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Life & Arts

'Cars' animation laps competitionPixar scores again with family-friendly, formulaic morality tale

by SARAH TRESSLER
THE DAILY COUGAR

Pixar has done it again and again and again: Cars, an animated film with the classic Disney formula for cinematic entertainment, opens Friday. 

All of the requisite factors viewers have come to expect from the folks at Disney are here: the headstrong male lead with a thing or two to learn about life; the diverse characters who make up the supporting cast; the slowly-developing, shy love story between the only pretty girl available and the main character; and the heavy-handed, sappy moral message.

Lightning McQueen is a shallow, self-important racecar who is on his way to compete for The Piston Cup, when he is accidentally stranded in Radiator Springs, a tiny desert town on the not oft-used Route 66. 

While making reparations for some damage he caused on his first night there, he befriends the few remaining residents and learns a lesson about the meaning of friendship. How sweet. 

Be prepared for a lot of nostalgic, heartwarming scenes that will make your 7-year-old sister get a quivery bottom lip. The average adult may find these parts a little cheesy, but the comic relief should quickly pick up the slack. 

Owen Wilson does the voice for Lightning McQueen, which transported me back to Wedding Crashers. Remember the phony "I think we only use 50 percent of our hearts" line? By the end of Cars, Wilson's Lightning McQueen would have no trouble using that exact and meaning it.

The entire movie features nothing but stylized motor vehicles as characters, with the residents of Radiator Springs being suspiciously stereotypical in their ethnicities and personalities. A souped-up, garish low rider is played by Cheech Marin, the town's lawyer is a flashy Porsche from Los Angeles, the tow truck is a backwards hick with a thick southern accent (Larry the Cable Guy), and a Volkswagen bus is a hippie who sells organic fuel.

Pixar gets to flex its animating muscles with this little family-friendly flick; the racing sequences are spectacular and there are breathtaking shots of the desert valley where Radiator Springs is located that will make you want to vacation in rural Arizona. Not bad for a cartoon.

Cars
Rated: G
Starring: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy
Pixar/Disney
Verdict: If you're taking your elementary-age bro to a film, this one should work well.

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