Movie Notes: Cars

June 15th, 2006

= 3 stars

Starring Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt
Directed by John Lasseter

Saw Cars last night; pretty good, another quality entry into the Pixar line. Compared to any other animated movie, it’s better, but unfortunately when compared with the other Pixar films it suffers. It’s essentially not very funny. I recall laughing out loud numerous times during Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. but Cars only elicited a chuckle during the credits.

Another downside is that I’m just not into cars. With record gas prices the thought of driving cross country is more like a nightmare than a good time. Also, where’s the hybrid vehicle? The plot of Cars I’d like to see involves some European and Japanese cars coming to America teaching them how to stop guzzling so much gas. An unfortunate downside to animated films that take years to produce.

Now that the gripes are out of way, the good is that Pixar animation gets more amazing with each film — lighting effects on car bodies, picturesque landscapes, and action scenes are all impeccably detailed and expertly animated. It’s also no mean feat to make a car look sexy, however I still don’t exactly get how car reproduction would work. It’s a testament to Cars that for a brief second after you leave the theater, cars driving by look alive.