Starring: Animation film voiced by Owen Wilson, Paul Newman and Michael Keaton
Director: John Lasseter
Rated: G
IN 1995 a fledging film company burst on to the international scene with a film titled Toy Story.
It grossed $385 million worldwide.
Pixar went on make Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life and Monsters Inc. Then they made Finding Nemo, which netted them $865 million.
In 2004 we got The Incredibles which has so far grossed $624 million.
Now they are again spinning their animation magic with Cars.
As these films have developed, however, I like the content less and less.
Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is a champion racing car. Against the odds he has prevailed over his two main rivals on the race track, the gracious King (Richard Petty) and the bad loser Chick (Michael Keaton), to contest a final showdown with them in Los Angeles. The national paceway crown is at stake.
McQueen’s success has gone to his head. He thinks he has made it to the top on his own. Before the big race, his team resigns and he makes his transport truck drive through the night to LA.
The sleepy truck never notices that Lightning has come loose and is now stranded in the desert.
He is bailed up in the town of Radiator Springs, where he is taught a few lessons about humility and working together. But have the lessons been enough to help him win the race?
On one level this film is a stunning animation parable about some of life’s big lessons – teamwork, modesty, being a good winner and a gracious loser. The values of the core story are spot on.
The worry is the packaging. I would have thought that in an energy-conscious, oil-consuming world, glorifying gas-guzzling motor sports with children was not the best idea.
Car sports could be on the nose in this generation in the same way that boxing became so in the last generation.
Furthermore, in a society where we are trying to get people to behave more responsibly on the road, and countering incidents of road rage, I am concerned that for impressionable children Cars gives credence to speed, racing and dangerous driving on and off the track.
There are other worrying subtleties too.
As in life, so in this film, motor sports is predominantly white, male and violent. Bar one, the female, black or Latino characters in the story are secondary and ancillary.
It’s a narrow and privileged world Pixar is presenting for our kids.
As outstanding as the animation is, the soundtrack is very loud and unlike their previous talking toys, fish and monsters, I couldn’t care less about these cars.
I saw this film with scores of children. By the way they squirmed as it laboured on, I guessed they thought the same.
I think Pixar should take stock, look at their biggest box office winners and return to gentler themes.
As talented as they undoubtedly are, the world is filled with enough rage.
