Typically Good Disney/Pixar Material

Rating: 5/10 (5 October 2012)

Everything that you expect Disney/Pixar to do well, they managed to do well in "Cars." The animation is absolutely superb and there's a valuable message included about learning to take life slowly, enjoy the scenery and those around you and not being fixated about winning everything and every time. All of that I can buy into without any trouble, and the movie even nods respectfully at the racing scene that inspired it by including the voices of drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mario Andretti and Michael Schumacher.
The story revolves around Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) - a rookie car in the championship circuit whose on track to win the "Piston Cup." When the season ends in a 3 way tie, a final race between the 3 is scheduled in California, but on the way west, McQueen end sup trapped in Radiator Springs, once booming and now almost a ghost town because it was bypassed by the interstate. In Radiator Springs, McQueen (highly frustrated at first that he can't get to California as fast as he wants to) discovers a different and slowed down lifestyle and he starts to discover and understand virtues like friendship and loyalty.
All that worked very well. Surprising, then, that I have to admit that the movie never really struck home with me. Maybe it's just the difficult in figuring out how to rate an animated movie whose appeal is mostly to the younger set. It has a lot going for it. I can't argue with that. I just didn't find that it held my attention all that well. But if you like Disney/Pixar stuff, you'll certainly find that there's nothing wrong with this. It just didn't really make much of a connection with me for some reason. (5/10)