Cars

After a couple of horror reviews it feels nice to lighten the tone with a look at Pixar’s latest offering (bar Ratatouille which is yet to be released over here) the aptly named Cars. In the same way that previous Pixar films could have been named ‘Toys’, ‘Bugs’, ‘Monsters’ and ‘Fish’ Cars takes the premise of a world populated entirely by automobiles, but unlike their other films, in which the objects always existed in a world where humans also exist, here the cars seem to be the only characters, something that actually takes something away from the film, that layer of reality and believability that always tied these stories to our world is missing here, and while it is an animated fantasy the niggling questions about how are cars made, how do they exist, how does the society as a whole work, are never answered.

However this doesn’t totally detract from the rest of the film and while it never quite scales the heights of some Pixar efforts this is still a cut above all other animated films with a look and attention to detail that once again push the boundaries of the medium.

The story concerns a young hotshot race car by the name of lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) who, on his way to the final championship race of the season, gets stranded in Radiator Springs, a small desolate town on Route 66. Like all Pixar films there is a focus on character and story at the heart of the film and the contrast between the high speed fast cutting world of NASCAR racing and the quiet idyllic nature of Radiator Springs is well realised and the beautiful scenery and locations make the place a convincing and endearing place. The characters that inhabit it, whilst amusing and at times very funny, don’t match up to, for example, the toys from Toy Story, there isn’t all that much to some of them and there are places in the film where the laughs are thin on the ground.

Luckily the main characters are wonderfully realised and voiced and while the film moves at a fairly slow pace it is never boring, always keeping the momentum of the story going and revealing a deeper side to the story and the nostalgic feel that perpetuates the film is more likely to appeal to adults than the kids. Of course being Pixar there is plenty here for everyone to enjoy and the visuals are absolutely stunning, from the subtle reflections and detailing on the cars to the luscious almost photo-realistic scenery (complete with car shaped mountains and clouds) the films is a visual tour-de-force and again proof that Pixar lead the bunch when it comes to computer imagery. It’s not just the technical aspects that impress, it’s the subtle details and care and love that goes in to all of their products, the fact that these talking cars work at all and convince as people with feelings and emotions is an achievement in itself.

However compared to their previous films Cars is a bit of a letdown, it can drag a bit in the middle and a lot of the humour is lacking, resulting in smirks but no big laughs (aside from the end credits joke which is hilarious). It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what doesn’t fit in the film, but I think it all stems from my initial point, that by making these Cars exist in their own world it alienates the audience and we never really connect as much as with their previous efforts.

But when the faults of a film are so slim and rely so heavily on the impeccable quality of Pixar’s back catalogue then there is little really to complain about. Compared to other animated films this is still leagues ahead and there is much to enjoy here, if you can get past your expectations.

As creative, gorgeous and detailed as you would expect from the Pixar stable, however under the hood Cars lacks the instant likeability and hook of its predecessors. Regardless this is a high quality product that manages to avoid a sluggish mid section for a thrilling finale and that works even when, technically, it shouldn’t.