Walt Disney/Pixar's 'Cars' Photo

Cars

Starring: Paul Newman, Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, "Larry the Cable Guy", Cheech Marin

Directed by: John Lasseter

RS: Not Rated

2006 Buena Vista Action

Nothing these days revs us up more than animation -- the only sure thing in the current box-office climate. And nobody does it better than Pixar. In January, Disney forked over a whopping $7.4 billion to buy the place from Apple head Steve Jobs. Smart move, given the global acclaim for The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and the two peerless Toy Story movies. That makes Pixar's Cars the movie most likely to wow audiences and critics this summer. Director-writer John Lasseter sets his story on fabled Route 66, which is where Lightning McQueen, a rookie-of-the-year race car voiced with cocky charm by Owen Wilson, finds himself on the way to California's Piston Cup Championship. Detoured in Radiator Springs after causing property damage as he sped through the sleepy town, Lightning, with his V8 engine and 750 horsepower capable of 200 mph, is sentenced to community service by Doc Hudson, a 1951 Hudson Hornet voiced in full gravel by the acting and racing legend Paul Newman. Doc, who is also the town judge, can still teach the lad a few tricks even with a straight-6 and a mere 175 horsepower. What Cars teaches is how to blend brash comedy with technical astonishments so that each enhances the other. I can't imagine who wouldn't want to test-drive this one. Like the promos say, "It's got that new-movie smell."