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Movie Review - Cars (2006)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
John Lasseter |
| Starring: |
the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, and John Ratzenberger |
| Rated: |
G |
| Length: |
116 minutes |
| Genre: |
Animation/Comedy/Family |
| Tagline: |
Ahhh... it's got that new movie smell. |
| Studio: |
Walt Disney/Pixar |
| Website: |
Cars |
| Release: |
June 9, 2006 |
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PLOT
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Lightning McQueen (Wilson), a hotshot rookie race car with a wee bit of a cocky streak, has only one goal on
his mind - winning. And right now that goal is zeroed in on capturing the Piston Cup. After storming off
to a nearly insurmountable lead, his "do it alone" attitude rises up to bite him in the bumper. Rather than
winning the championship outright, he now must head to California for a three-car race-off.
En route to the race, he receives a rude wake-up call in the middle of the night (and the road) and soon finds
himself running from the police through the lonely Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. He's caught, and the judge
(a 1951 Hudson Hornet with a mysterious past, voiced by Paul Newman) rules that McQueen must repair the road that
he tore up during his attempted getaway.
Initially reluctant to socialize with the locals, Lightning slowly gets to know the wide variety of
colorful (and rusty) vehicles, and they help him learn that "It's kind of nice to slow down every once
in a while." Another Pixar winner ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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"Cars didn't ride on it to make great time; they rode on it to have a great time."
It's not hard to make a successful movie. It's simple, really. Exceed my expectations. Make me feel. Force me
to care. Deliver a somewhat clichéd message, but deliver it in such a way that the meaning resounds. Teach me
the same lessons that your characters learn. And above all, entertain.
Pretty easy, right? Well, at least Pixar makes it look that way because with Cars they have once again
succeeded.
I'll be honest; I had my doubts about the movie. How would they be able to take a story featuring nothing but
vehicles, with nary a human in sight, and keep my interest for a full two hours? Animals are one thing, but could
Pixar successfully master the personification of modes of transportation?
Yes, they could, and they did.
Thanks to Director Lasseter's strong attention to detail, going so far as to insist that the vehicles bend and
gesture in ways that were true to their construction, every car and truck truly becomes a unique character and
personality. And along with those characters and personalities comes a story which yes, contains a well-traveled
theme, but it comes with so much charm that even Grouchy McKilljoy's hard little heart can't help but be
warmed.
Don't worry if you're not a racing fan; I assure you it's not a requirement to enjoy the movie. I love watching
muscle cars race the quarter mile (ask me about my '69 Camaro), but NASCAR doesn't do it for me. That's another
aspect about the film that gave me pause. I once fell asleep at a NASCAR qualifying race, despite the 90-degree
heat and ear-splitting decibel levels, so would Cars keep me awake and interested? Within five minutes my
worries began to slowly subside as I happily settled in for the ride.
Animation should be about bringing imagination to life. Give us something that can't be done in live action.
Cars does this so effectively that it almost seems a redundancy to comment on how Pixar continues to raise the
CGI bar. The scenery on screen is awe-inducing to the point that it's getting harder to distinguish the
real from the created. The filmmakers have gone so far as to perfect reflections in the cars and to pay careful
attention to weeds growing out of cracks in the sidewalk. I don't see any way you could not be visually
stunned.
But impressive visuals are little comfort if I'm not presented with a story that I care to follow. No problems
there. If you're the kind of person who loves to go "awwwww" at movies then prepare to be satisfied. What I
appreciate the most is that, at the risk of causing some youngsters to become restless, time and attention has
been given to character and story development. Lasseter and his team stood their ground and resisted any pressure
to trim this to a runtime more suitable to those with limited attention spans, and I thank them for it.
As I said earlier, Cars hit the starting line with a disadvantage. I didn't greet it with a warm smile. I
crossed my arms, furrowed my brow, and dared it to prove my preconceived notions wrong.
It proceeded to exceed my expectations. It made me feel for its characters and forced me to care about McQueen's
journey, both to California and to a different viewpoint on life. Sure, the "slow down and enjoy the scenery" message
may seem a little routine, but it's a message I took to heart.
Immediately following the movie I was on the Internet looking up information regarding Route 66. I'm now ready for a
road trip void of interstates and efforts to beat my best time. I feel like slowing down a bit and exploring the
unknown. Give me the scenic route, and give me more finely-tuned, detailed movies like Cars. That's all I
ask. Two hours of entertainment that make me care, even if briefly, about something other than myself and what
goal has to be accomplished next.
