Kachow! Pixar does it again!

Rating: 10/10 (16 November 2006)

Cars is one of those movies that only Pixar would dare to undertake. Whereas many of Pixar's past successes have been copied by other studios, Cars is a concept that stands alone. The attention to detail in Cars, in everything from the motion of the vehicles to the breathtaking settings and animation, is simply astounding. When Pixar decides to create a movie, they do it right. They do their research and it pays off.
With Cars, Pixar has created a world populated solely by vehicles; a world in which machines not only have faces-- but have real heart and soul. Pixar's mechanical world is fleshed out enough to suspend disbelief without insulting or eliminating the need for the audience's imagination.
The concept of anthropomorphic cars without humans may not sit perfectly in a logical sense, but that's okay-- Much of the movie's unique charm would have been lost with the inclusion of humans. The world of Cars is an alternate interpretation of our own-- it's a "what if?" world. After all, we spend so much time in our vehicles that to someone looking in from the outside, it might appear as though the vehicles were the actual beings inhabiting the Earth rather than the humans within them. Somehow, Cars makes surprising sense... perhaps in some ways even moreso than the world that we do live in.
Every scene in Cars advances the movie's purpose and the development of each character, and every voice-- even every spoken line-- does the same. Cars is simply really touching. There are plenty of laughs throughout, but the real charm of the movie is its heart. Cars isn't about cheap comedy; it's a movie that makes you genuinely smile if you let it. The characters are diverse and surprisingly realistic, and the character interaction is unparalleled. The message of the movie is not subtle or terribly complex, but it's real. The story isn't anything completely revolutionary, but it's incredibly well polished and superbly executed-- without being overly predictable.
Cars is one of the few movies I've ever felt the desire to watch multiple times just to fully experience all of the detail and heart infused into every scene. To be honest, I'm not a big car guy (I probably wouldn't know an automotive joke if it hit me in the face), I've never cared a lick about racing, and I don't have any emotional ties or great interest in the history of the Midwest... yet I absolutely love this movie.
If nothing else, I think that says a lot.