Cars review (2006)- film critique by Mr TARDIS

Full text transcript of the Cars review:

Only are pics today you are out of the animation world, Walt Disney Animation Studios was during the 1990s. In my opinion, Pixar has never made a bad feature length motion picture and they’ve created some of the best animated movies of all time. Toy Story was one of the big films of my childhood. While Toy Story three and Orpah, in my opinion, two of the best movies ever made. But anyway, cast your mind back to 2006. The Incredibles came out the year before, and for me, the weakest Pixar movie was a box. Life from Pixar releases its latest film, Cars and the film Community Goes Wild. The film received quite a few negative reviews, and throughout them there was one popular complaint. It’s not as good as other Pixar movies. While I think it is fair enough to say whether or not a film holds to the standards of a company’s previous works, to complain about a film based on those merits instead of treating it on its own to me seems very unfair. So before I talk in depth about cars, let me get one thing out of the way. No, it is not as good as Pixar. Previous films like Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. But does that automatically make it a bad film? Short answer, no long answer. No cars takes place in a world that is entirely made out of cars and other vehicles as cars, trains and planes, but not a single human being or creature.

The most creative aspect about this and also demonstrates Pixar passion and attention to detail is that while other animated companies would have just used this world to tell a lot of jokes or puns, Director John Lasseter has used the cast concept to tell a story and has even created a way of life for these cars, how they move around rooms, how stadiums are designed, how the NASCAR pit crew sees to the race cars and even where they sleep. They have not just inhabited a world with cars, they’ve also had to create that world. And in this world, NASCAR is naturally one of its biggest sports. Young hotshot racer Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, is hoping to become the first woman to ever win the Piston Cup. But he has competition from his two rivals, the King trip wethers voiced by actual NASCAR championship winner Richard Petty and check Hicks voiced by Michael Keaton. Yes, that Michael Keaton, due to his negligence and his refusal to work with others, McQueen ruined his chances of winning the Piston Cup and instead is responsible for a three way tie. So a three way race is being held in Los Angeles. On the way McQueen’s truck, Marc, played by the living Pixar in-joke John Ratzenberger, gets hijacked due to McQueen refusing to let him sleep on the journey while trying to find his way to California. He winds up in Radiator Springs, destroys their main road, and the town forces him to fix the road before he can leave to win the Piston Cup.

I’ll get to the town and its characters later. We’ll talk about our lead character first. At the beginning of the film, his character can pretty much be summed up like this. Listen, I give you 20 seconds. I’m coming in and I’ll just give me the names and everything out for my friends. Yes, there’s a I. Oh my God. Stan has no friends and he didn’t even realize he’s like America. The guy. Yeah. If there was any character that should have adopted the show, don’t tell the narrative style. Lightning McQueen was it while Lightnings journey from a selfish, fame obsessed racer to a much more bearable personality, does it feel natural and genuine? It’s not really interesting. That may sound random, but while his arc does work, his character doesn’t. As Pixar protagonists go, Lightning McQueen is easily one of the weakest wild characters like Woody Flick, Sulley and Mr. Incredible not only have a journey, but a multilayered character that is influenced by the world that surrounds them. Lightning McQueen lacks those layers. Sure, he gains an appreciation for taking things slow and that winning isn’t always everything. His character doesn’t seem to develop much other than the fact that he gains new friends in a paint job. His actions try to support a change, but the character doesn’t. Also, while Owen Wilson has an interesting voice and his voice, acting isn’t bad exactly as he does show good comedic timing.

Hey, I got to get to the interstate. Oh, you have me no. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, not really.

But listen, he likes the conviction and intensity to get across the drama that the script demands.

Hey, look, doc, I’m not them. Oh, yeah. No, not.

When is the last time you cared about something except yourself. Hot, right? I don’t want them depending on someone they can’t count on.

Well, like you, you’ve been here how long and your friends don’t even know who you are, who’s caring about only himself.

