9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Cars is a Winner!
Date of Review: Jun 29, 2008
The Bottom Line: Cars is a fun family movie.
Cars was one of those movies I meant to see in the theaters but was never able to. Then I wanted to see it on DVD, but somehow never got around to it. I just watched it recently, at long last, and I found it as enjoyable as I had hoped.
Lightning MQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is a flashy race car who shows great talent on the track. A rookie, he is on his way to winning the highest award in racing, the Piston Cup.
Though talented, Lightning is conceited, self-centered, and cocky. On the way to the tiebreaking race of the season, he becomes lost and is soon marooned in the little town of Radiator Springs. At first very upset at being stuck in the middle of nowhere, Lightning slowly begins to befriend the cars there and changes as a result. Some of the characters he meets include a naive but loyal tow truck, a grumpy old doctor Hudson Hornet with a secret, and a flashy but down to earth Porche who becomes a love interest. These friends help him learn humility and the power of friendship.
Cliche? Definitely. Yet Cars does have a few surprises up its sleeves. I did not predict the ending. And I was really attached to the characters that populate this make-believe world. I found them to be very loveable, so much so that I was very sorry when the movie ended. I was happy to hear they are coming out with a Cars II.
Of course, you know that with a movie about talking cars, you must suspend your disbelief, but I couldn't help but think of so many questions. How are baby cars born? How do cars build things without opposable thumbs? And others. It is possible that these questions will be answered in the sequel, but I'm not sure.
I don't think that Cars is the best Pixar movie- it was not as funny as Rattatuie or Monsters Inc. It wasn't all that funny, in fact. But I did find it moving. And I was so sorry to see it end that I actually looked up fanfiction.net to see if anyone had written any interesting Cars fanfics. The movie is a bit slow at times, and I think a lot of young children might lose interest in it, as there isn't all that much action after the initial racing sequence.
Overall, Cars was enjoyable, and I'm glad I watched it. Seems you can't go wrong with Pixar. Can't wait to see Wall-E.
