Friday, June 16, 2006

Cars: Varoooooommmm

As a daddy of two girls who both like movies, I see an awful lot of crap out there. So, when I see something that is above the average (e.g. Madagascar, Over the Hedge etc), I sometimes fool myself in elevating that to the "classic" level. But, when a real classic comes my way, you know if for what it is.

Cars is a classic.

I first saw a trailer for Cars just before The Incredibles. I thought that Pixar might strike out with this one: after all, I am not a NASCAR fan. Great news, you don't have to be. Rick wrote about the story over at Good Coffee. I have to agree with him on the story, but, I just want to tout the technical side. A computer animated movie is a "special effect" in itself. Each company has a style that identifies who made it (Dreamworks, Pixar, Blue Sky, everyone else). While you are watching the movie, you notice things such as the texture of Princess Fiona's dress, or Marty's mane. But, it is Pixar that really pushes this envelope. Cars pulls something extremely familiar (driving) and animates it flawlessly. There is a cross country scene where the main character (Lightning McQueen) is being taken to California for the big race. It is a montage, with "Life Is a Highway" (performed by Rascal Flats) playing. I was beside myself at just how good that looked.

So, we really enjoyed this movie. Remember to stay through the credits, because Pixar keeps the movie going up until the end. There is a classic John Ratzenberger (Cliff from Cheers) gag during the credits. I believe that John has voiced a character in each of the Pixar films. Anyways, I'll say no more. Just enjoy it.

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