This is easily the biggest problem with the movie, but thankfully it’s almost made up for us. This film has a very good supporting cast. Let’s start with the NASCAR characters. The main antagonist of the film is Chick Hecks, played by Michael Keaton. He never really has much presence in the film except for the beginning of the end, so he never really becomes a satisfying villain. In fact, while he does end up causing accidents on the truck, including a huge car pileup at the beginning of the film, when it comes to how he interacts with Lightning McQueen, he doesn’t really come across as threatening. He just comes across as mildly irritating.

Oh, hey, McQueen, it must be really embarrassing, but I wouldn’t worry about it because I didn’t do it.

I’m also wondering how Chick is able to cause all of these crashes and accidents and not get penalized for them. That’s an epic. There’s also the king’s trip weathers who never really becomes much of a character, except he’s supposed to be an image of what Lightning McQueen should be like. However, is pretty neat that they got Richard Petty to Boilesen and even recreate Richard Petty’s Daytona 500 crash from 1988. They didn’t get Richard Petty’s actual wife, Linda, to voice his wife in the movie, so that’s a nice touch, I guess. In fact, there’s a lot of actual motoring personalities giving their voices to this film. Double Waltrip Voices Double Kastrup, Bob Costas Voices Bob Coatless, Humpy Wheeler Voices Tax Day, Enerco and the Rossides brothers are voiced by the Magliozzi brothers. I probably pronounced that wrong, but anyway, some races even play themselves in car form, such as Dale Earnhardt Junior and Mario Andretti. While these names mean absolutely nothing to me because I’m not even remotely interested in racing. I can imagine NASCAR enthusiasts appreciate the fact that many of the celebrities from their favorite sport are in one place. Michael Schumacher also voices a car version of himself. And while I don’t watch racing, I have at least heard of him. There is one name that I do know, however, and that is Jeremy Clarkson as he appears as Lightning McQueen’s agents have. And while he does not actually appear on screen, it’s just awesome to hear him anyway, because this arm, the world’s greatest agent.

Such an honor to be arranged in almost 10 percent of your winnings. How much do do anyway?

Actually, but I would write thanks.

And it’s not just racing and car celebrities that give their voices in this film, but entertainment stars.

There’s Jay Leno of Divine Lightning McQueen, our crew chief who worked with him, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lightning McQueen must be found at all.

Some people may find these constant celebrity cameos a bit overwhelming. But you know what? I think it works because like I said earlier, this film isn’t just creating these characters, but also creating the world and the culture in which they live, but in car form. So these celebrities help get that point across. Anyway, let’s move on to the actual supporting characters. The most prominent one is made of the tow truck voiced by Larry the cable guy. And to be honest, this character just doesn’t work for me. While he does have a few funny moments and his sporadically charming. The reason he doesn’t quite work is the movie’s attitude towards him. The film seems to be absolutely determined to make you love better and seems to be under the impression that he should be your favorite character. He gets many sequences completely devoted to himself. Some seem to regularly cut away from the action to show you his antics. And he has to spin offs devoted to him. Mater and the Ghost Light Meters Tall Tales television series. So in other words, if this character’s brand of humor doesn’t work for you, then screw you because Pixar seems to think that you should love him. Like I said, he can be occasionally endearing, but most of the time he just annoys me and it’s obvious that he is not the best character in the film. That honor goes to Dock Hudson, played by Paul Newman. While I’ll admit that Cars is one of Picasso’s weakest films, the character of Doc is one of the best characters they have ever created.

And no, I am not kidding. When we first see Doc, he’s a grumpy old car who holds particular disdain for McQueen. When he arrives in Radiator Springs, he shows McQueen, insults him and tries to put him down at every opportunity. But it’s later revealed that Doc was once known as the fabulous Hudson Hornet and was a Piston Cup champion for three years, running until a crush ended his career and he was pushed aside by the people he worked for when he returned. This explains his harsh outlook on people and why he’s so withdrawn from everyone where he’s still yearning for the recognition he never got when he returned from his crash and now he lives in unappreciated existence.

Can you believe it, man? That was a famous race car.

