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Common Sense Media Review

By Cynthia Fuchs , based on child development research. How do we rate?

Pixar comedy is full of four-wheeled fun.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that in Cars , the automobile characters do some pretty raucous racing, careening off walls, trees, and each other. A group of The Fast and the Furious -style vehicles briefly threaten another car. Cars argue with one another, lose their tempers, and look sad or lonely. There's…

Why Age 5+?

Tons of merchandise associated with Cars , including toys, food products

Use of the word "hell."

Car falls off his transport truck, briefly faces "gang" of cars; rip-roaring cha

Flirting between cars.

Any Positive Content?

Characters learn to appreciate one another's differences. Themes include humilit

Lightning learns the importance of appreciating the differences in everyone.

Parents need to know that in Cars , the automobile characters do some pretty raucous racing, careening off walls, trees, and each other. A group of The Fast and the Furious -style vehicles briefly threaten another car. Cars argue with one another, lose their tempers, and look sad or lonely. There's some innocent flirtation between boy and girl cars. Some mild language -- at least one use of "hell." At 116 minutes, it's on the long side for animation and may be too much for some really little kids. But stick around for the closing credits!

To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Products & Purchases

Tons of merchandise associated with Cars , including toys, food products, and consumer goods. Within the movie, Goodyear tires and NASCAR are featured.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Car falls off his transport truck, briefly faces "gang" of cars; rip-roaring chase through small town leaves road torn up.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Characters learn to appreciate one another's differences. Themes include humility and integrity. Some racial/ethnic stereotypes.

Positive Role Models

Where to watch, videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (115)
• Kids say (181)

Based on 115 parent reviews

PG movie by today's standards

Not just for kids- but kids still love it, what's the story.

As his name suggests, Lightning McQueen ( Owen Wilson ) is all about speed in CARS. A hotshot red stock car who's poised to be the next champion -- Lightning wants to win the coveted Piston Cup. As the movie begins, he hits the track in a race against two legendary race cars. A dead-heat finale sends these three key contenders off to a showdown. Lightning boards his transport truck Mack ( John Ratzenberger ) and aims west along Route 66, but he's sidetracked when he falls off the truck in a small town where he meets his life teachers, including Sarge the reveille-playing, surplus-selling Jeep ( Paul Dooley ), Ramone the hyper-detailed lowrider (Cheech Marin), and new best friend, Mater the tow truck ( Larry the Cable Guy ) provides the requisite proud-to-be-a-redneck jokes. Sentenced to community service, Lightning tries to escape but eventually gives in. Lightning grumbles on the night shift, but by day, he discovers the beauty of the western landscape, all big skies and grand canyons, the sort of mythic imagery that, according to the movie's nostalgia, families once drove across country to consume.

Is It Any Good?

Colorful and often charming, this film renders its nostalgia for a mythic past via state-of-the-art technologies. But once Lightning settles into the small town, the door opens for marketing opportunities. Cars reframes many youthful fancies as consumable objects, ensuring that movie and NASCAR tie-in products will be in circulation.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the relationship between the old cars and the newer ones in Cars . They have different values. How does the film set up a choice between the current era (selfishness, commercial and celebrity culture run rampant) and a more ethical-seeming past (Doc embodies patience, skill, and dedication to community)?

How does Lightning learn to appreciate and also, conveniently, enhance that simpler life?

How do the characters in Cars demonstrate humility and integrity ? Why are these important character strengths ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 9, 2006
• On DVD or streaming : November 7, 2006
• Cast : Bonnie Hunt , Owen Wilson , Paul Newman
• Directors : Joe Ranft , John Lasseter
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Pixar Animation Studios
• Genre : Family and Kids
• Topics : Cars and Trucks , Friendship
• Character Strengths : Humility , Integrity
• Run time : 116 minutes
• MPAA rating : G
• MPAA explanation : all audiences
• Last updated : September 20, 2024

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Movie Review: Cars (2006)

• General Disdain
• Movie Reviews
• 5 responses
• --> June 26, 2006

Ah, the child in me resurfaces just in time to watch the latest offering from Pixar and Disney. Usually, the inner child shines through after drinking like a NYC hobo, but this time it was in anticipation of Cars . I love being a kid!

