One of the sharpest films I've seen on Blu-ray.
The list goes on with colorful characters and familiar voices like those of Jeremy Piven, Michael Keaton, John Ratzenberger, and actual broadcasters and race drivers Bob Costas, Jay Leno, Darrel Waltrip, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Schumacher, and Mario Andretti.
I'll admit the movie starts out rather noisily, sometimes even frenetically, but it gets better as it goes along, thanks in large measure to Newman and Larry the Cable Guy. They are real charmers. I'll also admit that the movie doesn't work quite so well as "Monsters Inc." or the "Toy Story" films because the main character here is for too long an unsympathetic figure. Even with Owen Wilson's casual, laid-back vocal mannerisms, McQueen comes off as grating and irritating for most of the movie, a condition necessary for his reformation as time passes. Still, "Cars" wins us over in the second half with its beloved townsfolk and its warm, gentle message.
"There's a whole lot more to racing than just winning," says one character. And the movie reminds us that it's not the destination that counts, it's the journey. In this case, it's not just the humor or excitement of "Cars" but the heart that makes it a winner.
Video:
"Cars" is one of the sharpest films I've seen on Blu-ray. It's gorgeous. The 1080p Hi-Def video is presented in 2.39:1 aspect ratio, and the colors are as vivid as I've seen. And the detail? If the picture were any sharper, it'd slice-and-dice as well as amaze with its superior black levels and edge-delineation. John Lasseter said they were going to use Blu-ray to deliver the same quality picture as the original theatrical version--better, actually, because he shared his disappointment at how so many theaters aren't able to deliver the crisp Hi-Def picture.
When the scene changes to Radiator Springs, the palette changes. Everything's just a little dustier, a little dirtier, a little rustier--but Blu-ray still makes the detail pop right out at you. This is what HD ought to be every time.
Audio:
Same with the soundtrack, which was also transferred at a high bit-rate (24). The English 5.1 PCM (uncompressed) audio is as dynamic as I've heard. The strong dynamics, deep bass, clear, natural midrange, effective use of the surrounds, and extended frequency response from the DVD are all heightened on the Blu-ray. A vibrant sound fills the TV room, with speaker-to-speaker movement making you feel as if you're right there at the track or on the road with Lightning. It's a real pleasure to watch and listen to this film in HD. An alternate soundtrack option is English Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles in English SDH.
Extras:
We've been hearing about the potential that Blu-ray discs have for delivering a stunning new array of features, and with "Cars" the format finally seems to have gotten there. No wonder John Lasseter was so excited about the Blu-ray edition of "Cars" at a recent release party at Social Hollywood. "You guys are going to be amazed," he said. And I am.
The DVD release was surprisingly light in the trunk on bonus features, but this one has all sorts of fuzzy dice and ornaments. The big feature is "Cine-Explore," the name Disney-Pixar is giving to their interactive audio-visual commentary. A dashboard at the bottom of the screen allows you to drive on "automatic" (with the default commentary featuring Lasseter and pop-up artwork and photos) or "manual," where you can switch to a production commentary track with the press of a button or shut off the artwork if you so choose. You can lose the dashboard and just enjoy the audio/video commentary, which includes snapshots of Lasseter's family and the crew on their Route 66 road trip, as well as all sorts of drawings. It'll pop up again when you have the chance to select a deleted scene (which plays in the spot it was intended) or a behind-the-scenes documentary that explains something you're seeing on-camera. It's actually quite the Route 66 drive to experience this audio/video commentary. I liked it a lot. This is the kind of interactivity that the Blu-ray camp has been talking about for some time now.
There are other features exclusive to the Blu-ray, too. There's a carfinder game that asks you to get a car in your crosshairs and click on it as it speeds by, or to pick out the car from a crowd. I have to admit that this game was a little too complicated for me. There were four options (new game, continue game, save game, quit game) and three "challenges," one which uses the movie to have you click on cars, another to find a car hidden in a frozen frame, and a third to have you pick out the subtle difference among like-looking vehicles. Ironically, the facet of this game that my kids liked was actually a guide to all the cars in the film, with all their names and some descriptions.
Also exclusive to Blu-ray is a never-before-seen deleted scene and two featurettes, "Radiator Springs" (about creating the world of Old Route 66) and "Character Design" (about the pitfalls and strategies behind the car characters).
The DVD extras are also here, including a seven-minute short on "Mater and the Ghostlight," four deleted scenes, and a 16-minute featurette on the "Inspiration for Cars." Two short films from the DVD are here on HD: "Epilogue" in widescreen, and the Pixar short feature "One Man Band." There's another very very short one featuring Mater and Lightning, with Mater singing.
But as I said, the real gem is the Cine-Explore feature. The Blu-ray comes packaged in a jewel case with a cardboard slipcase.
