I'd give my left two lug nuts for more animated movies like Cars

Rating: 7/10 (10 December 2007)

*** out of **** stars
Egomaniac Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is a rookie race car with, sadly, no friends. He doesn't want a crew chief, and he talks to his re-fuelers and his tire changers as if they are very replaceable dishwashers. McQueen's dream is to win the coveted Piston Cup; the highest honor of the American race circuit. After a creatively juxtaposed tie with two top-notch competitors, a three-car race-off is scheduled in one week in Los Angeles. On the way to the event, Lightning impulsively detours from the interstate and - via historic Route 66 - ends up in the bygone town of Radiator Springs, where he is impounded for hot-rodding and is consequently delegated to perform community service by repairing a road he damaged. He also meets new friends who, over time, humble him. The most influential are a sexy Porsche named Sally (Bonnie Hunt), a rusty, redneck tow-truck named Mater (Larry The Cable Guy) and a mentor Hudson named Doc (Paul Newman).
Last year, I wrote a review for Over the Hedge. It wasn't favorable. In fact, it was downright sarcastic, mostly (in my opinion of course) because of its failure to deliver nuggets of humor that all ages could profit from, and for lacking a sense of adventure. After watching Cars, my confirmation of the downward spiral of animated films has been reversed. This is a magnetizing movie that has set a new bar in computerized craftsmanship, right down to the tiny flickers on the burnished cars. It is also charming and simple in character development and in teaching lessons in narcissism, friendship and humility. It plays as if shot with a camera. There are aerials, dissolves, fades, cutaways, pans and reverse angles. The characters are humorous and warm. Cars is not a movie that is occasionally ominous. There are no antagonists that exude doom (The Lion King, The Shrek films). The conflict is McQueen's journey to morally become a better car, which is good enough to take us along for the ride...under clear blue skies and crystal clear starry nights.
Bravo to Pixar for bringing me back to the light! I just pray there won't be a Cars II. Like Finding Nemo, Cars is just fine as a solo entity. I'd hate to see it descend into a botched trilogy as the Shrek story has. What I embraced most about the movie is it takes time to breathe, which, I suspect, won't sit as well with the kids. We see spectacular portraitures of grand desert landscapes, dreamy visions of "The Mother Road" Route 66, and best of all, we become intimate with the dusty hamlet of Radiator Springs. At times, we are slowly and comfortably urged to caress a town that once embodied a free nation that no longer exists. Cars should make us wonder, as Americans, why we left behind what once was, to have what we have today. Yes...I believe even an animated tale has the competence and backbone to do just that.