What is about a Pixar animation that just puts it head and shoulders above the rest?
The previews leading up to the new hit Cars explained it all. Having Cars collowing previews for films like Barnyard and Open Season probably did more damage than good for those films; especially considering that last two things to play were Pixar and Brad Bird’s (Iron Giant) Ratatouille and a Pixar short film, One-Man Band.. These two, let’s call them animated shorts, showed off the power that Pixar has to offer.
With that said, Cars was visually stunning, but the story, well, it had a little lacking.
Cars revolves around Lightning McQueen, a rookie phenom race car in the so-called NASCAR circuit.
In the final race of the season, he ends up in a three-way tie with The King, voiced by Richard Petty, and Chick Hicks, voiced by Michael Keaton. To determine a winner, a special playoff race is held in Los Angeles and a place that resembles the Coliseum.
On his way to LA, McQueen’s semi, Mack, voiced by John Ratzenberger, falls asleep on the road. The trailer breaks open and McQueen ends up a stranger in a strange land. He loses track of Mack and ends up speeding through the small sleepy town of Radiator Springs in the deserts of Route 66.
He tears up the roads and is sentenced to repave the roads. While in town, he befriends at tow truck named Mater, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. Mater basically teaches McQueen how to live and how to have fun. One of the funniests scenes in the movie are the two going “cow-tipping.” In this case, though, the cows are tractors. After tipping the whole herd with one loud rev of the engine, they are chased out of the field by a bull/combine.
Touches like that make this film worth seeing. From the VW Beetle/bugs to the combine and tractors mentioned above, everything is a car. Director John Lassiter really kept up with the attention to detail.
The story, though, is really basic. We’ve all seen this whole learning to enjoy the simple things in life when you have everything. But that’s not saying I didn’t enjoy the movie. I actually really liked it and plan on seeing it again.
Keeping up with the Pixar lore, they keep you watching through the credit. Like X-Men, hold out through the end of the credits for a little something extra.