Hand another one to the Gods of Publicity

Rating: 2/10 (13 June 2006)

I've been a fan of Pixar for most of their releases. From the charming "Finding Nemo", a film that proved that it is possible to have a heart in the middle of the newest technology, to the well-orchestrated action in "The Incredibles", and the pathos in both "Toy Story I" and "Toy Story II". It was possible to believe that screen writing still mattered in this institution, and then we have a major crash in "Cars", a film that stands out because it is derivative, unimaginative, and possibly one of the most boring of its generation.
There is still plenty of talent around the film, with both Owen Wilson and Paul Newman doing good work. Yet the color scheme is pretty dull, and the dialogue never sparkles. In fact, it feels contrived and annoying most of the time. It is an insult to those of us who are paying good money to be "entertained". During the screening I attended many children kept asking to go to the bathroom or were asking too many questions. This being a sure sign that the screen did less than hold their interest.
There is another big fault with the film, and it is the design of its characters. They all have the same blank look, wit none of the emotions one did find in the previous Pixar animated films, plus it was very hard to believe that those cars in the movie really had the ability to be anything else but boring cars. They looked and behaved like cars.
It is time that Pixar looks back at itself and keeps itself from falling into the same trap that most studios are finding themselves in: Let's concentrate on doing intelligent work and develop those ideas beyond the board room and the sales pitch. Audiences are bound to wake up, and it is not a good time to make these expensive faulty guesses.