Login
Considering the astronomical box office intake for every CGI-animated picture Pixar has distributed as of 2006, the revolutionary animation studio has developed into the most commercially successful studio in history. Their first six feature films (beginning with 1995's Toy Story) were extensively considered to be instant classics from the moment their first digitally-rendered frames streaked across worldwide theatre screens. Yet more than mere dollars are in consideration here - Pixar pictures are resonant works of art which shall remain watchable and enjoyable for many subsequent generations. Each Pixar masterpiece is infused with genuine heart, timeless laughs and meaningful messages. Thus far, Pixar features have given voices to bugs, toys, monsters and fish...so why not cars?
Cars arguably marks the first true Pixar misfire. In addition, this 2006 picture is debatably the weakest animated feature to emerge from the virtual drawing board at this successful company. Not to say that Cars is a total disaster - by all accounts it's bright and creative, and is pervaded with a very intriguing concept indeed. This is also one of Pixar's greatest visual achievements to date, featuring state-of-the-art CGI animation bordering on photo-realism guaranteed to astound on a very high level. However, feeble screenwriting proves injurious - fewer laughs, lots of excess, and a cumbersome, predictable story that preaches the same ol' clichéd messages. It's too long and listless, and while adults may tolerate the excessive character development, the children - with their notoriously diminutive attention spans - may grow restless. Cars is a character-driven feature, therefore including fewer action scenes than most animated films. The kinetic energy of the initial racing sequences is unfortunately not sustained.
Cars transpires in a universe dominated entirely by automobiles (without any humans or animals...even flies are tiny cars with wings).
The story centres on cocky hotshot rookie race car Lightning McQueen (Wilson). In his first year of racing, Lightning has taken the prestigious Piston Cup by storm. Locked in a battle for the championship against two seasoned pros, the final race is set to be held in California. En route across the country to compete in this final race, Lightning becomes waylaid in the small forgotten town of Radiator Springs after inadvertently mangling the main street during a police pursuit. In a subtle homage to Cool Hand Luke (starring Paul Newman, who lends his voice to the cantankerous old Doc Hudson), Lightning is sentenced to repair the main street through days of gruelling labour. As Lightning begins befriending the townsfolk (towncars?) of Radiator Springs, the conceited race car begins to realise that perhaps there's more to life than winning. The question soon arises: when he attends the big race will be maintain his newfound values or revert to his old ways?
In conveying its plot, Cars brings two well-worn clichés to the animation realm. The first is the apprehensive friendship between an elderly gent and a young hotshot. The second is the story of how a pastoral setting percolates the blood of a city boy. However, Cars isn't merely the story about one little NASCAR-type racer who becomes lost and stranded in the desert, nor is it just about a big-city hotshot who learns valuable messages. It's primarily a story concerning all the vanishing little towns in America that modern Interstate thoroughfares have bypassed and left for dead. The simple message is quite clear: life was better in the old days.
For Pixar chief John Lasseter, Cars was a personal project. Lasseter had worked flat out for 10 years, and the outcome of these exertions was the first two Toy Story features. Following this extensive labour, his wife explained that his commitment to other children's happiness may cause him to miss the experience of witnessing his own children grow up. Lasseter responded to this by taking a few months off to drive his family through the backwaters of America, circumventing the interstate highways. The excursion was a revelation for the animation director - he was moved by the stories he was told about the consequences of interstates on the old Route 66 towns. Lasseter was inspired to begin penning (with the sadly deceased Joe Ranft) a story about slowing down and smelling the roses.
As usual for a Pixar movie, Cars sports a strong ensemble cast, featuring the voices of Bonnie Hunt, Owen Wilson, Cheech Marin, Tony Shaloub, Paul Newman, George Carlin, and Michael Keaton (to name a few), along with a plethora of racing personalities and a few other interesting celebrities.
Owen Wilson possesses the requisite mix of brashness and congeniality, and his vocal inflections are well-suited for the egotistical little speedster. The filmmakers reportedly named Lightning McQueen after the late Pixar animator Glenn McQueen, but most viewers will most likely associate the character name with the late actor Steve McQueen (who was fond of driving).
This was one of Paul Newman's final films. Newman's wise and amiable voice is perfect for Doc Hudson. Bonnie Hunt, abandoning her regular sardonic style, wonderfully mixes sassiness and heart as the sexy Porsche Sally. Larry the Cable Guy is terrific as Mater, who invests his character with charm that makes him a memorable sidekick. Additionally, authentic broadcasters and race drivers such as Bob Costas, Jay Leno, Darrel Waltrip, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Schumacher, and Mario Andretti lend their voices to the film in cameo appearances.
At a little under two hours, Cars is (just barely) Pixar's longest animated feature to date. With its first act lacking a solid hook, Cars almost certainly would've been a considerably smoother ride if the road to Radiator Springs was more streamlined. Furthermore, the majority of the laughs aren't as sophisticated as we've come to expect from Pixar. The double-underlined moral lessons and oversentimentality can also be quite ham-fisted. This is not Pixar firing on all cylinders. Judged merely as a visual exercise, Cars is a triumph. However, Pixar are usually renowned for their clever stories and great screenplays which are as deft as the animation. On account of the screenplay here being so dodgy, Cars is a misfire - visually wonderful, but still a misfire. As a piece of storytelling, Cars sometimes has a sluggishness that is all the more surprising considering it's directed by animation god John Lasseter, back behind the wheel for the first time since Toy Story 2.
5.8/10
