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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Cars (2006)

Cars (2006)

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Released 25-Oct-2006

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Animation Teaser Trailer-Ratatouille
Credits-Epilogue Scene
Easter Egg
Main Menu Animation
Bonus Episode-Mater and the Ghostlight
Bonus Episode-One Man Band
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2006
Running Time 111:46 (Case: 86)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By John Lasseter
Joe Ranft
Studio
Distributor

Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.
Starring Owen Wilson
Paul Newman
Bonnie Hunt
Larry The Cable Guy
Cheech Marin
Tony Shalhoub
Guido Quaroni
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI $35.95 Music Randy Newman
Ken Schretzmann
William Cone


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Unknown English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format ?
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes, Funny Credits

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    There is no probably no greater success story in cinema today than Pixar Animation Studios. From humble beginnings making computer generated shorts it has developed into a goliath with seven films that not only saw it at the forefront of CGI but also critical and box office darlings. More than mere dollars are involved here - the Pixar films are resonant works of art that will be watchable for years to come.

    Cars is another fine addition to the Pixar stable. It was received somewhat more coolly than other Pixar films , not surprising when you consider that their last two films, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, were nigh on cinematic masterpieces. Perhaps some of the coolness had to do with the perceived glut of animated movies on the market at the time of release and also the difficulty that audiences have fully identifying with steel and rubber. The challenge for Pixar animators was to make motor vehicles as fluffily friendly as cheeky raccoons and smart aleck cats. They do so by using only eyes and mouths. Cars may not have the instant appeal of Finding Nemo but for my money it is an equal work and pays dividends on repeated viewings.

    The origin of Cars is explained in the Making of feature that accompanies the DVD. Co-director and Pixar chief John Lasseter had come off a string of successes which saw him working flat out for 10 years. His wife sat him down and explained that his devotion to other children's happiness may result in him missing the experience of seeing his own children grow up. So he took 3 months off, bought a camper and drove the family through the backwaters of America keeping off the interstate highways. The trip was a revelation to him and he was much moved by the stories told about the effect that the interstate had on the old Route 66 towns that it bypassed. He was inspired to sit down and write, with the sadly deceased Joe Ranft, a story about slowing down and smelling the roses.

    Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is a young, cocky and brash race car. He is one of three finalists vying for racing's greatest honour - the Piston Cup. His arrogance has seen him unable to work with a pit crew and his only support is his truck Mac (John Ratzenberger - a veteran of every Pixar feature). After a dead heat the Piston Cup comes down to one big race to be run in a week's time. On the way to the race Mac and Lightning are separated. Spooked in the wide open spaces at night Lightning accidentally gets involved in a police chase and tears up the main street of a small town that time forgot - Radiator Springs.

    After a court hearing he is sentenced by town judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) to community service: he must repair the road towing a disgusting old tar boiler. For finely tuned thoroughbred Lightning this is the ultimate indignity. What's worse, he is annoyed by the doltish attention of local hick Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and mean ex-city Porsche Sally (Bonnie Hunt).

    In a nod to Doc Hollywood, Lightning undergoes a quiet transformation when forced to slow down and he comes to appreciate the value of caring for others and making enduring friendships. The question is: when it comes to crunch time and the big race will he maintain the new found values or revert to his old ways?

    Cars owes much of its success to the superb voice performances as well as the all-round production values. Slacker Wilson plays somewhat against type as the very focused and self absorbed Lightning and Newman is a good foil as the car that turned his back on the racing world. Hunt is a nice mix of sassiness and heart and the list of supporting players is all quality. Special mention should go to Larry the Cable Guy for investing Mater with the charm that makes him a memorable sidekick.

    As with other Pixar films Cars is no 80 minute kid flick (although the case mistakenly times it at 86 minutes). It is two hours of story and character development and some found it a little slow, particularly in the long second act where Lightning gradually opens his eyes to the real world. Upon repeated viewing, however, it is these scenes that give gravitas to the closing scenes, in particular to the final moments which owe a debt to the John Landy/Ron Clarke 1500m race at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Cars delivers as much emotional weight and nostalgia as it does Days of Thunder noise and heat.

    When the film was released cinematically some commented that it was a step down in animation from The Incredibles. On DVD it is a triumph. Every sparkle and gleam of Lightning bears witness to the incredible work that must have gone into animating this film. It is a worthy addition to the pantheon of Pixar's triumphs and an essential addition to any DVD collection.

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Transfer Quality

Video

   Cars is presented on DVD in a 2.38:1 aspect ratio, close to its original 2.35:1 cinematic ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    In the cinema Cars was a good looking film. On DVD it looks even better. The vibrancy of the colours and detail of the animation are superlative.

    There are any number of points to look at to illustrate the beauty of this transfer. The race scenes at 5:03 and 90:00 onwards are triumphs of speed in motion whereas the waterfall-backed country drive at 105:04 is a hyper real treat. Neons and reflections fill the screen at 81:25 in my favourite scene.

