Cars

***Cars*** is a 2006 computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by John Lasseter from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman, Lasseter, Joe Ranft, Kiel Murray, Phil Lorin, and Jorgen Klubien and a story by Lasseter, Ranft, and Klubien, and was the final film independently produced by Pixar after its purchase by Disney in January 2006. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, the film stars the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final acting role), Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond and John Ratzenberger. It was followed by two sequels, *Cars 2* and *Cars 3*, in 2011 and 2017 respectively.

## Plot

While traveling to California to race against The King and Chick Hicks for the Piston Cup Championship, Lightning McQueen becomes lost after falling out of his trailer in a run down town called Radiator Springs. While there he slowly befriends the town's odd residents, including Sally, Doc Hudson, and Mater. When it comes time for him to leave for the championship is no longer his top priority.

## Why It's Great

1. The premise is quite interesting because the film is about a race car who becomes lost in a run down town after falling out of his trailer.
2. It has very solid and appealing animation, as well as nice visuals.
3. Incredible world-building that is built around cars, even though everything else doesn't make any more sense.
4. Likable and funny characters like Lightning McQueen and Mater.
5. Top-notch vocal performances. For example, George Carlin did a good job voicing Fillmore, despite the fact he had fewer lines than in his other films.
6. Well-delivered life messages. In the final race, where Chick wrecks The King, and Lightning doesn't win the Piston Cup, he goes back to help The King finish his last race and says, "It's just an empty cup."
7. **Proper character development:** At first glance, Lightning McQueen is a selfish jerk who cares all about winning until he learns that there's more to life than winning.
8. Great soundtrack, with notable songs such as "Real Gone", "Life is a Highway", "Find Yourself", and "Sh-Boom".
9. The backstory of the downfall of Radiator Springs is a really heartbreaking scene, especially with the song, *Our Town*.
10. One of the famous lines, "**KA-CHOW"**.

## Bad Qualities

1. The film's unnecessary longer runtime (almost two hours) with loads of filler and padding.
2. The storyline gets boring and is very similar to the movie *Doc Hollywood*, almost to the point of outright ripping off its plot. In fact, Pixar actually got accused of plagiarism a few times.
3. There are a few errors. For this scene, Snot-Rod was missing next to Mac, but luckily Snot-Rod appeared in the next scene.

## Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 75% based on 202 reviews and an average rating of 6.91/10.

## Box Office

Cars grossed $462 million at the box office against its $120 million budget, making it a box office hit.

## External links

* ***Cars*** on IMDB
* ***Cars*** on Rotten Tomatoes