Rob's spoiler-free "Cars" trip review

Well, after waiting in anticipation for over a year, I finally feasted my eyeballs on Pixar's latest animated movie, the abruptly-named Cars.

Short summary: While Cars is not as sophisticated as some of Pixar's other movies, it's still a relaxing and satisfying film, a combination of character study and travelogue that practices what it preaches.

Long summary: For the three people remaining on the continent who have avoided all prior buzz regarding this movie, Cars is the computer-animated tale of Lightning McQueen, a cocky hotshot NASCAR race car who dreams of making it to the top in record time. En route to an important race, Lightning gets lost in the forgotten town of Radiator Springs, where he meets an eclectic group of residents and eventually learns that the journey is the reward.

Despite how it may appear, there's nothing spoiler-oriented in the summary above. That's because Cars is not a plot-driven movie; there are no unexpected developments or surprise twists here. Just as you know Luke Skywalker will defeat the Empire, just as you know George Bailey will realize how meaningful his existence is, so you also know that Lightning McQueen will ultimately learn how to stop being a dipstick and slow down. Cars is, instead, all about how you get to the end and the experiences along the way.

And, true to the movie's message, it takes a leisurely drive to get there; the characters have subtleties that aren't evident until you actually spend time with them, and the movie gives us ample time to do so. In many ways, it's the opposite of X-Men 3, which zipped past its story so fast that the characters are merely blurry cliches -- in Cars, the characters that seem like cliches in the commercials and trailers become fully-formed people (okay, cars ) after you've invested the time to know them. This investment pays off at the film's climax, where you care about them as individuals and end up sharing their joys as a result.

If there's a weakness to Cars, it's that the second act is entirely wrong for the summer movie market. In a season filled with ear-shattering explosive effects, Cars' quiet serenity stands out to trip the unwary (the trailers, filled with high-speed NASCAR races, don't help any). Instead, the movie shows itself off with understated grace; the desert plains of Cars ranks up there with the undersea reefs of Finding Nemo for breathtaking visuals. And because it's such a character-driven vehicle (sorry), the deep introspection of Cars' second act will leave impatient viewers -- and younger kids -- fidgeting in their seats. But I can't fault the film for this; I'd rather keep Cars' second act as-is than break it up with audience-pleasing slapstick or -- even worse -- cut it short in the name of expediency.

Cars is not Pixar's best movie ever -- that title goes with The Incredibles, which deftly blends audience-pleasing action and humor with adult-oriented themes and messages. But Cars is a worthy addition to the Pixar filmography, a leisurely byway far from the frantic summer box office superhighway. This is a movie that doesn't just talk about slowing down to appreciate the quiet things in life, but also slows itself down -- and rewards viewers with some quiet beauty of its own.

Other random notes from my viewing of Cars:

• At first glance, Warner Bros.' upcoming The Ant Bully looked like it was made as an excuse to recycle the character designs from Dreamworks' Antz. Wonder if Woody Allen will have a cameo?
• The trailer for Flicka has at least two strong utterances of "damn," which strikes me as rather odd for its inclusion before a G-rated movie.
  
• "One Man Band," the short before Cars, is a perfect example of dialog-free pantomime humor. Who knew a gal that small could be that intimidating?
• And speaking of major kickass in small packages, Guido (the little forklift in Cars) kicks major bumper. Never, ever underestimate the quiet little folks...
• From the blink-and-you'll-miss-it department: check out the joke at the start of the movie, when the audience attendees are going to the restroom.
• As any long-time Pixar-watcher knows, stay in your seats when the credits roll. Not only do you get a nice epilogue to the story, but you also get some Cars-inspired parodies of past Pixar movies (and some good-natured ribbing from John Ratzenberger). A fitting tip o' the hat to Pixar's 20th anniversary.
• Finally, considering that Steve Jobs is the CEO of both Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, I imagine that he definitely appreciates Cars' theme of "the journey is the reward."