Cars

♥	This article is dedicated to Joe Ranft (March 13, 1960 - August 16, 2005) who voiced Red, Paul Newman (January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008) who voiced Doc Hudson and Juan María Traverso (December 28, 1950 - May 11, 2024) who also voiced Doc Hudson in the Argentine dub.

Cars
"Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long."
Genre: Sports Directed by: John Lasseter Produced by: Darla K. Anderson Starring: Paul Newman Owen Wilson Cinematography: Jeremy Lasky Jean Claude Kalache Release date: June 9, 2006 Runtime: 117 minutes Country: America Language: English Budget: $120 million Box office: $462 million Franchise: Cars Sequel: Cars 2

"Speed. I am speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Faster than fast, quicker than quick. I am Lightning."

— Lightning McQueen

Cars is a 2006 American computer-animated sports comedy-adventure and racing film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed and co-written by John Lasseter, it is Pixar's final independently produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney in May 2006 as Pixar's 7th feature film. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cars and other vehicles, the film stars the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman (in his final acting role), Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Michael Wallis, George Carlin, Joe Ranft (who co-directed this film), Paul Dooley, Jenifer Lewis, Guido Quaroni, Richard Petty, Michael Keaton, Katherine Helmond, and John Ratzenberger. The film premiered on May 26, 2006, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 9, 2006. It was followed by two sequels: Cars 2 and Cars 3 in 2011 and 2017, respectively. The now-defunct DisneyToon Studios even produced the spin-off films: Planes and Planes: Fire and Rescue in 2013 and 2014, with John Lasseter as the executive producer for both films.

Plot

While traveling to California to race against The King (Richard Petty) and Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton) for the Piston Cup Championship, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) becomes lost after falling out of his trailer in a rundown town called Radiator Springs. While there, he slowly befriends the town's odd residents, including Sally (Bonnie Hunt), Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), and Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). When it comes time for him to leave for the championship, it is no longer his top priority.

Why It's Speed

1. The premise is quite interesting since the film is about a race car who becomes lost in a forgotten rundown town after falling out of his trailer.
2. Very solid and appealing animation, as well as nice visuals.
3. Incredible world-building that is built around cars, even though everything else doesn't make any more sense.
4. The opening race scene is very exciting and fun to watch.
5. Likable and funny characters like Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally, and especially Doc Hudson.
6. Top-notch vocal performances, especially Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, and Larry the Cable Guy. For example, George Carlin did a good job voicing Fillmore, despite the fact he had fewer lines than in his other films.
7. Well-delivered life messages. In the final race, where Chick wrecks The King, and Lightning doesn't win the Piston Cup, he goes back to help The King finish his last race and says, "It's just an empty cup."
8. Proper character development: At first glance, Lightning McQueen is a selfish jerk who only cares about winning until he learns that there's more to life than winning by reaching the finish line and that the biggest victories are the people and friends we meet during the ride.
9. Great soundtrack provided by Randy Newman, with notable songs such as "Real Gone", "Life is a Highway", "Sh-Boom", and "Find Yourself".
10. The backstory of how Radiator Springs become forgotten, and the downfall is a heartbreaking scene, especially with the song, Our Town that was a well-fitting choice.
11. The scene where Mater tells McQueen that he considers him his best friend is pretty heartwarming.
12. The scene when McQueen races Sally driving around Radiator Springs is perfect for their love chemistry.
13. The scene where McQueen has a nightmare about Frank winning the Piston Cup after beating him, Chick and The King is funny.
14. The credits sequence makes several humorous references to previous Pixar movies, all presented as them watching movies based on previous works by Pixar, like Mack realizes that the same actor (John Ratzenberger) has been voicing characters in every film, it also pays tribute to Joe Ranft, who died in August 2005 for a car crash. The post-credits scene also presents a decent gag with the two minivans showing up.
15. The scene when McQueen, Sally, and the whole townsfolk drive along the newly paved road listening to music and seeing sights of glimmering, and shiny neon lights is amazing and dazzling.
16. At least there's not any filler seen in the film.

