Cars Review

Each year, an animated movie or two is released to a large number of theaters and each year, at least one of these releases turns into a critically acclaimed box office hit. The movie from 2006 that holds this honor is Cars, an animated comedy about a race car and his interaction with the other cars in a small western town.
 
Contents of This Movie:

Lightening McQueen (voice by Owen Wilson) is a champion race car who just finished his first big race against two of his fiercest rivals- Chick Hicks (voice by Michael Keaton) and The King (voice by Richard Petty)- in a three way tie. He is en route to California for another big race to break the tie but finds himself lost in the vast expanse of the American West. While speeding along, he crashes into the city of Radiator Springs and does some damage to the roads. To make up for what he has done, he is forced to perform community service.

The locals in Radiator Springs seem unappealing to Lightening McQueen and the feeling is mutual. But once Lightening gets his conceited attitude under control, he and the locals warm up to each other. Guys like Mater (voice by Larry the Cable Guy), Guido (voice by Guido Quaroni), and others gradually become Lightening's friends and Sally Carrera (voice by Bonnie Hunt), an attorney, becomes Lightening's love interest. He slowly grows as a person and he has the locals to thank. But will he make it to California in time to compete for the Piston Cup, or will he remain permanently in Radiator Springs?

Movie Commentary:

Cars is an entertaining animated movie that features a cast of cars, each with a personality of its own. This movie is brought to you courtesy of Pixar Studios- the same folks that made Toy Story such a huge success.

What makes this movie enjoyable is its great computerized animation, its comedy, and its story. The animation is the first thing to note. Each of the cars is transformed into a person and the personalities and emotions are expressed well through the animation. Older models of cars represent older people while slick, shiny vehicles represent younger people. I also like the way the animators made the cars come to life and I like the attention to detail. For example, placing the eyes of the cars on the windshield was much better than using the headlights (something that has been done before) for eyes. The great use of technology is evident and it makes the film worth watching.

Next, I liked the comedy and the storyline. The humor is pretty good and it is mostly achieved by blending together the various words and lingo that are commonly associated with vehicles into comedic one- liners. It doesn't go overboard in this regard; in manages to keep the car puns at an even keel. The storyline, while a little predictable, is still quite good. Here you have this rookie car who is completely full of himself. He gets lost in a 1950's throwback town located on historic Route 66 where he meets an interesting cast of characters who help to set his struts straight (sorry). And he meets a stunning young vehicle named Sally Carrera who knocks his tires off (sorry again).

Bottom Line:

Other than a few cons (like the slowness in parts), Cars is a genuinely entertaining film with some memorable animation and funny comedy. I liked Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and the hippie Volkwagen Bus the best but the characters and the voice- overs are all very good in this film. This, combined with the excellent soundtrack, makes Cars the best animated film of 2006.