Va-Roooooom!
My wife, eight-year-old and I went to the movies last night. Chandler, the eight-year-old, read the Redhawks baseball schedule and thought the farm team for the Texas Rangers was in town tonight.
Unfortunately, they weren't. Still gotta work on that baseball schedule with him. (Now I've gotta recheck the handicapping he did for the horse races at Remington Park!)
So we ended up at the movies. We were out and about anyway. A quick call to my seventeen-year-old, who was catching up on his gossip on-line, gave us the movie times. My wife put the pedal to the metal and got us to the church -- er, theater -- on time.
We settled into air-conditioned comfort and watched Cars on its opening night. I have to admit, having a child is a free pass to kids' movies. Nobody looks at you strangely for going. If you're not a parent, God willing you're an uncle or an aunt so you'll catch the latest wave of great animated movies. (See? I don't even call them cartoons anymore!)
Set in a peopleless-world where cars are personified, Cars is absolutely delicious, a true work of digital magic that has heart and soul as well. But this has got to be the oldest story in the books, after that whole murder mystery thing of Cain slaying Abel. Owen Wilson stars as the voice of Lightning McQueen, the hotshot rookie car who's breaking all the records and looking at a true shot at the almighty Piston Cup. Unfortunately, he's an egotistical little snot who's just out for himself and doesn't care about anyone else.
As a result of pushing his truck too hard, too far, Lightning ends up tearing up the streets -- literally -- of downtown Radiator Springs, a town along fabulous Route 66 that got orphaned when Interstate 40 went through only a few miles away. Forced to make restitution on the damage he's done, Lightning struggles to build a new road. During his incarceration, he meets the other vehicles in town, finds a friend, finds a love, and finds the Hudson Hornet, the race car that took the racing world by storm in the 1950s. The Hudson Hornet is known as Doc these days, and the voice is provided by Paul Newman, offsetting Owen Wilson's personality perfectly.
Although predictable, the movie nonetheless delivers action and emotion. Sherry, Chandler and I were blown away by the antics of Lightning and Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) as they go tractor-tipping (cows/farms, tractors/farms, and ya kin snicker when ya say that pardner!).
Cars is an absolute blast. Take the kids if you have some. Borrow some if you don't. Pixar is filled with more magic than you'll find in a fairy's dusty tushie, and this feature is a prime example of that.
!! Be sure to stay around for the credit roll. There's a whole boatload of material you'll miss if you don't!!
This is one summer movie you'll have to see even if you just bite the bullet and go as an adult with no excuses. Git 'r done!
No comments:
Post a Comment