Cars (2006)
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Cars Movie Review
Cars is a 2006 animated film directed by John Lasseter and starring Owen Wilson. It is one of Pixar’s most underappreciated films.
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“I create feelings in others that they themselves don’t understand“
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Yes, I really like the first Cars. I do think its status and reputation are tarnished because of its two weaker sequels, especially the first sequel as the second one isn’t bad at all. The film definitely should be respected more as it’s a pleasant diversion and a very fine, moving, adventurous family flick which is especially wonderful for children.
I do realize that it’s plot is not original, but the film is so well crafted that I didn’t mind it all too much. The beginning definitely is underwhelming as it starts out of nowhere and in a very unappealing manner, but the rest of the film is pretty good across the board with the highlights being the town sequences and the final race.
I don’t get why more people do not praise this film for giving us finally an ending where the protagonist loses instead of wins the race. That ending is immensely original, not only for family flicks, but for overall sports flicks. The film truly has a great message and it has a lot to say about past sports winners well past their glory days.
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Another highlight is that simply beautiful history scene where it is shown how Radiator Springs was once a hot destination as was the Route 66, but is now an undiscovered gem and a lost, forgotten town. This scene is the heart of the film as it showcases the harsh realities of small towns in an ever-changing, ever industrializing world. It is fittingly accompanied by wonderful animation and one terrific song in deservedly Oscar nominated Our Town which is a rare Randy Newman number that really works. It is beautiful with moving lyrics and so well sung and heartfelt.
Let’s talk about the characters. Lightning McQueen is such a good protagonist who goes from arrogant to likable in a familiar, but well realized and step-by-step manner. Doc Hudson is also terrific as this bitter old man who was forgotten after being a great racer in his time. Sally is a likable girlfriend character and the two share a sweet romance.
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All the others are mostly unimportant and not as memorable, but Mater of course is the most memorable character in the film. Now I do realize that many people may hate him as he can easily be hated and the second movie most certainly ruined his character, but here he is likable and genuinely funny at times. His friendship with Lightning is wonderful. Larry the Cable Guy played him really well, but Paul Newman is also great in his last role and Owen Wilson is excellent and he should have done more animation work for sure as his voice is perfect for it.
Now Cars obviously features polished, fantastic CGI per usual for Pixar. This came out at a time when computer animation really progressed and thus it does not feel as dated as ‘The Incredibles’ and some other Pixar flicks in earlier years. The cars themselves look really good and I definitely liked their appealing designs, but also the roads and backgrounds are particularly superb as are the effects and colors.
The world building is excellent. Many would frequently attack this film for not giving us an explanation for why the automobiles took over the entire planet and what happened to humans, but that doesn’t matter in my opinion. They gave us the world of cars and they established that world stupendously. Each car has its purpose and that was very well thought out.
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The races are sometimes overwhelming in runtime, but they are still very well executed. The action is pretty good and for the most part the humor works really well. The highlights are some Mater’s lines and in particular the tractor scene which is hilarious and so clever.
The movie is most definitely overlong as it did not need an hour and forty five minutes as fifteen minutes could have easily been cut off. But still, the film is mostly very entertaining and engaging to follow. It is kid friendly, but for me it worked as an adult too. The dialogue is also pretty solid as is the voice acting. The score is also very strong. So contrary to popular opinion, Cars is a good film which is not that much inferior to ‘The Incredibles’ or ‘Finding Nemo’ and is certainly better than ‘A Bug’s Life’.
Despite an underwhelming beginning and familiar storytelling, the first Cars film is actually pretty good with particularly strong voice acting, well developed characters and highly polished animation. The highlights are the final race which ends in an authentic manner as well as that touching nostalgic scene accompanied fittingly by a wonderful number Our Town. In the end, it’s a very underappreciated film whose reputation has unfortunately been tarnished by its two underwhelming sequels.
