Cars Review and Thoughts

Cars is an an animated film produced by Pixar in 2006 and follows the story of a talented but arrogant racecar, Lightning McQueen. In race for the the Piston Cup, Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, and Strip Weathers, "The King", all finish in first in a three way tie. Another race is scheduled in California is a week to decide the winner. On his way to California, Lightning gets lost and ends up stranded in the forgotten town of Radiator Springs. He ends up destroying the road is sentences to fix the road by the cars of the town. During his time in Radiator Springs, Lightning meets a diverse group of cars including Mater, a tow truck, Sally. a Porsche, and Doc Hudson, an old racecar. He begins to learn the town's history and becomes invested in the cars there, spending time helping everyone of them. He learns the importance of friendship, humility, and helping others. Lightning finally makes it to California to compete in the Piston Cup finale, but is distracted without being with his new friends. During the race, Doc and the other cars in town show up and help encourage him to win the race. On the final lap, with Lightning in the lead, Chick Hicks rams into Strip Weather causing him to crash. Instead of winning the race, Lightning stops right before the finish lines and drives back to push Strip Weather through to finish his last race.

Cars is one of the most iconic and entertaining animated films that I grew up watching. I have watched this movie over 25 times and have not once been sick of watching it. Cars is a timeless movie where I can find something to enjoy about it every single time I watch it. The attention to detail is great for a kids movie as the bugs are even tiny punch buggies and the Lightning McQueen shakes more than mater when driving on bumpy roads. Cars is a movie that I would again as I can associate so many different memories with it. 

With the success of Cars, Pixar solidified itself as one of the greatest animation studios. It has become a huge hit globally at many different levels such as a wide range of merchandise like toys and clothing as well as theme park attractions at Disney. The mark that Cars left on pop culture is continuing to grow everyday. Since Cars is a animated movie, it doesn't use the traditional cinematography as in a live action film; however, shots and angles created through animation are visually pleasing. Panning and tracking shots are utilized many times throughout the film and allow  the audience to follow the characters as they move or race. Overhead shots are also used often to show the race going on. Some additional shots and angles used are close ups, wide shots, low and high angles, and point-of-view shots.