Cars
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡
If You Liked This Movie, You’d Like: A Bug’s Life, Up, Wreck-It-Ralph, Big Hero 6, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Brother Bear, Shrek, Bolt, Madagascar, Ice Age, How to Train your Dragon
For my next movie, I have decided to go with a classic: Cars. Now, I want to be very clear before I start, the opinions I tell about this movie do not attain to the second and third movies which are obviously not as good.
Quick summary: A rookie race car driver, Lightning McQueen, finds himself in a three-way race for the Piston Cup, something he has dreamed of his entire life. But after getting lost on the way, he finds himself in an unlikely place: Radiator Springs. Here he learns so much more about racing, friendship, and life than he ever could have elsewhere.
What is not good about the movie Cars? It has a great cast, great plot, great soundtrack, and that classic Pixar feel to it. Let’s start with cast. I know that I say I like a lot of actors, but Owen Wilson is really great in this movie. Even though he is only a voice actor, he is a large part of why this movie is so successful. Also, fun Owen Wilson fact I saw on the internet: Owen Wilson has such a distinct voice, if I told you to say, “Oh wow,” in his voice, you could. You just tried it and found out that I’m right, didn’t you? Another lovable character comes in the form of an unlikely friend for Lightning McQueen named Mator. Goofy, fun, and at times a little dumb, he teaches McQueen about friendship. Sally, the love interest, also teaches McQueen kindness, something he was pretty terrible at before he showed up to the little town. Perhaps my favorite character, Doc Hudson teaches McQueen about racing. It is this life lesson that drives the movie to its heartfelt ending, which I won’t spoil for you.
If you hear the song, “Life is a Highway,” and don’t immediately think of this movie, there might be something wrong with you. This movie has such an incredible soundtrack, and it might be the reason I think the second and third movies are not as good. “Real Gone,” “Route 66,” and “Sh-Boom” are all classic songs that blend into the movie perfectly.
Pixar is a multi-billion-dollar company in Disney, and they are for a reason. I would argue that Cars is one of the original Pixar films of our generation that allowed it to have the success it had. This movie is iconic. I know the ending, but I still tear up at the end every time without fail. This is the sign of a quality movie. Pixar is underrated in my mind. Disney is very associated with princesses for the most part, but Pixar really focuses on having an incredible message, and Cars is a great example of this. I really can’t recommend this movie enough. It is heartwarming as well as funny. And if I haven’t said this before, Owen Wilson is in it. Not saying that should sway your opinion (but it should ☺︎).
My brother who is nine years old now would watch this movie everyday and dance every time Life is a Highway came on. I agree that the movie had a really awesome story line to it and taught kids more than people expected it to. I personally don’t like the movies that came out after Cars, I feel as though they weren’t as genuine and well developed as the first one. Awesome review as always.
Great movie choice! I think you’re right about the next two movies, I don’t know why Pixar doesn’t tend to be too successful in making good second and third installments of movies. It’s really a shame because they are good at making memorable characters. It’s definitely easy to get attached to cars based on the actors’ performances, like you were saying in the blog. I also like how you talked about the music, definitely an important part of any movie.
I love Cars. This is one of my favorite Pixar movies because it has a mix of humor and heart-warming dialogue that just is great for a little escape. Radiator Springs and the various characters around the Cars movie is great. To be honest, I like any Pixar movie. Also, Life is a Highway is a great song. Great post!