    The transfer is immaculate without a speck or compression problem in sight.

    The film has subtitles in English and English for the hearing impaired which both give a good account of dialogue and in the latter case on-screen action.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

   Cars has an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack running at 384Kb/s. It is THX certified.

    Whilst Finding Nemo was a masterpiece of delicate sound Cars is a full throttled aural experience. On any decent surround system the screaming race engines will power up the subwoofer and lift the roof. This is a movie to tell the kids to turn down!

    It is not just grunt though. The sound design is quite masterful with the sound of each engine differing and given its own character. Even the gentle noise of tyres on gravel is brought wonderfully to life. These fake cars sound real. Pixar have always been foremost in sound editing and Cars is a shining example.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     Pixar films are often presented on DVD with a wealth of extras. The pickings are somewhat slimmer this time around as this is a single disc affair unlike Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. The features are, however, quite sufficient.

Ratatouille 1:38

    Decide for yourself whether this is a bonus or an annoyance. This is the trailer for the next Pixar Project, Ratatouille, due out next year. It can be skipped.

Main Menu

    The Main Menu begins with some vision of Lightning in full flight backed by some pumping "driving" music.

Epilogue 4:07

    This is a full screen version of the closing credits from the movie which feature a few funny references to previous Pixar films as well as a joke on the use of John Ratzenberger in all the films. It is fun to watch once in this full screen mode.

Inspiration For Cars 7:05

    This is a short film where John Lasseter tells the story about his travels along Route 66. We get to meet one of the locals of a town that was left to die when the interstate rolled past. Lasseter and his father talk about the car journeys they took when John was a young lad and how that shaped his love of the journey. As he says in the featurette : It's not the destination that counts - it's the journey!

Deleted Scenes 10:08

    These scenes are presented in storyboard form using fill-in voice talent. The scenes are: Top Down Truck Stop, Lost, Community Service and Motorama Girls. The first two really just expand on Lightning's separation from Mack and are no loss. The Community Service scene is bizarre. Lightning wakes to find that his engine (which is the brain of the cars) has been put into a steamroller and then Mater takes his body for a spin. This scene is a bit creepy and was wisely left out.

One Man Band 4:21

    This is the short film that was shown before Cars at the cinema and was itself nominated for an Oscar. It tells the simple story of a young girl with a coin who is the subject of the attention of two extraordinary buskers, one using strings and the other horns and percussion. It has a Venetian arty look and is a mini delight.

Mater and the Ghostlight 6:51

    This short film is a chance for fans of Mater to see a little bit more of him in action. After pulling pranks on the good cars of Radiator Springs Mater is taught a lesson by way of a spooky story about the ghost light that haunts the road at night. The film is a nice addition to the DVD.

Easter Egg

    Wait till the Dynaco Logo comes up on the Main Menu Screen and click on it to see a very short take off of the Pixar feature Boundin' featuring Mater and Lightning. It is a nice little treat.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    Cars is available worldwide in the same edition as present in Region 4 ( although there is a full screen version in Region 1 too). The Region 1 DVD apparently has a longer Inspiration For Cars featurette clocking in at 16:02.

A reader has brought to my attention that Ezy-DVD were offering an edition of the DVD with an extra disc of features. Apparently this was an exclusive to them, Sanity and Virgin. Information about the added features are as follows:

DISC TWO - Geared Up Bonus DVD Disc (44:12 / 'Play All' option)

Rascal Flatts "Life Is A Highway" Music Video (5:05)

Making Of "Life Is A Highway" Music Video (6:49)

Making Of The Music (6:56)

Life Size McQueen and Sally (3:05)

Meet Pixar's Gear Heads (2:42)

Talkin' Cars (2:24)

Cars Alter Egos (3:36)

Dinner At The Big Texan (3:23)

Day In The Life Of A Producer (3:12)

Hot Laps In Sonoma (3:21)

Worldwide Cars (3:37)

Not having seen any of these features I can't comment on their worth - although I have some doubts about the making of feature relating to the music video! But for ardent Cars fans this may be a great treat if you can still find it.

For those into fun packaging the ordinary edition comes with a lenticular cover and there are also editions available in a tin and with a bonus keyring.

Summary

    Cars may not have had the superheroes of The Incredibles or the cute fish of Finding Nemo but it deserves a place alongside those films and the other great works of Pixar.

    The DVD features an excellent transfer of this exciting and vibrant (and loud) movie.

    The extras may be short by comparison to other Pixar releases but are quality additions.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Trevor Darge (read my bio)
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DVR 630H-S, using Component output
DisplayPanasonic TH-50PV60A 50' Plasma. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080i.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationOnkyo TX - SR603
SpeakersOnkyo 6.1 Surround

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