Ani-MAY-tion: Cars (2006)

I heard about Cars being made. I wasn’t interested. I saw the trailer for Cars. I wasn’t interested. Cars came and went at the cinema. I wasn’t interested. So why do I own all three Cars movies? Well, I decided I would get them for free when Disney still offered a decent reward scheme on their website. I used points on them, but still couldn’t work up any enthusiasm to actually watch any of them. That changes now. I am determined to watch all three this month, for better or worse. Considering how much I enjoyed this, it may be for the better.

Owen Wilson voices a car named Lightning McQueen, a cocky young racer who is frustrated when his latest race ends in a 3-way tie. The winner will be decided in another race in California, which means a long journey across the country. There’s an unplanned diversion though, and McQueen ends up stuck in the small town of Radiator Springs, where the pace of life is quite a bit slower. Taking things a bit slower can give you plenty of time to learn more and plan ahead better, but that isn’t how McQueen views the situation, despite the patience and determination of the locals.

Directed by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft, who also co-wrote the screenplay with a handful of other writers, Cars isn’t the sharpest Pixar movie, nor is it the wittiest. That’s a high bar though, and I will usually find plenty to enjoy in every one of their animated treats. The main pleasure here comes from the different characters surrounding our misguided lead, voiced by the likes of Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, and Tony Shalhoub. There’s also a gorgeous visual style throughout, as you would expect, with the characters and environment in perfect simpatico, presenting a world that is so well-realised that viewers can easily accept everything onscreen without any questions, at least until after the end credits have rolled.

Wilson is a good choice for the lead role, his particular vocal style softening the edges of a character that could have been much more annoying throughout the first half of the film. Newman is used well as the elder who offers some sage advice to someone who needs to start listening to others. Both Bonnie Hunt and Larry The Cable Guy are great in main supporting roles, the former being very sweet while the latter delivers plenty of laughs, and Shalhoub gets to steal one or two scenes as Luigi, a huge fan of Ferraris. There are also delightful performances from Paul Dooley, Michael Keaton, George Carlin, Edie McClurg, Richard Kind, and John Ratzenberger (in what I would say is his biggest Pixar role, and allows him to deliver a superb set of meta gags over the end credits).

The pacing is slightly off, just slightly, and there’s an uninspired soundtrack, as well as a clumsy attempt to shoehorn in an extra narrative strand about the small towns that have suffered when new road developments were planned to bypass them, but the sweetness and humour always work well enough to keep you smiling as you wait for the predictable, and rewarding, finale. AND you get a number of cameos that should please motor-racing fans.

It may all be downhill from here, I have heard bad things about at least one of the sequels, but I am now temporarily optimistic about finally making time for this trilogy. I recommend this one to Pixar fans, but (as ever) . . . mileage may vary.

7/10

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