Cars: can^h^h^h did they do it again?

Cafe Society
41

By the end of the film, I remember thinking, wow…I cannot believe how easily i was able to suspend my doubts about a cars-only world, and see the “souls” of the characters. I just had so much fun with this film, and I was so glad that I did not allow the “haters” to deter me from seeing this, b/c i would have missed out on my favorite Pixar film yet.

Qhat was everyone’s favorite character?? I really do not like L:Arry the Cable Guy nor his humor… but Mator was my favorite character. I just loved him, at one point I almost teared up from him. Crazy little bastard.

42

Anyone else think that 'Mater is the love child of Stanley and Lizzie? If you look at Stanley’s face, it’s awfully similar to 'Mater’s.

Loved the movie… lots of fun and unbelievable graphics… I would’ve liked a little more reasoning behind Lightning’s turn, since it almost seemed that his reasoning was still selfish in nature.

2 solid tailpipes up…

43

As soon as I saw the name of the championship I wondered if they would actually use the immediate joke - I about lost it when “Mater” said it…I wonder how many parents, if any, had to explain THAT one to their kids…

The name of the championship is Piston Cup instead of the old “Winston Cup”. About 2/3 of the way through the movie (I think was after Lighting was taken back to Cali) - the townfolk were watching coverage of McQueen’s return, the announcer mentioned the Piston Cup and Mater said “He did WHAT in his cup??” - talk about subversive :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

44

There’s a definite family resemblance but I don’t think the timing would work. Mater’s from the late '40s/early '50s.

45

I liked a lot of the little details and throw away jokes. The tiny cars as insects, the tractor-tipping scene and some of the interplay between the supporting characters all gave the movie some satsifying depth. I particularly liked the bickering between the old army jeep and George Carlin’s old hippie VW van.

46

I forgot to say that any movie that can make Larry the Cable Guy into an amusing and likable character is doing something right.

47

i comepletely agree. that is what I love Pixar for, adn tehy delivered per usual! Did anyone check out the ending credits, I loved the couple…very cute. Also, did anyone notice the “production babies” in the end credits…all the babies born during the time of production? I want to see the film again, b/c I know there were so many things I missed!!

48

Question: did the movie ever say what kind of car Lightning was supposed to be? Most of the other characters were identifiable as to make and model but I couldn’t figure out what Lightning was.

49

My favorites were Guido (the little Italian forklift-thingy) (“Peet stop?”) and Doc. I think getting Paul Newman to do Doc’s voice was perfect casting.

I loved this movie. I hate NASCAR and car racing in general, so I was a little worried that I wouldn’t like it, but as soon as Lightning got away from the track and into Radiator Springs, I was hooked.

This movie now has the designation of being the second Pixar film that has made me cry (during the scene where Sally was describing the downfall of Radiator Springs when the interstate came). The combination of the song and the visuals just got me hard for some reason. (The other one, by the way, is Toy Story 2, in the scene where Jessie describes how she ended up discarded).

50

He’s not supposed to be any particular model. Just a generic NASCAR racer with Can-Am elements.

51

No offense intended, but I think you totally missed the theme of the movie, which is that you should slow down and savor the things in life.

Anyone who says “Cars was too long and should rush to the finish” has a serious irony deficiency, IMO. :wink:

52

Dio, from this site it says Lightning was a Pixar design instead of a representation on an existing model.

53

They never said what type pf car he was besides “racecar” every where that I have looked. I will keep trying to snoop around and see if I can find anything else out…

54

*"But Pixar officials declined to identify the make and model of the main character, Lightning McQueen. The bright red car has a generic look, Pixar publicity coordinator Amanda Sorena confirmed. “It’s a Pixar design [not any one single car model]” she said.

Asked why, she replied: “I think they wanted to make him ‘the best’ and thus not peg him to any one model.” *

55

Thanks, Lieu. I wondered if f that was the case but I wasn’t sure because they weren’t shy about using real models for most of the other characters.

