Cars

Cars was $14.99 at Hollywood Video, but if we bought 3 movies marked this price, we d get them all for $25 total. We had never seen cars before and don t normally purchase movies sight unseen. We had 2 movies in our hands and Cars would complete the special price package. My hubby and I both like Pixar Movies so we decided to take a chance.

Who Does the Voices:
A shorter list would be who doesn t, but here are some of the highlights. For a full list visit www.imdb.com/
Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen
Paul Newman as Doc Hudson
Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera
Larry The Cable Guy as Mater
Cheech Marin as Ramone
Tony Shalhoub as Luigi
Guido Quaroni as Guido

In Cars, Lightning McQueen is a hot rod rookie racecar that is so full of himself he refuses help from others; he thinks of himself as a one man show. Carsbegins with a three way tie between him and two other cars for the Piston Cup. The tie breaker is set for the following week in California. McQueen loads himself into a Mack truck to be transported to California, but on the way, the back of the truck comes open and pours him out onto the highway.

McQueen has only stickers for headlights and has trouble driving on the highway at night. He ends up going out of control and wrecking the Route 66 road in the town of Radiator Springs. He is ordered to fix the road before he can leave town and is held prisoner through daily gas rations.

The rest of the movie is somewhat predictable and reminds me a lot of the storyline in Over the Hedge; a one man show that needs no one, but comes to find he cannot survive without friends. In Cars, McQueen meets many interesting characters and learns plenty of lessons about friendship and about what it means to be a winner.

Age Appropriateness:
Cars is rated G and is appropriate for children of all ages. There are no bad words, no villains, and no violence. Cars is a heart-felt movie with humor that almost had me on the floor laughing. Adults will have fun with this movie too as it has plenty of puns directed towards children at heart.

The computer animation in Cars is one of Pixar s best. Although there are no animated people and everything, including bugs, are cars, the movie brings you right into the show. Everything looks as real as can be, making the viewer forget they are watching an animated movie. I pretended I was watching the movie from McQueen s driver s seat.

Some of My Favorite Moments:
- The news reporter Kori Turbowitz that interviews Lightning McQueen reminds me of Asian Reporter Tricia Takanawa, who Fox makes light of in Family Guy.
- The two guys from the radio show Car Talk are cars in the movie and say their famous lines, Don t drive like my brother. Don t drive like my brother.
- McQueen gets a massage by two car polishers.
- The traffic light in Radiator Springs blinks yellow in both directions.
- McQueen is somehow towed despite his tire having a boot on it.
- The car couple that accidentally goes through Radiator Springs because the husband won t ask for directions.
- Tractor tipping.
- The song Get Your Kicks on Route 66.
- The traffic cone hotel.
- Little Volkswagen Beetles fly around with wings.
- The view looking down from Route 66 onto the highway.
- All the fun stuff in the credits, especially the quote, Their just using the same actor over and over. What kind of cut-rate production is this.

DVD Extras:
- The animation in the credits is hilarious, especially when the cars are watching movies at the end credits. This feature can also be seen in full screen by selecting Epilogue from the special features section of the DVD.
- Mater and the Ghost Light extra is a short clip with all of the stars from Radiator Springs playing a trick on Mater. It is very funny.
- One Man Band extra is about a small child with one coin and two one-man-band performers competing for the coin. It is even funnier than Mater and the Ghost Light.

Other special features include Inspiration for Cars, and Deleted Scenes.

Final Thoughts:
Cars has something for everyone and is a movie that both kids and adults can enjoy. Cars is just under 2 hours, which may seem a little long for an animated film. However, the end of the movie comes quick, and it is sure to hold your child s attention.

Cars is a great movie to watch with the whole family, with a group, or after a long day when everything has seemed to go wrong. Cars lifts your spirits and makes you forget your troubles. It is hilarious; a real laugh out loud treat. What are you still reading this for, go rent Cars.