Two years. It’s been nearly two years since Pixar last captured our imaginations with “The Incredibles”. Part of that wait was due to the whole contract negotiation situation with Disney. But now that that business has been taken care of, Pixar can get back to making movies and we can get back to enjoying them. So now that “Cars” has been released, was it worth the wait? Yes, yes it was. After watching this film, I have one thing to say: “Days of Thunder,” eat your heart out.
This film is a love letter from John Lasseter to the horseless carriage, Route 66 and classic Americana. He makes his affection for automobiles known loud and clear in this piece of cinema and I found myself loving every moment.
I remember watching an old Disney animated short called “Susie, the Little Blue Coupe” which was about a “cute” little car and how her life started out great, but then things went downhill for her until she ended up in a junkyard. Then a happy-go-lucky fellow buys her and fixes her up and happy days are here again. The character/car designs in this film reminded me a lot of that short.
The thing that separates Pixar from some of the other 3D animation studios is the details. Pixar doesn’t rush through things and take shortcuts just to get a film done in time for a Christmas DVD & toy rush. They take the time to make sure that everything looks, sounds, and feels right before releasing it. And they were all about the details with “Cars”. From the breathtaking scenery to the distinctive way that each type of car moved, to the textures of the road to the chrome and shine of the hubcaps. It was simply amazing.
The voices were excellent. They may have been made up of some of Hollywood’s best and brightest, but Lasseter picked them perfectly for their roles. To me, no one felt like their voice was mis-cast with the character. And never once did I feel like “hey, I’m listening to Owen Wilson do a car’s voice.” I just felt like I was watching Lightning McQueen. Also, props must be given to Michael Keaton. Between “Game 6” and this, things look to be getting back on track for him. I hope to see many more quality films from him in the future.
But we can’t talk about Pixar’s voice cast without talking about the great John Ratzenberger (a.k.a. Cliff Clavin to you “Cheers” fans). Not only does he get a fair amount of screen time in this outing, but he also gets a humorous homage/tribute for his work in the Pixar films. It’s worth sitting through the credits to see.
Another high point for the film, was the dedication and tribute to the late Joe Ranft who passed away in 2005. They were dignified and sincere, but not sappy. Lasseter just gave his friend a thoughtful cinematic send-off.
The only flaw that I found in the film was the narrative. It was a pretty standard “young upstart learns that winning isn’t everything” tale. From the start of the film, you know the direction that the story will take. You’ve seen it before in dozes of other films and novels (just with slightly different details). However, that being said, it’s still a spectacular ride and I enjoyed every minute of it. I’ll definitely be picking this up on DVD.
