"Cars" is the longest Pixar movie so far, probably the least engaging, and certainly the least funny. And yet somehow it's
still better than two-thirds of the movies I've seen this year. Some of the Pixar magic may have been misdirected on this project, but these guys probably couldn't make a bad movie if they wanted to. I'm surprised they can even make a so-so one. The film is set in a world where there are no humans or animals, only automobiles. At the nation's NASCAR-style arenas, thousands of cars gather to cheer as others of their species strut their stuff -- the equivalent of humans going to a track-and-field competition, I suppose. Cars named Bob Cutlass and Darrell Cartrip (voiced by Bob Costas and Darrell Waltrip, of course) give the play-by-play. Among the top racers is Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), a cocky newcomer who downplays his pit crew's contributions and loves nothing more than being photographed by the press. Overdue for a life lesson, natch, he gets stranded in the Route 66 desert town of Radiator Springs while on his way to a major race in California. He tears up the tiny town's only road in his recklessness and is ordered by the local judge, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), to repair it before he can leave.
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