Cars

RATING: A+

Cars was really the first Pixar film that received any sort of backlash whatsoever. People still liked it for the most part, but it was really pretty much the first one to not receive mostly universal applause. This was probably their most risky release yet--one that arguably pandered to a smaller crowd than before. And yet somehow it managed to get by. 

The film centers around a hotshot racecar who ends up in a three-way tie with two other cars during the Dinoco 400 (the car-world equivalent of the Daytona 500), and is on his way to the tiebreaker race when a series of unfortunate events occur, and he ends up stuck in a version of Route 66 that isn't recognized for its historic value and is a ghost town in the sense that there are no visitors--just residents. And after doing damage to their main road, he is forced into repairing it. 

Well, anyone can see pretty easily where this is going to go. Guy living in the fast lane ends up seeing the other side of things, learns to slow down a little bit, learns a few things. Pixar clearly knew that this was the case, because they end up putting in some twists of their own (which I won't give away) that are completely unexpected. Ultimately, just like most of Pixar's other films, this film is a great story and is unique in its' own right. 

The humor can be a mixed bag for some people. There are more gas jokes and such in this film than before. There is also a bucketload of cultural references--even parodying various celebrities or newscasters (a couple of the newscasters are actually played by the guys who they were parodied off of). Some people love these types of things, and others can't stand it. I think it's all quite hilarious, and if you lean the other way, there's enough clever wordplay or humor to keep you entertained. My arguably favorite part is still the "tractor tipping" scene (I'll leave it at that). 

If there's one complaint about this film, it's the uneven pacing. The film begins with a big adrenaline rush with a crazy race (and ends the same way) and then plods along more slowly at certain points during the middle. The film still kept my interest, but I am admittedly still baffled at how the little ones are entertained by this (or Ratatouille, for that matter), but it works. Somehow, I guess there's enough of the excitement or humor (much of it provided by a crazy tow truck) to keep them interested. 

Cars may not be on many people's top half of Pixar films, but it is on mine--it is a fantastic film in its own right, just like most of other Pixar's films--with its interesting story, wisecracking humor, and near-unbelievable animation. Some people tend to overlook it occasionally (now more because they hated the sequel), but it's still well worth watching, and a worthy member of Pixar's brilliant catalog.