Cars (2006)

Directors:

John Lasseter
Joe Ranft (co-director)

Writers:

John Lasseter (story) &
Joe Ranft (story) ...

Release Date:

9 June 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Sport

Tagline:

Ahhh... it's got that new movie smell.

Plot:

A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Race Car | Friendship | Route 66 | Tow Truck

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 19 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Feb. 13	8:00 PM	ABCF
Sun. Feb. 14	6:30 PM	ABCF

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Owen Wilson	...	Lightning McQueen (voice)
Paul Newman	...	Doc Hudson (voice)
Bonnie Hunt	...	Sally Carrera (voice)
Larry The Cable Guy	...	Mater (voice)
Cheech Marin	...	Ramone (voice)
Tony Shalhoub	...	Luigi (voice)
Guido Quaroni	...	Guido (voice)
Jenifer Lewis	...	Flo (voice)
Paul Dooley	...	Sarge (voice)
Michael Wallis	...	Sheriff (voice)
George Carlin	...	Fillmore (voice)
Katherine Helmond	...	Lizzie (voice)
John Ratzenberger	...	Mack / Hamm Truck / Abominable Snow Plow / P.T. Flea Car (voice)
Joe Ranft	...	Red / Jerry Recycled Batteries / Peterbilt (voice)
Michael Keaton	...	Chick Hicks (voice)

Also Known As:

Route 66 (USA) (working title)
The Cars (USA) (working title)
The Yellow Car (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Japanese | Yiddish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:U | UK:PG | Ireland:G | Singapore:G | Australia:G | USA:G (certificate #42361) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | Norway:A | Netherlands:AL | Sweden:Btl | Hong Kong:I | Germany:o.Al. | Philippines:G | Brazil:Livre | India:U | Finland:K-3 | South Africa:PG | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Peru:PT | Malta:U

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

"Cars" has a lot of repeated character names from the Isaac Asimov short story "Sally" where robotic sentient cars are the main subject.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Lightning McQueen is first being chased through Radiator Springs, we see a shot of an intersection with flashing amber lights at a right angle to each other. Though such a configuration may be atypical in US (usually one of the lights is flashing red to determine the right-of-way), it shouldn't cause any confusion. In fact, such a configuration occurs often in some countries during the night on a less busy intersections. In such cases, when neither the traffic light, nor the signs can determine the right-of-way, all vehicles must yield to the traffic on the right or in front of them. Besides, this happens in a town, which, apparently, hasn't seen an organized traffic in years, so an accident due to confusion is very unlikely. For all we know, the locals arranged the lights in this way just for their personal entertainment. Subsequent scenes show that they indeed don't give much thought to the traffic laws, for example while "cruising" together on the new road section.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lightning McQueen: Okay, here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Breakfast? Maybe I should have had breakfast? Brekkie could be good for me. No, no, no, focus. Speed. Faster than fast, quicker than quick. I am Lightning.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dhoom:2 (2006)

Soundtrack:

Reveille

Truly Moving Picture

I saw this film on May 31st, 2006 in Indianapolis. I am one of the judges for the Heartland Film Festival's Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Heartland gave that award to this film.

The most famous streak in sports is probably Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak. The most famous hit streak in film entertainment is probably Pixar's feature film animation streak. With "Cars", it's seven in row for outstanding storytelling that is well executed and is (or will be) rewarded with blockbuster box office grosses. "Toy Story", "Toy Story 2", "Monsters, Inc.", "Finding Nemo", "The Incredibles", and "A Bug's Life" are the other six gems.

The story is about Lightning McQueen a rookie NASCAR-type racer. Of course, he is a car and not a human; or, he is a human in the form of the car. Take your pick. Either way, he is not an attractive persona. He is selfish, unappreciative, greedy, two-faced and has no real friends. But, he is a great driver and is tied for The Piston (read Winston) Cup annual championship with two other drivers. On the way to the runoff race in California, he accidentally gets off in a sleepy and forgotten town on Route 66 named Radiator Springs.

In this hillbilly hell of a town, he is punished for speeding and tearing up the road by the sheriff. As he serves his sentence with community work, he discovers the town is inhabited by rejects and misfits, who all have hearts of gold. Can they change Lightning and make him over to have positive traits like honesty, integrity, respect, honor, sacrifice, humility, and compassion? That's the drama that unfolds. Lightning is a hard case, and the outcome is always in doubt.

The cars/people are incredible. Shortly into the movie you forget that the people are cars or the cars are people, you suspend disbelief, and you just begin to watch an engaging story about real people. The windshields are their eyes, and the grilles are their mouths, and they display emotions as well as any human actor. The story is serious and light-hearted at the same time. The puns are too numerous to catch. And this is a must-see-twice-to-get-it-all movie.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.