Anthomation Assesses Cars

Howdy guys, Anthomation here. In honor of my birthday being three days ago, I shall review my favorite animated film of all time: Cars (2006). 

Cars is a film from Pixar Animation Studios, who was coming off the massive success of The Incredibles (2004) and many other films prior to that I’m sure we are all similar with. Cars received generally positive reviews and also received commercial success, grossing $462 million worldwide against a budget of $120 million. It was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Animated Feature, but lost to Happy Feet (but won both the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film). The film was dedicated to Joe Ranft, the film’s co-director and co-writer, who died in a car crash during the film’s production.

Lightning McQueen is a young, hotshot rookie race car in the last race of the season. At the end of the race, he finds out he is tied with Chick Hicks and The King. On the way to the tie-breaker race in Los Angeles, California, some hot punk cars get him lost in a little town called Radiator Springs on the old Route 66 road, which has been long forgotten many years ago. Scared to death, he tears up the town’s main road and is sentenced to community service by Doc Hudson. During this time, he meets a funny, but lovable tow truck named Mater and a beautiful Porsche Carrera named Sally. He also meets some other cars, which he finds to be quite odd. All he wants to do is get out of this town and back into the big city, but as the week until the race goes on, the town folk help him discover that life isn’t just about trophies, fame, and sponsorships and McQueen learns about family and friendship.

The story can’t be judged just by the plot synopsis, but by how the plot is put onto the screen. It would be easy to classify this movie as your typical sports flick with overdone plotlines that you’ve seen done to death. But here, the story is done in such a sincere and authentic way that it feels like its own. For example, Lightning McQueen not only begins with humility issues but also has hidden prejudices that will be corrected in such a thoughtful way. Specifically, he feels very uncomfortable being around rusty cars, which is why he is fond of his sponsor Rusteze. While stranded in Radiator Springs, the first car he meets is Mater, who is a rusty car, and they end up bonding in a nice friendship. This film also deals with small town issues, which is not something you see everyday is a “kids flick”. After going on a drive with Sally, McQueen uncovers that Radiator Springs was once a flourishing town with business flowing to and fro. In a heartfelt flashback, it shows how a newly built highway made the town bypassed just to save 10 minutes of driving. This makes McQueen help the town get back to its heyday and build a romantic relationship with Sally. But the marquee moment of this film is the ending. I won’t spoil it, but I will say that wraps up the movie beautifully.

The animation is spot on. Because Cars was produced by Pixar, that’s not much of a surprise. When you think about a movie that comprises anthropomorphic cars, cartoon-ish, over-the-top visuals would come to mind. But it knows how to balance out expressive facial expressions with realistic automobile movements. Because they don’t have human body features, their expressions have to emote through their faces and it’s done really well here. The backgrounds are able to capture the small town feel, which makes the audience fully experienced this whole other world. The characters move and act like real cars, but still have more than life to them where they are easy to get across.

The characters are exciting and memorable. There’s Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), the hotshot racer who learns humility and respect for others while trying to make the big race. There’s Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy), the comedy relief, who is actually funny, and the one Lightning becomes close friends with. There’s Sally (voiced by Bonnie Hunt), the attorney of Radiator Springs and McQueen’s eventual love interest. There’s also Doc Hudson (voiced by Paul Newman), the car of many roles, from judge to doctor, and a former Piston Cup winner who has been in Radiator Springs even since an accident that ended his racing career. Then there’s a slew of Radiator Springs townsfolk From a hippie named Fillmore to an old cop named Sheriff to an Italian tire duo named Luigi and Guido, they bring their own colorful personalities. You round it off with Chick Hicks, McQueen’s biggest rival and the antagonist of the movie.

What else can I say, this movie is AMAZING! The story has an unbelievable pace where it’s as good on a highway as on a dirt road, the animation is displayed incredibly, and the characters have a ton to offer. Cars is a must watch for kids and adults alike. In my opinion, this is the BEST animated film ever made!

Kachow!

Score:

10/10