Cars

There's an extra coat of hot wax on Pixar's vibrant, NASCAR-influenced comedy about a world populated entirely by cars. Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the slick rookie taking the Piston Cup series by storm when the last race of the season (the film's high-octane opening) ends in a three-way tie. On the way to the tie-breaker race in California, Lightning loses his way off Route 66 in the Southwest desert and is taught to stop and smell the roses by the forgotten citizens of Radiator Springs. It's odd to have such a slim story from the whizzes of Pixar, and the film pales a bit from their other films (though can that be a fair comparison?). Nonetheless, Cars is another gleaming ride with Pixar founder John Lasseter, who's directing for the first time since Toy Story 2. There's the usual spectrum of excellent characters teamed with appropriate voice talent, loads of smooth humor for kids and parents alike, knockout visuals, and a colorful array of sidekicks, including a scene-stealing baby blue forklift named Guido. Lightning's plight is changed with the help of former big-city lawyer Sally Carrera (Pixar veteran Bonnie Hunt), the town's patriarch Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), and kooky tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). The Incredibles was the first Pixar film to break the 100-minute barrier, but had enough story not to suffer; Cars, at 116 minutes (including some must-see end credit footage), is not as fortunate, plus it never pierces the heart. Trivia fans should have bonanza with the frame-by-frame DVD function; the movie is stuffed with in-jokes, some appearing only for an instant. Ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas

DVD features
With the slimmest extras package for a Pixar film debuting on DVD, Cars still shines for home viewing. As with earlier digital-to-digital transfers, the film sounds and looks stunning. There is only one behind-the-scenes feature, a 16-minute cursory but entertaining glance at director John Lasseter's influences (his dad was a car-parts manager), including some of the real-life inspiration for the film such as Michael Wallis's influential book on Route 66 (he also voiced the sheriff). There's a new cartoon for the DVD, "Mater and Ghost Light," which is smile-inducing at best. Four deleted scenes (in storybook format with voices) also show a darker tone the movie may have taken at one point. Best is the adorable short "One Man Band" that showed theatrically with the film, and the film's credit sequence can be seen full screen without the credits (and find the Easter egg for an extended version). Not a tricked-out DVD, but still worth a spin. --Doug Thomas




Items From Cars The Movie