a running time of 121 minutes
This film is rated G