Ultimate Pixar Tribute- Movie #7: Cars

by Nick DeVito

Plot: In a world where the only living creatures are talking automobiles, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is a famous race car on his way to win the coveted “Piston Cup”. When he loses his transporter truck Mack, Lightning find himself on Route 66 and accidentally destroys a small town called Radiator Springs.

There he is put on trial for his destruction, but the judge (Doc played by Paul Newman) is disgusted by his race car persona and orders him to leave the town. However, a Porsche called Sally (played by Bonnie Hunt) changes Doc's mind and he is sentenced to repair the road.

Over the course of most of the remainder of the movie, Lightning alternates between doing his community service, and learning more about the town and the people living in it. He begins to form a bond with the people (especially with Mater the tow-truck played by Larry the Cable Guy), and falls in love with Sally.

Eventually Lightning learns that Radiator Springs used to be very famous, until the interstate was built; now the town is basically deserted. He learns that Doc used to be a legendary race car himself: “The Fabulous Hudson Hornet”, but Doc tells him he will never be like him as long as he cares only about himself.

When people do eventually find him, Lightning goes to the final race to compete for the sponsorship of a lifetime. He is losing the race, but when his pit crew turns out to be all of his Radiator Springs friends, with Doc as the captain, he rushes into first place. He gets to a point where he’s almost going to win, but stops immediately before the finish line when a fellow racer crashes. He pushes the car to the finish line so that the car can win second place and still be able to finish his racing career.

Even though he lost, his actions proved great enough for the sponsorship he’s always wanted to ask for him to join them, but he turns it down and lives with his friends in Radiator Springs.

Well: It’s not saying much, because it’s still an amazing movie, but Cars is probably Pixar’s worst feature. Now that I got that off of my chest, let’s talk about how much I love it. The majority of kids out there think that Cars is the best Pixar movie, and that’s simply because it’s fun. Not to mention that it’s about cars and cars are always cool. Everybody who loves cars will love this movie, it’s that simple.

This movie tells the message that it’s better to lose a good race than to win a bad one. This was also the last film Paul Newman ever made, because he died a few years later. It’s also extremely funny; pretty much everything Mater says is gold, but the ending is also one of the best moments of the film.

It goes through a great epilogue-montage as it ties up every loose end in the story and adds any jokes the creators thought necessary. This movie was directed by John Lasseter after having a three-movie long break. There’s a little homage to the bloopers at the end of every Lasseter movie starting after Toy Story (including Monsters Inc.) here as well. It shows the cars watching car-versions of Pixar’s most famous movies (they even got all of the original actors to reprise their roles).

There’s even a little in-joke about how John Ratzenberger has a role in every movie. The result is just as funny as this movie is touching. The most liked character is Mater, but I’d like to mention Guido as my personal favorite because he’s, well, Italian. The best line is “Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer”.

Easter-Eggs:
• John Ratzenberger: the voice of Mack.
• Pizza Planet truck: can be seen during the opening of the final race near the two announcers.
• A113: it is on the face of the train; it is also on Mater’s license plate.
• Lightyear is on the blimp and the tires (instead of Goodyear).
• The main sponsor is Dinoco, the gas station from Toy Story.
• A racecar has apple as its sponsor.
• During Lightning’s movie dream, when a car is disintegrated, it makes the Wilhelm Scream.
• During the “Life is a Highway” montage, the birds from For the Birds can be seen on a wire.
• Joe Ranft plays Red the fire truck.
• When the jets fly over the final race-track, Pixar Studios is visible in the landscape below.

Final Thoughts: Although it didn’t win an Oscar, Cars is a beautiful film with tremendous heart and humor. Kids love it as do adults, what else can you say. I wonder where all of the humans are? What happened to all the humans!?!

Of course I should also address Joe Ranft's contribution to the film. Joe Ranft was a creator at Pixar from the very beginning, and was one of the most creative minds at the studio. Cars was his co-directorial debut, and he seemed like a shoe-in for an upcoming feature for him to direct.

However, before the film was even finished, he and his wife were killed in a horrible car accident. This is why after all the comedic credits-scenes of the movie, it goes through a beautiful montage celebrating Ranft for all he achieved for the studo. There's no dialogue, and it all features movie clips we've all seen before, but personally it still moves me to tears.

Anyway, it still has the worst critical reception of any other Pixar film, (which still isn't saying much), so I give Cars three tractors out of four. ***