john lasseter's CARS (2006)

my initial reaction to Cars when i saw it this past summer was disappointment. the lackluster trailers had muted my enthusiasm somewhat, but it was hard to shake impossibly high expectations set by Pixar over the course of their then-flawless run of films. and, sure enough, when i left the theater it was no longer a struggle to name my least favorite Pixar film. watching it again, i'd be lying if i said i misjudged it on those terms, but i was very pleasantly surprised to find that the Pixar magic is a little more evident on a return viewing. sure, the comedy is a bit broader here than elsewhere in their filmography, and for the first time certain tropes of contemporary animated film (particularly pop music montages) are relied upon enough to distract from the story. but it's nonetheless extremely well-executed, from the low-key populism of its story (perhaps a telling insight into the comedic broadness) and its voice acting (including a show-stealing turn by, of all people, Larry The Cable Guy) to the visual splendor we've come to expect.

indeed, possibly the most important purpose Cars serves cinematically is downplaying Pixar's trademark emotional intelligence and family-film virtuosity in favor of the other, less evident factor that puts them so laughably far ahead of everyone else in the animation game: their careful marriage of design and technique. while other CG animation houses seem to finally be approaching Pixar in terms of sheer technology, they're lucky if three or four elements over the course of their films belie anything resembling the attention with which Pixar approaches every single one of the millions of details that go into creating a world onscreen. the world of these anthromorphized cars is realized with staggering clarity, from their basic design (showing artistic insight into the facial characteristics of all sorts of different cars, punctuated by cartoony but no less expressive eyes) to the textures of the cars and the world surrounding them, which run the gamut from cold photorealism to warm, cartoony expressionism without a single pothole in visual continuity. most importantly, Pixar's animators infuse a distinct visual wit into every element, most particularly the "acting" that sells the characters so completely. (i should also note the stellar sound design, so perfectly detailing the theoretical sounds of cars moving of their own organic accord.) Cars is an imperfect film, less universally entertaining and satisfying than the name Pixar has come to promise. but it's not a failure by any means, and i look forward to coming back to it again.