Cars vs. Chickens

I'm usually not one to indulge in schadenfreude; believe me, I have other reasons for closely watching the reviews for Disney's Chicken Little. As the first in-house computer-animated movie from the studio, its success or failure will have a direct impact on Disney's future animation plans, as well as the ongoing negotiations between the Mouse House and Pixar Animation Studios. And with most critics panning it, things don't look too good for Disney.

But while trolling the net for Chicken Little reviews, I bumped across a cool find: the full-length trailer for Pixar's next animated movie, Cars. As far as I can tell, the trailer hasn't been officially released yet, so my inner Pixar geek is tickled luminescent pink at this catch.

(I'd put the trailer up, but apparently Disney has been slapping down sites that have been leaking it, so no go. The last thing I need this weekend is a visit from the Mousekelawyers...)

Note that this is not the preview trailer that played before The Incredibles last year; that one, featuring a joke with a swarm of bumblebees and an extended auto race, has been dinged by some animation fans as being a disappointment. Apparently those folks got the impression that Cars is primarily an action movie centered around NASCAR racing, as if John Lasseter and the folks at Pixar were going for an easy "red state" film. If you were one of those skeptics, give it a rest -- the full-length Cars trailer shows that the movie is primarily about character growth and development, and racing is just a background detail to the story.

"And what is the story of Cars?" you ask? Good question! Let me summarize from the trailer...

Cars is the story of Lightning McQueen, a rapidly-rising star in the highly competitive world of auto racing. But on one fun-filled evening, he blasts through the backwater hamlet of Radiator Springs, tearing up the town, spooking its residents, and subsequently getting nabbed by the local law enforcement. He is soon hauled off before the magistrate and sentenced to perform community service, doing drudgework for the folks he's wronged and maybe learn something about life in the process (gee, ya think? ).

The movie is still eight months away, although the rumor is that it's already finished at Pixar, and is just idling away the days until Summer 2006. Early word from those who've seen it says it's a winner, another excellent movie that won't disappoint Pixar's legions of fans -- and is not an animated rip-off of The Fast and the Furious.

Some other interesting things from the trailer:

• Cars doesn't seem to have an obvious villan or an obvious dilemma, which has me wondering what the story will use to maintain dramatic tension.

• There seems to be a mix of real-world and artificial brands in the movie. Lightning rolls around on "Lightyear" tires (*snicker*), but one of the characters is apparently a Porsche, and it looks like Ferrari also shows up (look at the "dancing horse" logo on the signs in the clip to the right).

• Even though Cars has a decent cast of celebrity voices (including Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman, Richard Petty, Cheech Marin, and Larry the Cable Guy), none of them are identified in the trailer. Instead, the names of the characters are highlighted, in the same breathless movie-trailer voice everyone knows. Given my dislike of animated movies that emphasize celebrity voices over everything else (with Dreamworks being the worst offender by far), I heartily applaud this reversal of the trend.

• And even though Radiator Springs ain't no NASCAR oval, there should be plenty of action to go around -- bullet-fast races through the desert (and crashes into cacti ) appear to be in abundance.

Suffice it to say, any minor doubts I might have had about Pixar's next movie have been blown away big-time. Hopefully, the Cars trailer will get an official release soon, so all you animation buffs, movie fans, and Pixar junkies can get your appetites duly whetted. Given the lackluster reviews that Chicken Little has been getting, it's good to know there's at least one bumper-kicking animated movie coming down the road...

I'm happier than a tornader in a trailer park!

--Mater, Cars