Pixar's CARS - Ray's Review

(Cast/Crew list, Production details etc at IMDB)


PLOT SYNOPSIS:

On the way to the most important race in his life, an ego-centric racecar called Lightning McQueen gets lost in the night - because his lights are just 'stickers' - and ends up in a place he dubs 'Hillbilly Hell', a quaint little dilapidated town that's been totally bypassed by the new interstate. While stuck there McQueen discovers things about himself that he doesn't like and the small town inhabitants (all cars in case you were wondering) help him discover the true meaning of friendship and teamwork... queue cheesy ending where our hero is morally redeemed and all is well.

RAY'S OPINION:

Just so you know where I'm coming from here's where I stand regarding Pixar:

The Incredibles 10/10. Finding Nemo 10/10. Toy Story 1 and 2 10/10. Monsters Inc. 6/10. A Bug's Life 8/10.

As you can see I'm a pretty huge fan and there is no denying Pixar's incredible track record; they have pumped out amazing film after amazing film, all with great characters, well developed stories and... well, that are all just such amazing productions. With the exception of Monsters Inc. I own them all on DVD and re-watch them frequently.

So onto Cars. I feared that this would be the first time I'd be letdown by a Pixar film because the premise and trailers just did nothing for me... I mean talking cars! But outside of a few elements that were weak - and I'll get to them shortly - it was a good (not great) Pixar film which I would rate higher than Monsters Inc, but which frankly doesn't compare to the recent achievements of Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

The really strange thing about Cars is the "reality" we are dealing with. The entire world is populated by Cars, there are no humans (which begs the question who built the first car, but that's getting into the 'chicken or the egg' territory), even the flies are little V-Dubs with wings! I never really accepted this reality; it's not like any of the previous Pixar films where you can imagine that the characters co-exist in a world somewhat like ours... no, this is an alternate reality where there are only cars and I never quite bought it. I know animated films are all about letting your imagination go wild, but it just never made sense on any level for me and at times I found my mind wandering because the reality presented raised so many questions. Trust me, I desperately wanted to just let go of stupid questions and get into it, but the questions would just keep popping into my head like "how can the metal bend when they are talking?". I know talking animals (or Toys for that matter) is just as ludicrous, but at least they have mouths.

Visually, Cars is a mixed bag. The opening and closing scenes at the raceways are particularly dull, I couldn't help thinking how much cooler it would all look if Lightning McQueen was a Rally Car rather than Nascar-like. There's only so much you can do to make a large circuit of cement look interesting and it doesn't exactly make for a visually appealing start and end to the film. However, once we are away from the circuit things look considerably better; the night scenes on the freeway; the rolling deserts and the forgotten town of Radiator Springs all look great. The attention to detail is pretty astounding really, but it's never as beautiful as Finding Nemo or as interesting as The Incredibles.


The story is typical Pixar fare and is sometimes agonizingly predictable, but it's made up for by the interesting characters. The characters may all be cliches, but the funny thing is they are Cars, not people, and this twist makes them all the more bizarre and amsuing. We have the Stoner VW from the 60's who sells organic fuel and rants about government conspiracy theories, an Hispanic Hotrod that re-sprays himself on a daily basis, a Hillbilly Tow-Truck, a Militaristic Jeep... and the list goes on. Suffice to say they are memorable and well designed, but they took longer than usual to grow on me and simply don't compare to strong personalities like Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

Cars hits its stride in what you could roughly call its second act, these scenes are set in Radiator Springs and by the time McQueen had to leave, I truly didn't want him to, which is testament to how charming it all was, but then the cheesy ending at the visually uninteresting race circuit comes along and the charm evaporates and I found myself bored again like I felt at the start (in fact the first 20 or so minutes of Cars is probably the least I've ever enjoyed a Pixar creation).

It also doesn't help that Owen Wilson's one-note act is pretty stale by now, even if he does have an interesting voice that lends itself well to animation I think I would have preferred an unknown voice to allow myself to believe in the character a little more. All the other voices are fine, though nothing stands out as particularly memorable.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

On the negative side Cars has a slightly weak beginning and ending, bland visuals at times and a predictable story. On the bright side the middle section is involving, some scenes are hilarious (particularly the 'tractor tipping' scene), the characters are quite touching and some of the visuals are incredible. So overall it's a mixed bag, but certainly not a poor film by any means. If another Animation studio released it I'd be less harsh, but one expects such greatness from Pixar, especially from the main man himself (it also didn't help that the trailer for their next film: 'Ratatouille' looked far more appealing than Cars!).

CARS - 7/10