I’m also in the minority that loves Cars. I’m neither a car buff or racing fan, but I just love the American vistas (I think Cars is worth it for just the sequence where Rascal Flatts is singing “Life is a Highway” while the varied scenery rolls by), and I think it’s nice that the protagonist learned about a having a little class. It’s more than a sappy friendship story or love story, it’s a lesson in personal presentation overall. You can’t always be the best (i.e., a race car stuck in a place where speed is irrelevant), but nothing ever stops you from being a class act, and that’s something everyone values. I guess, now that I think of it, that’s sort of the meta-lesson with Route 66 vs the Interstates as well(, but I’ve got to say, I still love having an uninterrupted Interstate to drive on).
Interestingly, I remember visiting some movie message boards where people were saying, in effect, “I refuse to see Cars because it’s about NASCAR stuff and I hate NASCAR and therefore this movie will be bad.” I saw the exact same responses before Talladega Nights came out. As if merely watching these movies will turn you into some sort of ignorant racin’ fan buffoon. Well hey, I live in the epicenter of NASCAR culture, I’m not a fan of racing at all, and I think that some of these people go a bit overboard at times (when Earnhardt Sr. died, it seemed as if the whole state was in mourning for months. And I kid you not, the NC legislature actually numbered a state highway after him.). But I still very much enjoyed both Cars and Talladega Nights.
If cars in general aren’t your thing, I can see why there might be limited appeal in these movies. But they still have a lot to enjoy in them. Although I’m not a car fanatic, I really appreciated the attention for detail that the makers of Cars used, rather than just making everything very generic.
I enjoyed Cars the first time I’d seen it, but (as the father of a four-year-old) I’ve seen it more times than any human being should. Just don’t think about the movie. Trust me.
[Quote=Darth Sensitive]
I never quite got my ex’s fascination with Tinkerbell, fairies are ok and everything, but really?
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I don’t get anyone’s fascination with Tinkerbell. She was horrible. She betrayed Peter and repeatedly attempted or coerced others to attempt Wendy’s murder.
[Quote=NajaNivea]
I actually work with newts in a lab, and mostly… they just sit in a giant bathtub in the same spot for days at a time.
[/Quote]
They get better.
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan]
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?
[/QUOTE]
Also,The JimCenter Advan F430 runs in SuperGT (formerly JGTC): http://xs124.xs.to/xs124/08095/11_001257.jpg 
[QUOTE=Necros]
Also,The JimCenter Advan F430 runs in SuperGT (formerly JGTC): http://xs124.xs.to/xs124/08095/11_001257.jpg
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And to tie those two threads together even more, I give you the SuperGT “Lightning McQueen” version MR-S being campaigned this year by apr:
http://xs124.xs.to/xs124/08091/95_002291.jpg
http://xs124.xs.to/xs124/08091/95_003403.jpg
[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo]
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.
[/QUOTE]
I agree. This award is going to look like a “what were they thinking” in a few more years. I do like Shrek, but I like Monsters, Inc a lot more. Might be my favorite Pixar movie (either that or Toy Story 2.
[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo]
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 
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I agree with this too.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
FWIW, I far preferred A Bug’s Life to Ratatouille. Looked just as good up on the screen, but with a better script and more interesting characters, IMHO. In any event, Pixar has an excellent batting average, better than most studios. I find myself interested in seeing every movie they release, even if I don’t love all equally, and there is no other studio about which I can say that.
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Another way to put it is that Pixar is the only studio in existance whose imprint means anything at all. Quick, name the studios that produced the last dozen movies you saw. No one cares or even knows, unless that studio is Pixar.
[QUOTE=Lemur866]
Another way to put it is that Pixar is the only studio in existance whose imprint means anything at all. Quick, name the studios that produced the last dozen movies you saw. No one cares or even knows, unless that studio is Pixar.
[/QUOTE]
Quite true. Just hope they don’t lose that far-more-often-than-not magic touch.
I misinterpreted many of the news announcements- it appears that all of the Disney films from 2008 onward will be released in 3D as well as 2D.
[QUOTE=mobo85]
…all of the Disney films from 2008 onward will be released in 3D as well as 2D.
[/QUOTE]
They’d have to, otherwise their potential audience would be reduced by 90%.