re:mote voices

Title: Cars
Cast: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub
Director: John Lasseter/Joe Ranft

So, Michael J Fox plays a rookie plastic surgeon who has to get across country for a lucrative deal. But along the way he has an accident, causing property damage to a small town. The town needs a doctor, so they punish him for causing the accident by making him hang around. Gradually though he learns that he wasn't a good person, and that thanks to these good people he could become a good person.

Hmm. No, wait. That isn't the plot to Cars. That’s Doc Hollywood. Silly me.

So, Owen Wilson plays a rookie race car who has to get across country for a lucrative deal. But along the way he has an accident, causing property damage to a small town. The town needs a new road thanks to Wilson's reckless driving, so they punish him by making him fix the road. Gradually though he learns that he wasn't a good car, and that thanks to these good cars he could become a good car.

Cars is the latest film from Pixar Studios, which opens in the UK cinemas at the end of July (I caught it while in Paris last month). It would probably be fair to suggest that it is in fact the least interesting production from the studio that has to date brought us films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc and The Incredibles. But its equally fair to say that in a market suddenly thick with conveyer belt animated features, anything that Pixar do is still better than what the bulk of the competition have to offer.

So Cars is clever, well animated, and has plenty of attention to detail. Another animation worth seeing.