But when McQueen discovers his past dock tries to see if he can still race, and I am not exaggerating when I say that the sequence with Doc Hudson driving around the dirt racetrack is one of the best scenes that Pixar has ever done. Doc says too much of himself and McQueen and has him taken away by the press, but discovers that the town is Sarda as a result. So he dons his original paint job and hopes McQueen during the final race. And in a touching twist of fate, Doc gets the fanfare and welcome for his return for here so craved for over the decades, he has been in hiding. It is a wonderful character arc and Paul Newman absolutely owns the part. But it’s rather sad that this was Paul Newman’s final role as he died two years after this film was released. Paul Newman is considered one of the greatest actors of all time, being nominated for eight Academy Awards, including the one he won in 1986. It’s all just the more fitting, considering that his last film role had him voicing a character who was still doing great before having his career tragically cut short.

How could a car like you quit at the top of your game?

You think I quit? When I finally got put together, I went back expecting a big welcome, you know what they said? Your history moved right on to the next working standing in line.

There was a lot left in the. I never got a chance to show.

I keep that to remind me never to go back. I just never expected that that world would would find me here.

Doc Hudson is without a doubt the best thing about this movie, and it’s one of pixels finest creations, a character that is deep, multilayered, moving and giving a wonderful actor a chance to shine for the last time. I wish I could say the same about Sally the Porche played by Bonnie Hunt, who is Pixar. Go to girl whenever they need a stock female voice actor.

She has the obligatory love interest and that is her character. She does very little to enhance the plot and she is literally only there to deliver exposition in the second act and to fall in love with McQueen. Bonnie does the best she can with the role, but it’s worth noting that there was not a lot to the role. She’s the love interest. Nothing more, nothing less. The rest of the cast are Wandjuk archetypal characters which act normally complain about. But they’re actually really entertaining as the sheriff played by Mike Wallace, who plays the stereotypical old gruff sheriff, there’s Ramone and Flo, played by Cheech Marin and Jennifer Lewis, respectively. And while I’m actually struggling to find personalities in these two characters, they don’t really cause any harm. So that’s OK. That’s the stereotypical Italian double pairing, Louis Chin Guido, who are actually really funny and they were very charming double-parked.

We got the real Michael Schumacher from Wisconsin Friday, punch me, punch me in the face. This is the most glorious day of my life.

Wow. Spiro to Sarah Palin Mediclinic at the Fantastic.

There’s also another funny pairing, except it’s the mismatched pair of Filmore and Sergej played by George Carlin and Paul Dooley, and while I try to be unbiased in my reviews, I can’t help but love the character of Fillmore because I’ve always wanted a VW hippie bus and I just find hippie stereotypes entertaining to watch. He also works well with the Army veteran Sarge, and some of the biggest laughs of the film come from the well executed pairing until every third blink is lower.

The 60s weren’t good to you.

I understand that this type of comedy isn’t for everyone, but it works for me. It’s also unfortunate that George Carlin passed away soon after this film was made, leaving behind a huge legacy as he is considered to be one of the greatest comedians of all time. There’s also Lizzie Post by Catherine Helmond. You want to know what the joke about her character is?

She’s old. I get it. She’s old in the raising in over 50 years on the.

Yes, there’s also a fire truck named Red and one he doesn’t have any speaking parts, it does tend to cry quite a bit. And the man who supplies those crying sounds is Joe Ranft, who co directed this movie and has worked on some of the greatest animated films ever made. Seriously, take a look at these movies. This guy has a fantastic resume. He’s also voiced many Pixar characters, but he’s never had a big role in the films. Unfortunately, he died in a car crash the year before Cars was released. So there is a dedication to him in the credits. And that leaves Mark played by John Ratzenberger.

And if you’ve heard of Pixar, then you have heard of John Ratzenberger and he’s voiced in every single Pixar movie and uses the exact same voice every time the film even pokes fun at it in the epilogue over the credits and allows you circus cars in the world that they’re going to make.

Wait a minute here. They’re just using the same actor over and over. What kind to a cut rate production is this?

