Cars

Whenever a new Pixar movie comes out, I feel like I'm torn between two decisions. On the one hand, I am excited and eager to see what I know will be a great movie. But on the other hand, nothing makes this Baptist-raised boy believe in the Catholic concept of purgatory more than sitting in a cartoon movie with a million children on opening weekend. So, to avoid any unnecessary self-flagellation (the bad kind, of course), I waited until this past Sunday, a full week after opening weekend, to see the movie Cars.

Perhaps Pixar has finally put to rest the idea that eventually they will put out a bad movie, because Cars rises to the level of any other Pixar movie and goes beyond most of them. In my book, only Finding Nemo would be more highly recommended, and that simply because I can't imagine someone topping Ellen's performance as Dory in that movie. I think that, if Pixar ever does create a flop, people won't quite know how to react.

Cars is, as with most of Pixar's movies, a simple, tried-and-true, formulaic storyline that is given new life with breathtaking animation, memorable characters, and shamelessly-fun humor. When you are watching it, you have to constantly pay attention to signs and actions in the background, or you will miss one of the most punny movies to come along in a long time. I love how the writers and animators put so many little jokes on the screen at once that they know it will be impossible for the audience to catch them all in a single viewing (thus creating an instant DVD customer base, since we will all want to watch some of those scenes in slow-motion now).

The animation is, in a word, stunning. Every time Pixar comes out with a new movie, they raise the bar for everyone else. I sat there the entire movie just in awe of the fact that this was all done with computers (while I think it's nifty that I can add hyperlinks to my blog posts).

And, as with all Pixar movies, make sure you stick around for the credits. All the way through the credits and to the final little "tag" scene, you will be entertained. The credits on this movie are particularly impressive, as they brought back an impressive number of the original voices from previous Pixar movies for little cameo lines in a very clever way.

I highly recommend the movie, and I particularly recommend seeing it while it is in the theaters, so you can soak in the full force of the unbelievable artistry and animation. I will be happy to join anyone for a second viewing!