Linda Thomas: at the movies

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is a rookie racecar in a world made up of only cars. Even the bugs are tiny VW cars. He is headed for the Big Piston Cup Championship Race. He wants to beat the other racers there so he can butter up a big sponsor. He runs into a little trouble and ends up in a small, out of the way town, off the highway on Route 66, called Radiator Springs. He tears up part of the town’s main street and the judge (Paul Newman) sentences him to fix the road before he can leave town. Lightning likes to work alone. He never appreciates his crews and thinks that he can do everything by himself. He learns a few lessons from the people of Radiator Springs. Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) is a rusted out old pick-up truck but he turns out to be Lightning’s first friend. Sally (Bonnie Hunt) is a very shapely Porsche and an attorney. The judge is the calm voice of reason and wisdom for a young racecar. Lightning learns that the journey is more valuable then who wins or loses. He learns the meaning of friendship. The cars have eyes in their windshields and mouths in their grills. This is not enough to get the emotion from children that talking animals do. There is some brief crude language but nothing really offensive. The movie is entertaining but it is not up to the quality of the animated movies from Pixar like “Finding Nemo” or “Toy Story”. Boys will probably enjoy this movie more, especially if they are into cars. I would recommend it for children 6 and older. It is not vivid enough or simple enough for toddlers. You might ask your children what their favorite car trip has been. You could also explain to them about Route 66.