Cars Review
by [email protected] (dnb AT dca DOT net)June 16th, 2006
CARS
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2006 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
"Cars" might not necessarily be "the first great movie of the summer" but it's certainly the first Pixar Studios production since Memorial Day and definitely the best animated film of the season thus far (and not simply because Hayao Miyazaki hasn't spirited away any feature-length masterpieces since "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004) and Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly" has yet to see the light of day).
No, "Cars" follows "The Incredibles" and "Finding Nemo" in Pixar's widening gyre of Pixilated Products That Sell, each successive offering clearly out to out-perform its classy predecessor. I loved "'Nemo," finding it beautifully crafted and indelibly cast, not to mention easy to watch (and quote) over and over again on DVD. I was more lukewarm about "The Incredibles" but there's no denying that some parts of that film--a lot of parts, actually--were... well, incredible.
"Cars" seems to bring a whole new newness to the genre, with eye- popping animation the likes of which we think we've seen before but probably haven't.
There are automotive-inspired landscapes and scenic overlooks and the occasional waterfall that are hard to tell from the real thing; nature's majesty re-imagined by an Intel chip. There are adrenaline- pumping, high-octane racetrack sequences in which speed is king; again, beautifully (and accurately) rendered images that appear unequaled. And there are the cars themselves in their many guises: sexy, sporty, and seriously stupid.
In "Cars" we can marvel at the shine of the chrome, the glint of the windshields, and the reflections in the paneling of the sleek racecars (Lightning McQueen's unveiling in the opening scene, for instance); we can marvel at the details in the detailing (Mater's buckteeth, Doc Hudson's old-time fenders, Sally's svelte headlamps); and we can marvel at the clever characterizations, making these four- wheelers living, breathing entities (here again voice work proves pivotal, from Owen Wilson as the cocky Lightning to Paul Newman as the wise Doc all the way on down to a few throwaway bits from Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers as Rust-eze Bumper Oil sponsors).
Following a three-way tie in the NASCAR-styled Piston Cup, rookie racer Lightning McQueen heads to California to face-off against rivals Chick Hicks and The King, only to stumble off the interstate and into Carburetor County's "hillbilly hell" of Radiator Springs. Here he's sentenced to community service (i.e., repaving) for trashing the ghost town's main drag and while so doing the self-centered hotshot hotrod learns what it means to truly need a pit crew.
A pit crew of cars, that is, since there are no humans in the film, just sedans, coupes, vans, trucks, a scary combine harvester, and a herd of tractors as dumb as cows. The vehicles possess human traits and abilities: they have eyes and their windshields' sun visors provide the expressions, their radiator grilles effectively doubling as mouths. Tow truck Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) is the funniest; Italian tire guy Luigi (Tony Shalhoub) is the cutest; hippie Filmore (George Carlin) is the most colorful.
While both inventive and lovely to look at "Cars" is long, perhaps too long for the younger set, and character-driven, which means the action sequences are interspersed with many lengthy, sluggishly paced scenes. But if it's (animated) kicks you want you can get 'em right here along Pixar's coolly creative Route 66.
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David N. Butterworth
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
