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To make movies this good, Pixar must have sold their souls to the Devil… uh, Disney.

It is the last race of the season and the Piston Cup is tied three ways between a legend, a constant runner up and a hot new rookie. Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) has lit up the tracks ever since he got his big break but has got his work cut out for him as he heads towards the finish line. When Lightning passes the finish line in a dead tie with The King (none other than Richard Petty) and Chick Hicks (Michael Keaton), officials decide to have a tiebreaking championship race in California. Lightning takes a ride with his only pal Mack (John Ratzenberger) to be the first competitor to reach California so he can woo the best racing sponsor on the circuit. After some unexpected events, Lightning takes some wrong turns and ends up in the small town of Radiator Springs off Route 66.

Lighting, afraid of being late to California, speeds through the town and unintentionally causes damage to their main road. Consequently, Lighting is ordered by the town judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) to repair Main Street. While Lightning may think he is stuck in a dead end town with small town idiots, what he really finds is a small town with more character and history than he would have ever expected.

Pixar is easily the most talented studio in the business. Pumping out modern classics such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, Pixar is one of those companies that simply can’t miss. While Pixar’s other films weren’t by any means unmemorable or flops, it was these two films that sparked the imaginations of both children and adults. What Pixar is good at is simple; they can take anything, and add emotion and character to it. We would never look at toys in quite the same way without thinking about Buzz or Woody. I can’t make it through a Zoo or aquarium without hearing someone say “Look its Nemo”, or “Look, its Dory.” Even though we know the answer, Pixar leaves us asking, “Do toys / fish really talk to each other?” Everyone believes that their car is a reflection of their personality and with a little Pixar magic, we see that Cars really can come to life.

After seeing Cars, I could not stop smiling; it fires on all cylinders with a bunch of horsepower. The characters were as absolutely enjoyable as they were unforgettable. The choice of voice actors was yet again, for lack of a better word, perfect. The cast was amazing, all the way down to the small details that racing fans would enjoy. Bob Costas graces the screen as commentator Bob Cutlass, alongside NASCAR commentator Darrel Waltrip as Darrel Cartrip. Longtime car enthusiast Jay Leno pops in as Jay Limo and racing icons Mario Andretti, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Schumacher find themselves in small cameos. Just like with Toy Story and Finding Nemo, after a few minutes I found myself forgetting that these characters were talking cars.

The film has elements that everyone can enjoy. I loved it. It appealed to me on so many different levels. It combines a great story (with a moral of course), great acting, superb direction and that special intangible that all classic films tend to have. On the subject of direction, Cars is John Lasseter‘s tenth film and his resume makes him the greatest animated film director currently in the business. Lassester’s first film was Lady & the Tramp and his newest endeavor is currently Toy Story 3.

I cannot say enough great things about this film, so I’m not going to try. Go see it for yourself and let the Rejects know what you think.

Final Grade: A

The Upside: Creative, original and perfect for everyone.

The Downside: Do I have to wait until November for the DVD?

On the Side: If you look closely at one of the racing cars, it’s white, has the
Apple logo, and the number is G4. G4 is a model of the Mac computer,
which is made by Apple, which is owned by Steve Jobs, the chairman of Pixar.

If you could like to see more of Cars, then click here to watch the trailer or click here to check out all of the film’s stats from IMDB.com.