This year's model is full of heartfelt features.
John Lasseter-the guiding light behind the computer-animation revolutionaries at Pixar-has apparently grown weary of all the focus on his movies' gee-whiz-ardry. Ever since
Toy Story
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launched a revolution in animated movie-making, the conventional wisdom has been that viewers were no longer interested in old-school cel animation. For his first directing gig since
Toy Story 2
, Lasseter decided to launch a sly attack on an American culture that only seems to value the faster, shinier, newer thing.
Like every one of Pixar's previous features,
Cars
is smart, snappy, entertaining cinema. It's grounded in fundamentally strong storytelling, the kind of thing that's not supposed to matter all that much any more in movies. It's funny, warm and charming-but it's also wise in a way that's almost enough to make you want to weep.
Our flawed hero is Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), a hot-shot rookie convinced he's destined for greatness. He manages a tie for the Piston Cup points lead despite a bout of egomania in the season's final race, leading to a three-way race-off involving legendary champion "The King" (legendary champion Richard Petty) and rival Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton). But on the cross-country trip to the venue in California, Lightning is inadvertently left behind in the dying Southwest town of Radiator Springs. And when a little road rage earns him a sentence of community service from the stern local judge/mechanic Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), he's stuck out of the limelight.
At its expansive heart,
Cars
is an affectionate, almost mournful story of how easy it is to leave anything that isn't hot and happenin'-anything that isn't this year's model-in the dust. Lightning longs to abandon his demographically undesirable sponsor Rust-Eze for flashier deals. Doc Hudson, we learn, was once a great
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racing champion himself, abandoned to the scrap heap after a wreck and embittered by the experience. And in a terrific, heartbreaking sequence Sally (Bonnie Hunt) tells Lightning about how Radiator Springs collapsed as a result of the new interstate bypassing historic Route 66. Lightning's character arc isn't just to become nicer-it's to realize that faster isn't always better.
Lasseter has always understood the importance of emotional storytelling in Disney's rise to become the gold standard for family entertainment. There's a certain poetry to
Cars
marking Lasseter's ascendance to the throne at Disney animation. His movies soar not because he was always looking forward, but because he has always had the good sense to check his rearview mirrors.