This time around, the story revolves around a egotistical race car named Lightning McQueen — a rookie in the Piston Cup Stock Car Racing Series. Now of course the plot isn’t particularly original; guy is self-centered, he realizes as the movie progresses that he indeed needs others around him to make his dreams come true . . . What sets Cars apart is most obviously the animation. Here again we have a masterful demonstration of what CGI can do in the right hands. The colors are vibrant. The scenery is well thought out, most pleasing is the fact that there is action is the background — this shows the animators really thought out the project. No stationary shit here. It’s also funny to see how the world is setup to accommodate cars as humans — garages as hotels, oil and gas as beverages, etc.

Of course, an animated picture also relies heavily on the voice acting. The nasally, boy-eyed wonderment voice of Owen Wilson as McQueen was well cast. More surprising was Larry The Cable Guy as Mater. His stand-up is rather weak, but he was definitely a shoe-in for a redneck, good ‘ole boy. Even his “Git er done” moniker fit well!

Another surprise is Cars isn’t just a stupid animated NASCAR flick. I cringed at the thought this may be a mindless, drive around an oval kind of movie (if you know me, you’ll see the irony). But alas, relief came swiftly. Although Cars relies heavily on the race inspired theme (it is called Cars , afterall), there is plenty of side themes and distractions to make this movie more well rounded and enjoyable for the non race fans (sinners). You’ll definitely get a kick out of the tractor tipping scenes.

Cars is well worth your time and money. Not only will your inner child resurface but your kids will have a blast as well. Well done Pixar — after seven high exposure feature films, you haven’t missed a beat (wish other movie studios would think about this before dumping more shit our way).

Tagged: friendship , judge , racing

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: Cars (2006)' have 5 comments

June 28, 2006 @ 10:41 am Cannabis Corpus

Pixar in it’s tradition of making par excellence animation came out with yet another offering. The story is a tad bit cliched in the fact that it is the same ol’ formula that transformed a cocky guy/car finds himself in Radiator Springs and then becomes less cocky because he has found something he hasn’t had. Surprisingly enough that is the only problem I had with the film.

As per Mr.Catena’s previous statement, what’s so notable about this movie is, without a doubt, its technical achievements—this particular facet that perhaps blows all other Pixar movies out of the water. Showcasing crisp, vibrant and almost real-life animation, some scenes make you forget you’re watching just a 3D animation. Racing scenes appear so real you’ll experience the exhilaration of watching a real racing yourself (or even better). Owen Wilson as McQueen and Paul Newman as the doctor/judge, the voice talent is perfectly cast especially Larry the Cable guy as the hillbilly tow truck who is quick to christen himself as McQueen’s best friend. By the way Michael Schumacher, the Ace German Formula 1 racing legend, is also cast as himself this time as a Ferrari appearing in the late part including some of the greatest names in the racing world.

The only downside to this movie is that it tends to drag a little bit in the middle and you get disengaged from the movie for that bit.

As a piece of fast-speed and high-quality entertainment, Pixar’s Cars is the best fun you’ll have all year. As a last word to the wise, be sure to stick around during the credits. It’ll be worth your time just as much as the rest of the film was.

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June 4, 2007 @ 12:21 pm Norcal

A pretty good movie. I think most parents will be able to comfortable sit through it and maybe even enjoy it.

Mostly a kid movie, but good enough for adults too. I especially liked the tow truck Ta-Mater (without the Ta-) :)

May 11, 2008 @ 9:09 pm Ojay

I love Pixar, but Cars bored the crackers out of me. However I was down with a bad case of the flu when the kids rented it from Blockbuster. Perhaps, if I had seen in under different circumstances, I would have thought differently. If it’s mostly a kid movie, as Norcal said, I won’t bother renting it again just for myself.

December 6, 2008 @ 8:18 pm Redding

Pretty good movie. Not one that I’ll want to sit through again though. As “Norcal” mentioned, mostly a kids movie. (well, it is a cartoon, what do you expect)

January 18, 2010 @ 6:37 am jenny

Myself and my kids love that movie! I think it really shows how hard work and good friendships are virtuous.

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Pixar's cars is seriously underrated.

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The Creep Tapes Cast & Character Guide

11 actresses with the most oscar nominations, dc recast: 5 actors that would be perfect as harley quinn.

