Sun setting on my weekend. I came into the living room to write. My son's watching Pixar's Cars, the first one, and in my opinion, the best one.
I'd forgotten what an amazing film it is.
When I first heard the next Pixar film was about talking cars, I was skeptical. They'd hit home runs with Toy Story 1 & 2, Bugs Life, Monster's Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. I wasn't sure this new film could measure up to what had come before. Needless to say, they hadn't made anything like Cars before. Maybe that's part of the reason why it's so good.
Growing up, we took our share of car trips, mostly to Idaho and back, but occasionally, we'd travel in the desert. The panoramic views of the wide expanse of desert terrain reminded me of my my childhood. I heard one of the creators of the film was inspired by childhood car trips to California. It definitely shows.
As I watched, I realized some of the amazing talent in film that are no longer with us. Paul Newman, George Carlin, and Tom Maglizzi. There may be others that I'm not aware of, and as time goes on, we'll lose even more.
I was born in the 1960s, a time when most of the US interstate system was in place, but not all. Many of those road trips, we had to leave the freeway and drive through small towns. Watching the history of our country through an animated film about talking cars is a fascinating way to drive the point home (sorry...). It makes me want to get in the car and drive across the country, but not on the interstate. There's a world out there few see. Throw in James Taylor's Our Town, and it's enough to break your heart.
Pixar changed the way we not only watch animated films, but how they're made. They also create stories that touch us inside. Cars did that for me, and apparently, still does it thirteen years later.
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