Cars

Directed By:  John Lasseter Written By:  Dan Fogelman, Phil Lorin, Kiel Murray (screenplay) Jorgen Klubien, Don Lake, John Lasseter, Joe Ranft (story) Robert L. Baird, Dan Gerson, Bonnie Hunt (additional screenplay material) Starring the vocal talents of: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, George Carlin, Katherine Helmond, John Ratzenberger, Joe Ranft, Michael Keaton, Richard Petty, Jeremy Piven, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Mario Andretti   MPAA:  Rated G (all makes & models)

The need... for speed! All great race car drivers have it, and Lightning McQueen is no exception. But McQueen isn't a driver... he's a car! Cars follows the journey of this speed-happy race rookie, voiced by Owen Wilson, who has a shot at winning his first "Piston Cup" championship, and the lucrative corporate sponsorship that goes with it. Also vying for the cup are hotheaded Chick Hicks, voiced by Michael Keaton, and The King, a 1971 Plymouth Superbird voiced by legendary racer Richard Petty, himself.         Sounds pretty much like every other racing movie ever made, right?.After all, we have the stubborn rookie who needs to learn that racing is more than "pedal to the metal", and that life is about more than reaching that next checkered flag. We have the villain, who wants to win at any cost. And finally, we have the wise veteran, who can show the rookie all he needs to know, if only the rookie would slow down long enough to listen. Sure, if this were merely a feature-length cartoon, that would be the whole, familiar story, but Cars is nothing of the sort. Cars is an animated feature film. (smug superiority implied!)         Rather than give us the same old racing retread, John Lasseter and company throw things into high gear with genre lane changes from 'racing glory' to 'fish-out-of-water' to 'friendship values' to 'comic romance' and back again with Ferrari-like precision. The result? An incredible road trip full of surprising originality, wit, and heart.         Yes, leave it to PIXAR to show the other guys how it should be done, once again. In fact, when compared to anything other than another PIXAR feature, well, there's just no comparison! And besides, how would you compare a movie full of super-cool talking cars to four or five different movies starring cute little talking woodland creatures, anyway?  Come to think of it, one word does describe those other movies... Roadkill!         As for comparing Cars to past PIXAR films, I'd park it right between Toy Story and Monsters Inc. The animation, as expected, is phenomenal. From the characters themselves to the automotively-inspired settings, nearly every frame is a jaw-dropper. The story, also as expected, is above and beyond most other recent theatrical releases, animated or otherwise. In short, Cars is a smart, funny film that will have the entire family leaving the theatre parking lot feeling good. (Gee, I didn't know they still made movies like that!)

Review published June 12, 2006

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A.J.'s Rating:  4 Stars - The Cars ARE the Stars!

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