A story that never gets old

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2006)

If you've seen Doc Hollywood, a charming Michael J. Fox comedy, you have a basic understanding of the plot and characters in Pixar's latest offering. However, that familiarity won't detract a bit from your enjoyment of this delightful, well-made film.
We've all met (or perhaps even been) someone like Lightning McQueen. He's young, he's talented, he's ambitious, and he's not yet mature enough to realize that there's more to life than a checkered flag and a lucrative sponsorship. When he takes a wrong turn on the way to a Big Race, he finds himself stranded in a small town left behind by the advent of interstate highways, and populated with a colorful though less than glamorous assortment of automobiles past their prime. Yes, there is a love interest, yes, there are newfound friends, and yes, our hero is destined to learn a Big Lesson about the value of friendship and the true meaning of success.
Now, having told you all of that, I have to tell you that the simple predictability of this movie did not lessen its appeal or entertainment value in the slightest for me. By the end of the film, I (along with nearly every other member of a fairly packed Sunday night audience) was applauding, laughing and enjoying a nice, warm fuzzy feeling generated by the simple truths this movie offers up to our younger citizens. I liked and cared about these characters, and I was genuinely moved by the film's resolution.
The fact that the characters are cars rather than people or toys had no impact on the film's message or appeal, and the writers made effective use of the inherent comedy of a world populated by automobiles. I'm hard pressed to point out standout sequences, because the writing was uniformly excellent, but I will advise you to stick around for the credits: there are some priceless cameos that are truly enjoyable. Cars is good entertainment.