Trailer

WARNING: The following review may or may not contain spoilers from the film. If you haven’t seen the movie and you don’t want it ruined, I suggest watching the movie before continuing.

When I was younger, Cars was my favorite film ever, and believe it or not, it still is my favorite because it still holds a special place in my heart. I remember seeing it for the first time with my Mom at Carmike Cinemas when I had graduated the first grade and loving my collection of die-cast figures, and it inspired me to consider an animation career. People have always thought of Cars and its 2011 sequel to be among the weakest of all the Pixar films, and I don’t get it. I guess it’s because we already had an awesome superhero film in 2004, followed up by a supposedly “lazy” film in a world where everyone is a car, as well as being “a ripoff of Doc Hollywood”, but I just do not find it as weak as other people do. In a world where every individual is a vehicle of any sort, a rookie race-car named Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), who only cares about winning, is scheduled to compete in a tie-breaker race between his opponents, the “King” (played fittingly by Richard Petty) and Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton); the latter does not play fair. En route to California, however, a group of delinquents inadvertently cause McQueen to get separated from his hauler Mack (John Ratzenberger) and race dead-end into the small town of Radiator Springs, among Route 66. Having damaged the town road, McQueen is sentenced to community service by paving the road back. There, he befriends the many cars in town, most notably the lovable and hilarious tow truck Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). McQueen is also mentored in his racing skills by the town judge/doctor Doc Hudson (the late Paul Newman in his last role), who is later revealed to be an ex-race car himself. He also finds love with the beautiful Porsche Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt), the town attorney who proposed the idea of his community service in the first place. It may be this experience that McQueen learns about the importance of friendship over fame. So, why do I like this movie very much, other than just “I grew up with it”? First of all, I believe that the concept of talking vehicles in media has been taken to a new high with this movie. While shows like Thomas the Tank Engine and Jay Jay the Jet Plane are really just for kids, Cars is a movie starring talking vehicles that can appeal to both kids and adults. There’s lots of innuendo in the movie that the kids might not get, but the adults will understand. For example, the groupie Mazda Miatas Mia and Tia show their headlights to McQueen; in other words, they flash him (no pun intended). Another scene has McQueen’s sponsors, the Rust-Eze brothers, jokingly responding to McQueen’s belief that race cars do not need headlights due to the track being lit: “So’s my brother, but he still needs headlights!” And I think it is just really impresses me that Pixar could make a concept that seems as juvenile as talking cars into a fast-paced and down-to-earth family film with enjoyable characters, heartwarming and hilarious moments, beautiful animation, good music, and a sweet and sometimes poignant story. Sure, the world where everyone and everything’s a car doesn’t make as much sense as my aforementioned kids show examples, but it shows that it’s a great family film that appeals to people of all ages. McQueen is very likable as a main character: one who thinks he is on top of the world, but realizes what else he is missing. Mater is one of the best comic reliefs in film. The energy that he has, the optimism, the humor, and the voice of Larry the Cable Guy just make him a great comic relief. Doc Hudson is great as a mentor character, and the dynamic between him and McQueen is very reminiscent of, say, Woody and Buzz. Plus, as Paul Newman’s last role two years before his passing, he is great. Chick Hicks is also one of my personal favorite Pixar villains and a pretty realistic antagonist. The fact that he does not play fair and ultimately causes a racing legend that is the King to crash just makes me loathe him. Unsurprisingly, the animation is fantastic, considering this is from Pixar, but this time, a new technique of adding reflection lighting to all the cars makes the animation even more believable. Plus, the locations, especially Radiator Springs, are just beautiful to look at. The pop-culture references in this film are used wisely because of each of its appropriateness, i.e. Volkswagen Bugs as the insects. However, the main reason I like Cars very much is because of how simple, charming, and down-to-earth it is, having almost the same atmosphere as the Toy Story trilogy. To this day, after seeing this film, I feel ashamed that people miss out on the old roads that they used to travel on due to the increase in modernism for our society. I also love the unpredictable ending, which I won’t get into too much detail, but let’s say that it doesn’t just end with McQueen crossing the finish line and earning his Dinoco sponsorship. Plus, I love the country music in the movie by Randy Newman. Overall, Cars is an extremely entertaining addition to Pixar that has always been part of my childhood, and inspired me to go into animation. It’s probably not my number one anymore, but it’s simple, it’s funny, it’s heartwarming, it’s colorful, it’s admirable, it’s poignant at times, and continues to be my all-time favorite.

10/10