With voices by Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy
BY LEAH ROZEN
ANIMATED
This summer, Hollywood is quick on the draw. The funniest, most heartfelt movies so far are both full-length cartoons. First came Over the Hedge; now there's Cars, a piquant tale about a flashy race car, Lightning McQueen (Wilson), who discovers the true value of friendship while stuck in a sleepy desert hamlet. Cars's characters are all automobiles, right down to the tiny, winged Volkswagen Beetles that buzz around like flies. Opening at a racetrack, the film starts off loud and confusing but picks up narrative momentum once our conceited hero accidentally wanders into tiny Radiator Springs. There, he learns to take a brake and courts a shapely Porsche (Hunt).
While satisfying, Cars isn't quite up to such earlier Pixar classics as Toy Story or Finding Nemo. The problem: the cars. Gleaming hulks of metal and even rusted jalopies don't anthropomorphize visually as winningly as animals and sea creatures—windshields just aren't that expressive. Which makes the voice work key. Fortunately, it's in capable hands here with Newman, as a wise old sedan, creating a particularly vivid character. (Note: Sit tight through the end credits to see hilarious, auto-centric parodies of previous Pixar hits.) (G)
[STARS 3]
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