Get Your Kicks With Cars

     Some folks might argue that the best scenes of the new computer animated Disney/Pixar collaboration Cars are the ones that take place on the racetrack. While it is true that these scenes are stunning and it would make sense that they are the highlight of a movie with this title, my favorite scenes are those that take place in Radiator Springs. They slow the movie down so that you can enjoy the landscape – a detail that is the key ingredient to Cars’s fuel mixture.

     Just as Finding Nemo made moviegoers think they were underwater, Cars makes them think there is such a town as Radiator Springs which is somewhat of a throwback to Mayberry. In reality, there are no towns like that anymore. Even the smallest towns are becoming poisoned by large developers and the ones that are being left alone so far are not populated by the optimistic group of characters from this flick. Towns like Radiator Springs simply cannot survive in our world (I would know… I live in one).

     Yet, that is kind of the point of the whole movie. Owen Wilson provides the voice of Lightning McQueen, a racecar that has had a stellar first season. He is on the verge of winning the Piston Cup but has one more hurdle to jump – a tiebreaker race against two other cars. Lightning is full of himself, though, and he doesn’t even thing he needs a pit crew. On his way to the big race, something goes awry on the highway and he ends up on the wrong road – Route 66. Soon, Lightning becomes completely lost. When he runs from the law and demolishes a road, Lightning lands in a heap of trouble.

     Now, Lightning is in Radiator Springs, a small town located off Route 66 and populated by a small handful of hopeful cars. He is ordered the road that he destroyed before leaving the town but he thinks he is too good for the job. After a few unsuccessful attempts to escape, Lightning realizes the only way out is to fix the road. Meanwhile, he begins to get to know the townsfolk including the kindhearted Sally Carrera, a Porsche voiced by Bonnie Hunt, and the fun-loving Mater, a tow truck voiced by Larry The Cable Guy. Lightning couldn’t be more out of place until he learns the secret about Doc Hudson, a 1951 Hudson Hornet voiced by Paul Newman, and then it seems Lightning’s detour is exactly what the mechanic ordered.

     Cars is filled with the charming characters that we’ve come to expect from Disney and the spectacular animation that we’ve come to expect from Pixar. It is an unbelievable achievement in filmmaking and one of the must-see movies of the summer. Still, the story, which isn’t as transcendent as some of Disney/Pixar’s previous motion pictures, isn’t nearly as impressive as the film’s other elements. That, combined with the unnecessarily long running time, pulls Cars just below Finding Nemo and Toy Story. Nevertheless, there is no shame in that. When the bar is set high, it is difficult to rise to the occasion.

     As I’ve said, the characters of Cars are delightful and it is easy to fall in love with each of them. They are a memorable bunch that offers plenty of laughs and a whole lot of fun. However, the real star of Cars and the thing that director John Lasseter should be proudest of is Radiator Springs. The town takes on a life of its own, especially in the later scenes that feature everything from waterfalls to neon lights. The fictional town feels more real than cities like Chicago and New York do in live-action flicks. People of all ages would be able to map out the buildings of the town since the gorgeous little locale becomes imbedded into moviegoer’s minds. It’s just that amazing.

     Then again, so is all of Cars. It is an exciting movie that is not afraid to slow things down. Places like Radiator Springs may not exist anymore but it is nice to believe that they do. If it takes slapping faces on a few cars to materialize that belief, I’m willing to shift into cruise control and enjoy the drive.