KACHIGGA Qualities

1. It was noted that the film has a similar plot to Doc Hollywood.
2. Some product placements for car companies like Mack, Apple, Porsche, and Mercury (though these are subtle and make sense since there are no human characters).
3. The character designs are somewhat confusing. They have doors, but that wouldnt lead to their insides?
4. There are even animation errors. For example, in one scene, Snot Rod is missing next to Mack but suddenly appears in the next scene. Also, during the first race, Darren Leadfoot's rims are yellow, but when they show his entire appearance, he gets his actual black rims instead.
   • And the biggest out of all: The cars' tires' speeds are limited, most notably on all the Piston Cup racers, especially by Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, and The King. However, speaking of this last error, this was finally corrected in the sequel, Cars 2.
5. There are two plot holes:
   • Why didn't the race officials disqualify Chick Hicks if he cheated in the race while he caused The King to have a hard crash?
     • Though his crowd did likely notice and somewhat gave him a punishment by going against him after what he did to the King for the final Piston Cup race.
   • When The King/Strip Weathers crashed in the final race, how come no tow trucks or emergency vehicles came by if, in Cars 2, a group of several ambulances came when McQueen won the Porto Corsa race in Italy? And McQueen's crash in Cars 3, even tow trucks, his friends this time, and emergency vehicles again did come by.
   • Instead of having the movie produced in widescreen, Pixar produced it in its original 4:3 ratio and then cropped the film into the 2.39:1 widescreen format to make a "widescreen" version of the movie. This even occurs in later DVDs from post-2006, Disney+, and also right after the movie was released in theaters. Not to mention, it misses out on half of the picture from top to bottom, which makes it look fake, and it quite so ruins the experience for anyone who watched this movie in the original 4:3 cut in 2006.
6. There are two death scenes shown on-screen, including a green SUV in McQueen's first Dinoco dream, and while funny, Chick dies from the combine harvester Frank in McQueen's second dream.
7. Chick Hicks, while a funny main antagonist, can be pretty unlikable, especially in the scene where he makes The King/Strip Weathers crash.
   • Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson themselves are also a bit unlikable in some scenes (since McQueen has a huge ego in the first few minutes of the film, while Doc's treatment towards McQueen before him leaving Radiator Springs, while understandable, is rather harsh).

Reception

Critical Response

Cars received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74% based on 203 reviews and an average rating of 6.90/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Cars offers visual treats that more than compensate for its somewhat thinly written story, adding up to a satisfying diversion for younger viewers.". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 39 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. However, it was considered the weakest film from Pixar until Cars 2 was released five years later in 2011, which received much worse reviews than the first movie, and is the only Pixar film to have a "rotten" rating, despite the box office success.

Box Office

Cars grossed $462 million at the box office against its $120 million budget, making it a box office hit.

Awards & Nominations

Cars was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature but lost to Happy Feet. Despite that, it won various awards like the inaugural Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature, as well as the Annie Award and the Critics Choice Award for Best Animated Film.

Trivia

• During "Life is a Highway", the birds from For the Birds can be seen sitting on a telephone wire.
• Dinoco is also the Gas station Buzz Lightyear and Woody get stranded at in Toy Story.
• The snowman from Knick Knack is seen in the snow globe in Lizzie's Curios Shop.
• Cars is the first Pixar film since A Bug's Life which doesn't feature any human.
• A camper van (named Syd VanDerkamper) who is watching the final race, is surrounded by flamingos, palm trees, & a pool which is a reference to Knick Knack.
• The Pizza Planet delivery truck, which has shown up in every Pixar film appears before the final race, next to the Elvis camper in the left background behind Bob Cutlass.
  • He also appears during the "Life is a Highway" sequence, at a Dinoco station, thus echoing how the truck appeared in Toy Story, at a Dinoco gas station.
• Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Hamm, Mike Wazowski, James P. Sullivan, The Yeti, Flik, and P.T. Flea make cameos at the end of this movie in vehicle form. Additionally, they were also voiced by their original actors, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger, Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Dave Foley.
• During the end credits, car-stylized versions of Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., and A Bug's Life are seen playing at the Radiator Springs Drive-In Theatre.
  • Mack even references the fact that John Ratzenberger, his, Hamm, the Abominable Snowman, and P.T. Flea's actor is in every single Pixar movie.
  • The line when Woody said, "Oh, yeah? Well, good riddance, you looney!" is stock audio from Toy Story.
• During the end credits, a small, tearful montage dedicated to the memory of the great and talented, Joe Ranft, who played the voices for Wheezy (singing his karaoke song in Toy Story 2), Heimlich saying, "Just go tell them the truth," in A Bug's Life and Lenny saying, "Right here, Woody." in Toy Story, (who passed away not too long before the movie was finished production) appears.
• It's even got a song to go with it in respect for the late actor.
• A113 appears on Mater's number plate.
• Like other children's movies, this movie, as well as the franchise has the official YouTube channel.

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