Mark is the closest thing McQueen has to a friend at the beginning of the film, and he’s a likable personality. Well, it doesn’t really leave much of an impact in the long run. He is rather entertaining and to be honest, that’s the supporting cast and not show with a few exceptions. They don’t really contribute a lot by themselves. However, they’re worth a whole lot more than the sum of their parts because the main theme of the movie is community. It’s imperative that the supporting cast work as one large unit. And this is where Cars excels in the writing department. There’s a montage in the middle of the movie showing how the once thriving town faded into obscurity. And it comes across as heartfelt and it’s legitimately moving. While the montage isn’t quite up there with When She Loved Me montage from Toy Story two. It is still powerful stuff. The main strength of the movie isn’t from its plot. It’s the heart of the characters. It’s worth noting that director John Lasseter wanted to get this movie made as its premise that was close to his heart, and I do respect him for that. So as a result, its heart feels genuine and the film doesn’t abandon its ideals in favor of sticking with coupons. Don’t get me wrong, there are puns in the movie and some moments of adult humor.

He won three piston cups.

He did what is good, but they’re always in the background and never overshadow the morals. So I think when it comes to its heart and the characters working as more of an ensemble than they do as separate entities, then the film is a success. It also helps that the film is an absolute technical marvel. Yeah, while there’s not exactly artistry or creative designs like there are in films such as Monsters Inc or The Nightmare before Christmas, it works here because of the technical horsepower. The landscapes look incredibly impressive. The physics and suspension of all the vehicles have been painstakingly recreated and there are also impressive roster textures and how the animators were able to get so many individuals on screen at once. Nearly every Pixar film seems to raise the bar when it comes to animation. Toy Story was about making a feature length CG film in the first place. A Bugs Life was about sheer numbers. Monsters Inc was for Finding Nemo was water. The Incredibles was animating humans for cars. Its reflections. I bet that sequence in a restored Radiator Springs was only put there just to show everyone that reflections could have been done.

The film looks wonderful, and the fact that they were able to inhabit it with cars is impressive. The racing sequences are also very, very good and genuinely tense on a first viewing with a rather brave ending. I honestly think that any other animated company would have just let McQueen gets exactly what he wants, the way he wanted it. But I respect the writers for giving us that final twist. However, there is one problem with the racing sequences, and it really bugs me. I’m not a fan of NASCAR, so I don’t know all of the mechanics. But why can’t the film just take a minute to explain what is happening in the race? What’s the yellow flag all about? How did he get it? What happens if he doesn’t beat that car out on the way out of the pit stop? And no, I do not want you guys to sound off in the comments explaining these things. The point is, is that the movie should have explained it to me. After all, this is a family film, so it should be explaining these things to the kids and people who don’t watch NASCAR.

The music is very fitting with booming orchestral tracks and pop music for the racetrack sequences, while the tempo changes during the Radiator Springs segments to a more desolate score, much more fitting for the lonely desert. Oh, and I hate to compare this movie to Transformers two, but like that film, the best truck of the film isn’t on the official soundtrack, and that’s when Doc is on the race track on his own. Why are the people who make these soundtracks afraid of quality? By digresses time I start to wrap things up. So to bring this review full circle, I’m inclined to agree that he is the weakest Pixar film when it was before cast too well.

Does that instantly make it? But it still has the heart and the production values that have become a staple of the company. And while its characters aren’t deep or incredibly interesting, they do work as an ensemble. And that’s what’s most important. When your movie is based around an abundant community, the movie gains its strength from this ensemble cast.

But whenever this movie tries to spread out to focus on the characters as individuals, then that’s where it falls short, with the exception of Doc Hudson. So take these elements into consideration. You are left with just a pretty good movie. But when you take into account the character of Doc Hudson, the most fleshed out and successful parts of the film, then it does raise the overall quality. Doc Hudson literally turns a pretty good movie into a really good movie, and I never thought such a thing was possible. Does the film have its flaws? Yes. Are there some moments where it should be a bit more subtle? Yes, but it’s a bad film. No way. In fact, it’s a very good movie. And when compared to many other animated movies that are Pixar, it excels Khazars Heart, glummer a wonderful cast. And if you haven’t seen it because of its reputation, then I hope this review has convinced you to give it a chance. It’s also worth seeing just to witness the last thing that some of the most talented people in the entertainment industry contributed to. And I’m glad to see that they ended their careers on a project filled with so much heart. I’ll see you guys next time.

When?

So sure of where you’re in and you lined up last.

Sometimes when you lose.

Trumpet’s.