The newest Pixar release suffers from the studio’s own standard of excellence that they have set. In other words, it isn’t up to their own snuff.
That’s not to say that I think it was bad. It was visually dazzling, as expected. There were the usual group of likable characters (Larry the Cable Guy as “Tow-Mater” was my favorite, and probably most others’), drawn from society’s familiar stereotypes. The story entertained.
But I wasn’t as endeared to the characters as in previous Pixar films. I didn’t wholly buy into the premise of motor vehicles having their own souls, identities, and self-wills, devoid of humanity. Perhaps that aspect of the story needed some kind of help to enable viewers to believe in the personalities of the cars — a fantasy tool like that used in the “Toy Story” movies (what if toys had feelings, and were actually animated in the absence of people — something everyone who has been a child can identify with).
The theater experience (Saturday at 5:30) seemed to confirm my feelings. I remember “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” and “The Incredibles” (my Pixar favorite) as raucous good times, where the characters are constantly on the move towards their goal/destination. “Cars” seems to stagnate in a desert town, Radiator Springs, for the bulk of its time. I didn’t sense a buzz in my audience that I had for the other films.
It’s still definitely worth seeing, even in the theater, but it’s the first Pixar film to fall below the ranking of “classic.” While this one was constructed while the studio was still independent, I hope it’s not a sign of things to come now that Disney owns it.
