
As McQueen complains and sees his chance at greatness slowly slipping away he learns to appreciate and connect with the members of the small town including the local D.A. Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt), the junkyard pick-up Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), the Ferrari crazed Luigi (Tony Shaloub) and Guido (Guido Quaroni), the stuck in the 60’s VW bus Filmore (George Carlin) and slowly starts to learn that maybe money and fame aren’t the only things worth caring about.
If the plot of the movie sounds familiar you probably saw the 1991 Michael J. Fox romantic comedy Doc Hollywood which bears a striking resemblance to this story. The story carries a message about small towns and the speed of big city life but is patient and doesn’t hit you over the head with it. Much like the small town charm of Radiator Springs itself Cars just wins you over the longer you stay.
The animation is just jaw-dropping amazing. The level of detail needed to do a film filled with metal characters is high (think Robots but done twice as good with characters and a story worth caring about). The race scenes of the stadium filled with cars, lights, action, movement, reflection, are so spectacular you won’t believe your eyes. And slyly while that’s happening the heart of the film will win you over completely.
Every choice made here is the right one from the choice of announcers - Darrell Cartrip (Darrell Waltrip) and Bob Cutlass (Bob Costas), to the voice of McQueen’s agent Harv (Jeremy Piven), to the perfect casting of the look of late night host Jay Limo (Jay Leno). All of that and I haven’t even touched on the great performances from the likes of Richard Kind, Cheech Marin, John Ratzenberger, and many others.
Some movies are just a joy to watch. From begining to end Cars belongs on that list. If there’s one film that’s worth taking the entire family to see for the pure enjoyment of what summer movies can be it’s this one. Hop in your car and drive on down because this might just be the most fun you’ll have all summer long.
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