Cars
Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Larry the Cable Guy; Directed by John Lasseter
Lightning McQueen is one of the fastest racecars in the country, and he knows his victory at the Piston Cup race is assured. But Lightning is also without a pit crew manager, and when a risky move costs him his tires on the final stretch, he finds himself tied with two others for the win. A tiebreaker match is set to commence in one week’s time in California, and Lightning prides himself on the idea of making it out to the track before his two other opponents. Misfortune intervenes, however, and an accident on the road late one night strands him in the middle of nowhere. His confusion and fear causes a reckless police chase through the small town of Radiator Springs, tearing up the road in the process. The next morning, Lightning wakes to find himself impounded, and soon after, charged with the task of re-paving the road. Anxious to get on with the drive to California, the pretentious racing rookie tries everything he can think of to get out of the job, but quickly discovers that the townspeople aren’t as simple as he thought they were. If Lightning can manage to find a change of attitude, he just may leave the town a better and entirely new car...literally and figuratively.
We have come to expect great things from Disney/Pixar collaborations, and there were many elements that held up to those expectations. The animation alone was breathtaking in its own right, from the beauty of the vast western sky, to the unearthly rock formations littered throughout the desert. The immense amount of work on detail - every rust spot, every glare on every windshield - was something to boggle the mind. If only the story could’ve deserved it. An ultimately weak plot was the biggest letdown of the film. Characters were underdeveloped and remained undeveloped (not good), and most of them largely took a backseat to the big source of comic relief - a redneck tractor-tipping tow truck named Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy). A failed romantic plot also hindered the story, and it’s unfortunate that Disney always feels obligated to include one, regardless of whether its necessary or not. All that being said, Cars is still an entertaining enough ride. A fun soundtrack and winning vocal performances from the actors helped keep the film on track for most of the time.
I must also confess that talking cars were a little harder to warm up to than animated people, animals, or even toys. The choice to make a film starring all cars would also automatically limit the writers as to what kind of situations they could put the characters in. Restaurants are gas stations. Bedrooms are parking garages. There’s only so much you can do. In addition to that, the characters couldn’t have any kind of real physical interaction. One car couldn’t put a comforting arm around his buddy or offer a handshake. And just think, two of these cars are supposed to fall in love. You see the problem? The medium they chose was very awkward. They did the best they could with facial expression (windshields for eyes, front grills for mouths, etc.), but at the end of the day they were just metal blocks moving around each other. Most kids will undoubtedly be kept busy by this film, as there is a lot of superfluous action to hide slow pacing. But adults who may be hoping for a story with the wit of Shrek or the soul of Finding Nemo will have to look elsewhere.
Grading:
Story = B-
Originality = B
DVD Features = N/A
Acting = A-
Enjoyability = B+
Visuals = A
Overall = B
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