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Movie Reviews, & Film Industry Commentary
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2006 – G – 116 min.
Director: Joe Ranft, John Lasseter
Primary Cast: Voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Paul Dooley, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Michael Keaton, Richard Petty, John Ratzenberger
Stars *** (of 5)
Popcorn *** 1/2 (of 5)
Film Type(s): Animated, Competition, Lessons Learned, Racing
Synopsis: Cocky Rookie racing sensation race car Lightning McQueen (Wilson) gets separated from his team on the highway to the championship race and in the process accidentally demolishes the only road into the small town of Radiator Springs, part of the “Mother Road” Route 66. The area’s automotive residents demand McQueen fix the road, but he only wants to get to the big race His cockiness leads to the consternation of mysterious local patriarch Doc Hudson (Newman), who tries to teach him a lesson or two. Along the way, McQueen falls for the Porsche hotel owner, Sally (Hunt), and befriends innocent, rusty Tow Truck Mater [“Tow Mater. Get it!?”] (Larry the Cable Guy). But will he learn his lesson in time for the race?
Review: This film is not so much about NASCAR (as the marketing and race McGuffin suggests) as it is about U.S. Route 66 and how some American Interstate Highways led to the disappearance of the “small towns” along that famous route. The film is overlong and takes too much time to get where it’s going, but once it does get there you’re hooked. The characters are full of fun and whimsy (a VW bus that’s a hippie with a license plate for a goatee; SUV’s afraid to go off road; 18-wheelers named “Mack”; Tractors that act like cows; need I say more?) and each car type (and the voices attached to them) are chosen with care to serve the story, rather than just a joke or two, proving once again the skill of the filmmakers at Pixar. They place multiple layers of ideas and little details into the film that won’t be picked up the first time viewing this movie and at the same time, don’t deviate from the obvious parts that make the film worthwhile. Making that all the more remarkable is how Larry the Cable Guy’s Mater steals the show from all other goings on in the film when he shows up with a simple one-liner delivery that cuts to the quick, be it to tell a joke or show the innocence of Mater and thereby shake McQueen to the core over his own actions. Paul Newman’s whisky dry voice gives weight to Doc Hudson, making him both a mentor to McQueen and a character battling his own demons. And yes, Lighting McQueen is named for Movie Star / Auto enthusiast Steve McQueen (who, incidentally, co-starred in The Towering Inferno with Newman). The movie even parodies their own use of Director Lasseter’s “Good Luck Charm”, John Ratzenberger, who has had a role in every Pixar film made to date. Excellent music by multiple Pixar film collaborator Randy Newman, this time balancing his score and a song written for the film (called “Our Town” sung by James Taylor) with pop music (both new and classic) such as two versions (again, new and classic) of “Route 66”, a Rascal Flatts version of “Life is a Highway”, and The Chords “Sh-Boom”. Vocal cameos, mainly of celebrities spoofing themselves as cars, include Jeremy Piven (as “Harv” sending up his agent role on “ Entourage”), Jay Leno, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Billy Crystal, and John Goodman with Sports cameos of Bob Costas, Darell Waltrip, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Schumacher, Mario Andretti, among others.
Awards Likely: A probable win at the Annies (Animation’s equivalent of the Oscar); Oscar Nominations for Best Animated Feature and probably Best Song for “Our Town” and Best Sound (a category animated film’s have been on the rise in). |
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