Lightning McQueen (Wilson) is a rising star, a sparky red racecar that gets lost on Route 66 on the way to the Piston Cup in California. He gets stuck in Radiator Springs, where he has a run-in with the judge Doc (Newman), gets help from tow truck Mater (Larry) and falls for sexy Porche Sally (Hunt). All of these cars, and others in the dusty, bypassed little town, have surprises in store for the arrogant speedster. And maybe he can teach them a thing or two as well.

Yes, it's basically a wistful ode to the olden days when people took time to enjoy their journeys and help each other out, when there were small roads that rolled with the land rather than interstates that cut through it. The plot is extremely predictable; even the lessons are obvious from the beginning. And then there's the problem of the cars themselves--the entire premise never quite makes sense and feels somehow, well, wrong.

So it helps hugely that the script is sweet and very funny, with extremely vivid characters voiced charmingly by the skilled cast. And the animation is spectacular. The big set pieces are fantastic (the opening crash is astonishing), and the landscape design is magnificent, cleverly working in car details where you least expect them. This attention to detail fills the film, in the colourful images and in the characters themselves.

And it's through this depth of care in the production that the film wins us over and helps us forget how very strange this automotive world is. Witty touches leap off the screen everywhere, and Randy Newman's score includes a number of superb Western tunes. The plot is engaging and brilliantly structured to build to a terrific pay-off. And of course terrific comedy bits running through the closing credits send us chuckling out of the cinema.

themes, some suspense

17.May.06