Me too. I hated Antz. But then, I’m really not a Woody Allen fan at all.
I consider The Incredibles as a high point for the studio: one of their top three, up there with Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo. Monsters Inc. was good, but not outstanding, about on par with Ratatouille. I definitly disagree with putting A Bug’s Life below Antz, which had precisely one good scene in it’s entire length.
Well, some people don’t like the ones I do, and do like the ones I don’t so much (though really I love all the Pixar movies). I think that’s a good thing.
They’ve all made a ton of money. They have an amazing future that hopefully will never fail them.
The future is bright.
Was one of them named Gingrich?
I’m less than enthralled by that list.
Some of that is the grease left from the abysmal Ratatouille and Cars. I hated those movies. Ratatouille had major plot problems (they just give up on the whole plot about the eviil chef hiding Linguini’s inheritance about 2/3 of the way through the movie, and switch to the uninteresting Restaurant Critic track. The hell?) and character problems (Linguini and the rats). Cars was a lot like Star Trek: DS9 – take a bunch of interesting characters and place them in a hole with no escape and nothing interesting to do. Big whoop. Oh, and it had arguably the same ending as Ratatouille, all those folks who didn’t believe in the main character show up to support them at the last minute of the movie, what a surprise. :rolleyes:
I loved Nemo and both Toy Storys. The Incredibles was awesome. Bug’s Life was watchable. Monsters, Inc. was okay. Every one of them was better (and much better, mostly) than Cars and Ratatouille.
All of which doesn’t bode well for Lasseter’s piloting of the creative effort going forward, or how well the Pixar list will go. Sigh.
I liked Cars, although it wasn’t Pixar’s best film. Thinking back, there’s one thing that I think sets it apart. Most of the Pixar films have their great moments when they’re being sort of fast and frantic (the fast-talking Edna Mode, the seagulls chasing Dory and Marlon, all those doors at the scare factory); the slower moments are good but I remember the big finishes. Cars was at its best when it slowed down, so to speak. When Lightning and Sally go on the drive up to the hills, it’s just beautiful to look at.
I had an idea for a prequel to Cars. It’s the 50’s, and Guido and Luigi leave their hometown in Italy to seek their fortune. Luigi has a dream of opening a tire store. They travel across Europe, passing by Le Mans and the Nurburgring, meeting Mercedeses and MGs. Guido would be the Harpo Marx type, never saying anything, but always watching and being a physical comedian when nobody is looking. They come to America and travel west, settling in to Radiator Springs at the beginning of its heyday.
The original was steeped in the esoteric details of car culture. There’s a lot more where that came from, if they can find the right story to tell.
Hell, I’d pay to see that Cars prequel.
See, this is why I think I’d hate the movie. Cars are something to carry me and my crap from here to there, and hopefully be climate controlled, comfortable, and have some music playing capability and a cup holder that works. Beyond that? I really could not give a shit. I do not find car culture and/or its “esoteric details” to be interesting or entertaining AT ALL. In fact, I can think of fewer topics I’d find more dull.
+1. That was my exact thought when I saw all that stuff in the movie. Even Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers, who I just love, doing cameo voices. Who the hell cares, and how is this moving the story or the characters forward?
I’ll be the minority voice and say I love Cars. That may be influenced by the fact that I have two sons, one a former and one a current racing freak, and they both unabashedly love this movie. (Any kids’ movie a 14 year old boy will admit to loving must, at some level, be something special.) But it wasn’t the racing that appealed most to me, nor was it the all-too-familiar City Slicker Discovers Friendship And Other Important Stuff Out In The Boonies main plot. But Radiator Springs really touched me. It was presented realistically, but lovingly, and in a strange way it reminded me of my hometown the way it once was, and what has been lost, although for different reasons.
To put it another way - since I’ve become a parent I’ve only twice cried in the theater at a children’s movie. The first time was Toy Story 2 when Jessie sang “When She Loved Me”. The other time was Cars and “Our Town”. And I make no freakin’ apologies for it.
We thought Ratatouille was fun, too, but the “Your Friend the Rat” short on the DVD totally blows the movie away 
Well, if you think about it:
F-1 races are really just long commercials for car companies and since Schumacher drove for Ferrari’s team, it makes more sense for him to show up as a Ferrari than as a Miata. No doubt, Schumacher’s appearance was “product placement” and while American audiences wouldn’t have a clue (for the most part) about F-1 cars, they would recognize a Ferrari. Would you have preferred if they’d gone with Tom Sellack’s voice?
This is only just barely germane to the discussion; but I think Monsters, Inc. was far-and-away my favorite of all. TS1 was probably the best, but I just loved MI.
Cars sucked gas.
Cars is a love poem to Route 66. And I’m OK with that. Not my favourite, but it’s still miles ahead of your regular Dreamworks fodder.
I’d love to see a Pixar/Studio Ghibli co-production. Something about airships or experimental planes or something. That would rock
Colour me curious. I am anxious to see a Disney adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick story.
You know, I’d forgotten about this aspect. You’re right.
I would definitely pay to see this. How do you go about pitching it?
I second this. I’m still extremely bitter about Shrek winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar over Monsters, Inc, since the latter movie (IMHO, of course) has so much more going for it - tons more heart, MUCH less already dated pop culture humor, less topical humor (how far can you really get with fart and belch jokes? I mean, seriously. It’s been done, guys.), a very original concept and setting, and plenty of great characters. And I’m not too fond of very small children, but I ADORED Boo. I’m not sure there’s been a better big-screen realization of a three-year-old than that. Oh yes, and the ending makes me cry every time, no matter how cynical I’m feeling that day. Shrek has its moments, no doubt ( the Disney spoof stuff is great), but to me it’s not even close.
Getting back on topic…I’m really looking forward to The Princess and the Frog, since: 1) it’s 2-D in design, something I’m glad Disney is going back to; 2) the setting is Jazz Age New Orleans; and 3) one of the characters is an alligator. Sweet, 'gators are awesome 
I’m a little dismayed that there are TWO sequels on the official Pixar docket…while they might end up being good movies, I really like to see completely new stories being done, instead. Still, there’s a lot of new material to look forward to as well. The Bear and the Bow could be very interesting - an epic story with some humorous elements, rather than an ostensible comedy (which is what most of Pixar’s slate has been thus far) would be a refreshing diversion, if this is the direction that that movie takes. We shall see.
Lasseter is a total car nut, and said he basically made Cars entirely for himself and people like him without a lot of regard for people like you. (It was one of the first projects on the Pixar slate, way back when, but he didn’t have the power to get it made until Pixar had all those giant hits on the record.) This more than anything, I think, is why the movie divides the audience so much.
I’m not a car fan, yet I liked Cars a lot, precisely for the reasons that others have already articulated.
Has the basic storyline been done before? Sure… but Cars does it with a lot of warmth and heart, and the incidental details make a big difference.
I hope it didn’t come across like I thought the movie shouldn’t have been made. I just wasn’t interested in it myself. Now, I’d be interested in a movie about juggling conventions (in fact, I have many DVDs of exactly that) but I wouldn’t expect a lot of other people to share that same passion, and wouldn’t think less of them for not wanting to see such a movie.
I don’t really care about French cuisine, but I still loved Ratatouille. I’m indifferent towards tropical fish, but thought Finding Nemo was great. It’s nice that Pixar made a movie that car nuts would love, but I think they could have done that and also included something to hook non-nuts as well. Usually, that’s something they’re pretty good at it.