A Peak Under the Hood

The following is a transcript of a conversation between John Lasseter (head of Pixar, and Disney Animation) and his wife roughly three years ago:

John: I just love this movie. We should remake it, you know make it a little more appealing to kids.

Mrs. Lasseter: You want to remake Doc Hollywood?

John: Yeah, but we'll cast it with...cars.

Mrs. Lasseter: Why in God's name would that make sense?

John: Well, the main character could be a...racecar instead of a Doctor. It's genius! Let me call the guys.

It's not everyday that we get to see behind the scenes of the Hollywood process, but this particular conversation really helps shed some light on Pixar's latest opus, "Cars." I made the statement in a post a few weeks ago that Pixar had never made less than a perfect film. That's not to say that their films are the best ever made, but they are as good as they could possibly be. The studio seems to wring every last bit of goodness out of an idea. I for one don't feel that the streak has ended. "Cars" is a perfectly enjoyable movie, for kids and adults alike.

I thought I was being particularly witty with my "Doc Hollywood" comparison, until I Googled "cars doc hollywood" and found dozens of reviews with the exact same joke. But it's perfectly fitting. Let's break it down:

Main Character: Young hotshot, on his way to fortune and fame in Los Angeles
Setup: Main character causes a wreck and is sentenced to community service in small town, USA
Love Interest: Sexy, big city girl that fell for the small town, and its small town ways and never looked back
Lovable Local Yokels: Check
Grumpy old Doctor: Check
Resolution: Hotshot main character learns that fast-paced big city life isn't for him and settles in the small town, winning over the love interest in the process

Honestly, I'm a little surprised someone hasn't sued yet. But, in Pixar's defense, it was a good story the first time, and it loses little in the retelling. All the lead actors, Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub etc. are excellent. Funny, sweet, personable, it's the performances that make it okay to watch anthropomorphic cars for two hours. The actors are superb, especially Shalhoub, but the real star is Pixar Animation. These guys are consistently building on their experience and talents and are swiftly approaching photo realism, especially for backgrounds. The desert vistas on display look very much like the backgrounds for another Disney animated film, "Dinosaurs." In that film Disney filmed live backgrounds and then animated the characters over the film. Here everything is computer animated, but you'd be hard pressed to tell it. The light is what really captures your attention here. Neon bouncing off a chrome bumper, or the sun setting over the desert, the moon during the pasture scenes, all breathtaking. Visually Pixar has outdone themselves.

If I was ranking the Pixar films (and I'd hate to do it) I'd place this one above "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story" but behind the rest of their films. I do have odd tastes here though compared to most critics. I loved "A Bug's Life" while most put it at the bottom of the list. For those checking the scorecard, great story (even if it is recycled from Michael J. Fox's library), solid performances from an all-star cast, breathtaking visuals (that only make you salivate at what Pixar has in store for us in the future), but overall not a homerun. An okay Pixar movie is still an Incredible (no pun intended) film by any other standards. Rating: B+