It's become the punching bag of Pixar, but after over a decade can't we finally admit that Cars is underrated? The release of Cars 3 brings with it not only another merchandising blitz of cartoonish, anthropomorphized vehicles for children but also the chance for their parents and other adults to bemoan the Emeryville Titans' reviled franchise. While most cinephiles tend to go rather easy on Pixar's lesser work due to the usual immense quality of their output - indeed, The Good Dinosaur is most remarkable for being totally forgotten - when it comes to Cars the hate flows strong; you'll usually see it and its sequel right at the bottom of rankings and often cited as actively bad.

We'll take a look at actual quality later on, but for now let's state that the first film was per the numbers a success - 74% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, $462 million at the worldwide box office and who knows how much more in merchandising. However, unlike previous Pixar films that had all played just as strong to adults as it had children (to the point where some more recent films, such as Up and Inside Out , have been accused of being too mature or complex for the U rating) it skewed to a much younger audience. Whereas the likes of Toy Story or Monsters, Inc. were deft classics, this felt more disposable as entertainment yet synergised as a brand.

Sure, Cars doesn't hold a candle to Pixar's best, but to act like not being top tier is somehow a failure when said top tier has some of the best films from the past twenty years in it is wholly unfair. Especially when you've got something as personal and misunderstood as  Cars .

The Pre-Release Hate Colored Everything

Before we jump to how things evolved, it's first important to note how much was working against Cars from the start. Whereas toys coming alive or monsters in the closet are universally relatable concepts - Pixar were just refining them - the idea behind Cars is more focused and thus niche; it's not about our cars being alive but is instead centered on a world of vehicles. Within that the setting is mainly backwater hicks and Nascar tracks, two things that directly affront the coastal sensibilities of the studio's previous films and the audience they'd built up. Throw in Larry the Cable Guy as support and you've made something that's intrinsically going toffense offence.

That world distinction has been a point of ridicule since the project's first look. The reveal of windshields being the eyes - as opposed to the universally accepted headlights - was widely derided to begin with and many a mocking piece has been constructed highlighting the confusing inconsistencies of biology and social structure in the Cars world (trying to explain this is pretty much the grounding of the unifying Pixar Theory ). And, yes, for a company whose world building is usually so deft you don't question the ridiculousness of how toys actually come to life or why pulling strands of hair allows humans to be used as puppets it's certainly disappointing that everything seems to have been constructed for immediate gratification and easter eggs rather than coherent story.

But while this is the only time in the Pixar canon not dealing with a world hidden our own, rather a strange parallel, the resulting problems aren't unique to Cars . In fact, it's pretty much the case for any anthropomorphized society. The only example where it's unquestionably done well and with purpose is Zootopia , and that was mainly because it raised it as a theme - the make up of the world is still of questionable logic. However, just as it didn't harm Disney's Oscar chances (Zootopia won Best Animated Feature) neither should it be taken as Cars' major flaw. And, indeed, as time went by a new reason to dislike it emerged.

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Is merchandisable pixar inherently bad.

Stepping beyond those base-level early criticisms and looking at the film and its impact, the enduring problem people seem to have with Cars is the toys. Or rather, the way everything appears to be have been crafted with toys in mind.

Indeed, out of all Cars' successes, the one that people most readily point towards is the merchandising. Even more so than Toy Story , it is Pixar's biggest income for auxiliary sales; action figures obviously but also bedsheets and bags and clothing and basically anything you could smack Lightning McQueen's face onto it. As some people tell it, it was less a movie than it was a marketing exercise. The fact the second film (which we will not be defending) wound up being the undebatable worst film from the studio while adding even more vehicles (with a boy-baiting spy theme to boot) certainly didn't help matters, but to many it was taken as was more proving the point; Cars was the big business Disney-ification of the once creative Pixar.

To a degree, this is hardly debatable. That headlight/windshield switch-up is explicitly done to give every character wide-eyed expressions that simply convey emotion and the designs of the characters are so rounded down and cartoonish they're almost focus grouped with Hasbro. Add to that the sheer scale of the world, and you can read Cars as a massive toy commercial.

