Cars

⭐ 8.5/10

Our second movie with our two year old, I thought it would be a hit because he likes everything with wheels, but he was not very locked in, had to watch over multiple sittings. I remember exactly where and when I saw this for the first time, and I loved Pixar, so for some reason I liked this movie but didn't think it came close to some of the classics. Well I was wrong this movie is great, even if its a little long.

Fun cast of characters, much like Toy Story or Bugs Life or all these Pixar movies, and they are all distinct and memorable. Guido is my favourite, and when he gets his moment to shine it is awesome. Lightning is a good protagonist, arrogant hotshot who gets humbled (much like Kuzco in my favourite Disney movie). There is a flashback montage scene that reminded me of Jesse's from Toy Story 2 where all of a sudden your eyes are watering. Nascar is the most boring thing in the world to me, but I love this world where everything has wheels. 

Whenever I watch these I am impressed with how well the animation holds up, and its not like this movie is "minimal" or anything. You get the sense that true artists work on these, which can't be said for a lot of the media we pump into our brains these days, and it really stands the test of time. There is an awesome post-credits thing where they spoof other Pixar movies but in the Cars universe. Its actually a pretty funny movie, even if 50% of jokes are rear-end related. I also have always loved that the beautiful love interest is a Porsche, since that is the only correct car for that role.

I decided to see what movies Pixar put out around this, and holy smokes what a studio.

I stopped my screenshot at Up, because I think that movie sucks outside the first 10 minutes, but is there a bad movie here?? Maybe Cars is actually the worst one, which explains my earlier indifference to it. I'm sure my son will want to watch this again and again in the future and I will get sick of it, so I'm happy to document my newfound love of it here.