56

From Autoweek: “With McQueen, the lead race car, looking at stock car racing, basically it’s their full-size sedan, and that’s not too dramatic or exciting for a lead character. You want your lead character to stand out a bit. You want McQueen to be part of the stock car world, but you want something more. He’s the new rookie, he’s kinda sexy, he’s fast, he’s different. …we could take some liberties, and coming up with McQueen it was designing a car that was appealing on-screen but, you know, meets our criteria for what’s cool. So he’s invented, and we kind of took the best of our favorite things and put them together. I remember shooting pictures of all sorts of cars that we really cared about, from GT40s to Chargers. Also all the stock car images, so it still fits in that world. Through sketching them out we came up with what McQueen looks like. Then it was sculpted, just like Detroit does but much smaller, and arrived at a shape that was appealing and hopefully believable. Which was fun and really challenging.”

57

They did it again! I just got back from seeing the film, and I enjoyed it very much. One of Pixar’s finest.

Some funny little gags and in-jokes I haven’t seen mentioned yet:

[spoiler]While Lightning is introduced in his sponsor’s truck, a light falls on him and there is silence. Faintly in the background, you can hear someone (apparently Mack) shout “Freebird!” Sorry, Mack, this ain’t a concert.

Besides Larry the Cable Guy’s “Git-r-done,” we also hear Darrell Walltrip give his catchphrase “Boogity boogity boogity!” during the start of the climactic LA race.

Before the LA race, the reporters comment that cities across the United States have closed down. One of these cities, according to the sign, is Emeryville, hometown of Pixar.

The train which almost runs over Lightning is numbered A113, a reference to a classroom at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts. John Lasseter attempts to sneak this number into every film he directs, and there is even a conference room at Pixar with that name.[/spoiler]

The scenery is beautiful, it really recreates what you see when you drive. (The little European town in the Oscar-nominated short One Man Band, which plays before the film, is also well-done.)

Although Pixar did get permission to use licensed cars, I’m glad that they made up their own sponsors for the film. No matter what real-life sponsor name you could put on the back of Chick Hicks, it wouldn’t make me laugh as hard as “Hostile Takeover Bank” does. And then we’d be deprived of Lightning’s commercial for Rust-Eze® Bumper Cream Rear End Formula*! Kachow!

As far as I can remember, the sign on the abandonded drive-in reads “Closed.” Makes sense to me.

[sub]*Results may take up to 36 weeks[/sub]

58

Count me as one profoundly bored by things automotive who loved Cars. I enjoyed the story - yes, it was predictable, but also sweet without being cloying. I loved the voice acting; Pixar excels at finding the absolute finest voices possible for their films, rather than just going through a laundry list of celebrities. And I even loved the racing, presumably much more than I would ever enjoy real-life racing.

And though I easily enjoyed the film on its own merits of story, acting, and humor (several laugh-out-loud moments), I was utterly dazzled by the animation. The detail was astounding, the physics mind-blowing. I was almost reduced to tears by the reflections of neon in the glossy paint jobs of the cars. Just breathtaking, all of it.

I have been really impressed with all Pixar movies to date, but I think this one might be my favorite since Monsters, Inc.

Oh, and that little girl in the One Man Band short just slayed me. Perfect opener.

59

Best movie I’ve seen all year.

I’m a race fan - I’ve followed F1 and CART for, oh, nigh on fifteen years now (though I don’t really care for NASCAR). I also appreciate cars, though I wouldn’t consider myself a gear head (I don’t really know much about them in a technical sense). Pixar loves cars, and that’s what makes this such a great movie. It’s simply outstanding.

I think that if you’re not a race fan or don’t really pay much attention to cars, the movie’ll pass you by. But if you are, it’s a veritable feast. Really excellent (tho’ maybe they should’ve gotten Eddie Cheever or Tony Stewart to play the villian - hee!). I loved the marbles. I loved the landscape. I loved Paul Newman. I loved it all.

Excellent, excellent work.

60

Marbles? Did I miss something or are you talking about the rubber marbles from tire wear that collected at the top of the racetrack that’ll send a car into a spin or the wall? If so, yeah, pretty cool detail.

Also, early in the film it was pointed out that Lightning’s headlights were just stick-ons. Did that ever have a later bearing on anything?