See? It was simple, really. At least Pixar made it look that way.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- STAY THROUGH THE ENTIRE END CREDITS! The drive-in tribute to other Pixar films is classic.
- Budget: $70,000,000
- Listen for voice work from such racing celebrities as Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
and Mario Andretti.
- Are you thinking Lightning McQueen is named after Steve McQueen? After all, Stevie boy did star in
Bullitt, which contained one of the most famous car chases in cinema history. So that'd make sense,
right? Well, it makes sense, but it's not correct. The character is actually named after Pixar animator
Glenn McQueen who passed away in 2002.
- Michael Wallis, author of the critically acclaimed book, Route 66: The Mother Road, is considered
the authority of Route 66. He provides the voice of the Sheriff of Radiator Springs.
- The movie is partly inspired by a two-month trip that director John Lasseter and his family took during
the Summer of 2001. They packed up a motor home, and set out with the goal of staying off the interstate
highways.
- For further inspiration, in 2001, Lasseter gathered key members of the movie's production team and flew
to Oklahoma City and headed out from there in a caravan of four white Cadillacs on a nine-day trip along
Route 66. Michael Wallis led the expedition, and introduced them to the people and places that are said
to make the road special.
- Cars is the first Pixar film to use a technique called "ray tracing." It allows the animated
cars to credibly reflect their environments.
- The addition of reflections in practically every shot of the film added tremendous render time to the
project. The average time to render a single frame of film for Cars was 17 hours. Even with a
network of 3000 computers, and processors that operate up to four times faster than they did on
The Incredibles, it still took many days to render a single second of
finished film.
- More than 100 unique car characters were created.
- Bobby Podesta, a directing animator on the film, notes about Owen Wilson, "Owen has a really great and unique
voice, in the sound, in his delivery, and with the comic timing ... He starts off very cocky, but in this way that
you still love him. And that’s hard to do. Owen pulls it off and gave us a great range."
- Directing animator James Ford Murphy adds, "To get some insights into McQueen, we studied famous cocky
characters who are also charming. We looked at guys like Joe Namath, Muhammed Ali, and even Kid Rock. All
these guys are super cocky but you still like them."
- I can neither confirm nor deny the rumor that Johnny Betts was another such famous cocky yet charming
character that the Cars team studied.
- Having provided voices for all six of their previous films, John Ratzenberger has been dubbed "Pixar’s
good luck charm."
- In explaining Lasseter's insistence on strong attention to detail, characters department manager Jay Ward
explains, "John didn’t want the cars to seem clay-like or mushy. He insisted on truth to materials ... He told
us that steel needs to feel like steel. Glass should feel like glass. These cars need to feel heavy. They
weigh three or four thousand pounds. When they move around, they need to have that feel. They shouldn’t
appear light or overly bouncy to the point where the audience might see them as rubber toys."
- To ensure authenticity in their car designs, the production design team conducted research at auto shows,
spent time in Detroit with auto designers and manufacturers, went to car races, and made extensive studies of
car materials.
- Randy Newman's score for Cars was composed to reflect two distinct worlds – the modern race world
where it’s all about being fast; and Radiator Springs, where the one commodity they have is time. Everything
is slower there. Randy uses a combination of bluegrass, jazz, and Americana to capture that whereas the
racing world has a heavy dose of rock ‘n’ roll.
- Cars is dedicated to Joe Ranft, the driving force behind many of the Pixar stories. Ranft died
in a car wreck shortly after filming was complete.
- Michael Wallis has been studying and exploring Route 66 for over 60 years. He says, "Route 66 is a mirror held
up to the nation ... it represents the great American road trip. It’s a chance to drive from Chicago, through the
heartland, and the Southwest, past ribbons of neon, across the great Mojave, to the Pacific shore at Santa Monica.
Route 66 is the road the Dust Bowlers took. During World War II, it was used as a military road by the G.I.s.
It’s the road of Bobby Troup and Elvis ... It really does have iconic status. It gives motorists an experience
that they’re not going to get in the great coastal cities."
- Owen Wilson was in Starsky and Hutch with Ben Stiller who was in
Flirting with Disaster with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This one is fun and safe for the entire family. Take advantage of it because we only get about four like
this per year. If that many.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I'll admit that I had a few reservations after initially seeing the trailer. I'm happy to admit that the
movie exceeded my expectations.
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THE GIST
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If you're a fan of Pixar animation then Cars is a must-see. I'll be adding it to my DVD collection.
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