Lightning McQueen is a shiny, cocky red race car on the fast track to success (couldn’t resist that pun!). He’s adored by his fans and is an upstart in the racing community. Everyone wants to know him. But his latest race ends up in a three-way tie and he must race the other two cars again to prove he’s the best. But on the way to the big race, he gets separated from his rig and crashes (literally and figuratively) into a town called Radiator Springs. He accidentally causes a ton of damage to the road and is sentenced to fix it before being allowed to leave.
McQueen tries to get out of it, but soon learns the inhabitants of Radiator Springs aren’t going to let him. While serving out his sentence, McQueen meets Sally, the town’s lawyer (and a pretty blue Porsche that my two-year-old likes to call “the cool car”). He’s immediately smitten and tries to use his usual charm but finds it’s not really working. He also meets Mater (as in Tow-Mater) who immediately takes a liking to McQueen and takes him, of all things, tractor tipping (possibly one of the movies funniest scenes).
McQueen also gets to know the town’s judge a bit and realizes he’s an old racer (voiced perfectly by Paul Newman). But old Doc Hudson doesn’t want anyone to know about his old racing days, as he feels he was abandoned by the sport after being in a terrible accident. Radiator Springs was the perfect place to hide out. Once, it was a booming little town, but when the highway replaced Route 66 as the main route, most people just took the highway and passed right on by Radiator Springs. Now, the town hardly sees anyone who doesn’t live there already.
While in Radiator Springs, McQueen starts to change and see what is really important in life. I was struck by the film’s similarities to “Doc Hollywood” that starred Michael J. Fox as a plastic surgeon who, while on his way to an interview, destroys the fence of a small town judge and is sentenced to stay and practice medicine until it’s paid off. Kids won’t catch the references, but there is one scene in particular that’s almost right out of “Doc Hollywood.” Adults will appreciate the real story, and kids will find the animation and cars simply spectacular to watch (okay, I was really impressed by the animation too). The cars are most expressive and it’s incredible to see an inanimate object become so human. It is a long movie though for the little guys (ages 4 and under) but older kids will enjoy it.
Rated G
Starring the voices of: Owen Wilson (McQueen), Paul Newman, “Larry the Cable Guy” (Mater), Bonnie Hunt (Sally), Cheech Marin and Tony Shaloub