However, that's really a rather simple reading of the Pixar process. After all, this design approach true of most animated films - from humans to emotions - and not just done to develop merchandise; if you're making a movie targeted at a young demographic you need each character to be recognisable and evocative. Look at Woody and Buzz, Mike and Sully, Carl and Russell; they're all exaggerated for visual storytelling to a young age range first and foremost. As that one good joke about headlights in  Cars 2 highlighted, the characters were to a degree made as they are to be likable for the movie's runtime above all else.

It's important to understand the creative angling of all this. After all, the film comes from John Lasseter; he's the man who first kick-started Pixar as an animation house and later became head of Disney Animation shortly after Cars ' release, whose first move was to can the studio's seemingly incessant attempts to tarnish its legacy with straight-to-video sequels for all its classics. He's a creative man first and foremost, balancing corporate and artistic. We've seen compromising similar issues with Disney/Pixar's relationship come from the company's move into sequels; Andrew Stanton admitted Finding Dory  was a top-down request but clarified that by saying they he and his team were given time to get it right.

From everything we know, Cars was definitely eyed as a merchandising behemoth by the distributor but was developed by the studio to be as good as it could be in the director's eyes. Contrary to criticism, Cars is focused. The underlying problem is that adult audiences can't grasp one key detail of that - it's made for kids.

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Cars is the only pixar film just for kids.

No two ways around it, Cars was different. The majority of the early Pixar classics were conceived over the course of one now legendary lunch in the wake of Toy Story 's success; John Lasseter and his core team of founding animators sat down and before the check came developed the pitches for A Bug's Life , Monsters, Inc. , Finding Nemo and Wall-E . Cars wasn't the first film not to come from that meeting - The Incredibles , originally started at Warner Bros., followed Nemo - but it was the first where the idea was less a group-honed creative and more personal vision: after Toy Story 2 , Lasseter realized he'd spent the better part of a decade making movies and not seeing his kids, so went on a road trip with his family. This tapped into his love of vehicles and showed him the forgotten wonders of Route 66, sparking the idea for his next movie.

Because of these personal origins, the film took shape in an unexpected form; tied into Lasseter's family - specifically his youngest son, born in 1997 - much more so than his previous films, it skewed younger in terms of tone and message. And therein is the cause of everything that's happened since; It's a purer children's film than the generation-crossing rest of Pixar's output, so was naturally going to have less adult appeal. But just because that makes it different shouldn't take away from the fact that as a kid's version of  Doc Hollywood it's very effective. It's well-made, well-cast, brightly designed, fun to follow and features an effective moral; an entire generation will learn Rocky's going the distance from Lightning McQueen.

Many accept Cars as what we've just described, but the perceived lack of something more (and the fact that some elements, such as Mater, are intrinsically poor) is often used as a reason to leave it in average-at-best territory. So what if Route 66 closed? That matters naught to the majority of adults. And who hasn't seen the sporting wunderkind story a dozen or more times? But the truth is that it still has a strong emotional core beyond those elements. This is a movie for the Lasseters; John is Lightning, his family the forgotten Radiator Springs and the Piston Cup creative success. He's explaining to himself and his young children what really matters in life.

Cars 2 Reputation Dominates The Franchise

In terms of why  Cars is underrated, though, probably the biggest nail in the coffin came with Cars 2 . This was the movie where the studio's unprecedented run of form came crashing to an end - the film was a moderate success financially and savaged by fans and critics alike - and because many of its issues are rooted in threads from the first film it led to the original getting an even rougher ride. This is purely for kids to the point it lacks strong narrative coherence, using brightly colored antics in snazzy locales that will only blind those under the age of six.

Like the first film, the sequel came from Lasseter's very unique standpoint. Sadly, here the director's highly involved stance led to him steering into the wrong elements; he's stated the main drive for Cars 2 was imagining how different characters would act while doing the original film's international press tour - this is why Cars 2 centers so much of the action on Mater - letting his own investment blind him to the film's actual strengths and weaknesses.

But that shouldn't color the original. That this film was expanding already controversial elements and wound up so derided is often used as shorthand for Cars' failure as a franchise, but it's really a separate result. With  positive attention coming to the threequel , though, it's hopeful that a redemption of Cars  is slowly accelerating.

Next:  Cars 3 Star Explains Pixar’s Formula for Success

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