Parting Thoughts:
I should never have doubted Disney-Pixar. They have a perfect track record of hits going all the way back to the first "Toy Story," and even when some of their movies had a weak plot line, as in "Finding Nemo," they had gorgeous graphics to make up for it. In "Cars" Pixar has come up with a strong story, beautiful images, intriguing themes, and endearing characters. I enjoyed every minute of it.
I'll admit the movie starts out rather noisily, sometimes even frenetically, but it gets better as it goes along, thanks in large measure to Newman and Larry the Cable Guy. They are real charmers. I'll also admit that the movie doesn't work quite so well as "Monsters Inc." or the "Toy Story" films because the main character here is for too long an unsympathetic figure. Even with Owen Wilson's casual, laid-back vocal mannerisms, McQueen comes off as grating and irritating for most of the movie, a condition necessary for his reformation as time passes. Still, "Cars" wins us over in the second half with its beloved townsfolk and its warm, gentle message.
"There's a whole lot more to racing than just winning," says one character. And the movie reminds us that it's not the destination that counts, it's the journey. In this case, it's not just the humor or excitement of "Cars" but the heart that makes it a winner.
Video:
"Cars" is one of the sharpest films I've seen on Blu-ray. It's gorgeous. The 1080p Hi-Def video is presented in 2.39:1 aspect ratio, and the colors are as vivid as I've seen. And the detail? If the picture were any sharper, it'd slice-and-dice as well as amaze with its superior black levels and edge-delineation. John Lasseter said they were going to use Blu-ray to deliver the same quality picture as the original theatrical version--better, actually, because he shared his disappointment at how so many theaters aren't able to deliver the crisp Hi-Def picture.
When the scene changes to Radiator Springs, the palette changes. Everything's just a little dustier, a little dirtier, a little rustier--but Blu-ray still makes the detail pop right out at you. This is what HD ought to be every time.
Audio:
Same with the soundtrack, which was also transferred at a high bit-rate (24). The English 5.1 PCM (uncompressed) audio is as dynamic as I've heard. The strong dynamics, deep bass, clear, natural midrange, effective use of the surrounds, and extended frequency response from the DVD are all heightened on the Blu-ray. A vibrant sound fills the TV room, with speaker-to-speaker movement making you feel as if you're right there at the track or on the road with Lightning. It's a real pleasure to watch and listen to this film in HD. An alternate soundtrack option is English Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles in English SDH.
Extras:
We've been hearing about the potential that Blu-ray discs have for delivering a stunning new array of features, and with "Cars" the format finally seems to have gotten there. No wonder John Lasseter was so excited about the Blu-ray edition of "Cars" at a recent release party at Social Hollywood. "You guys are going to be amazed," he said. And I am.
The DVD release was surprisingly light in the trunk on bonus features, but this one has all sorts of fuzzy dice and ornaments. The big feature is "Cine-Explore," the name Disney-Pixar is giving to their interactive audio-visual commentary. A dashboard at the bottom of the screen allows you to drive on "automatic" (with the default commentary featuring Lasseter and pop-up artwork and photos) or "manual," where you can switch to a production commentary track with the press of a button or shut off the artwork if you so choose. You can lose the dashboard and just enjoy the audio/video commentary, which includes snapshots of Lasseter's family and the crew on their Route 66 road trip, as well as all sorts of drawings. It'll pop up again when you have the chance to select a deleted scene (which plays in the spot it was intended) or a behind-the-scenes documentary that explains something you're seeing on-camera. It's actually quite the Route 66 drive to experience this audio/video commentary. I liked it a lot. This is the kind of interactivity that the Blu-ray camp has been talking about for some time now.
There are other features exclusive to the Blu-ray, too. There's a carfinder game that asks you to get a car in your crosshairs and click on it as it speeds by, or to pick out the car from a crowd. I have to admit that this game was a little too complicated for me. There were four options (new game, continue game, save game, quit game) and three "challenges," one which uses the movie to have you click on cars, another to find a car hidden in a frozen frame, and a third to have you pick out the subtle difference among like-looking vehicles. Ironically, the facet of this game that my kids liked was actually a guide to all the cars in the film, with all their names and some descriptions.
Also exclusive to Blu-ray is a never-before-seen deleted scene and two featurettes, "Radiator Springs" (about creating the world of Old Route 66) and "Character Design" (about the pitfalls and strategies behind the car characters).
The DVD extras are also here, including a seven-minute short on "Mater and the Ghostlight," four deleted scenes, and a 16-minute featurette on the "Inspiration for Cars." Two short films from the DVD are here on HD: "Epilogue" in widescreen, and the Pixar short feature "One Man Band." There's another very very short one featuring Mater and Lightning, with Mater singing.
But as I said, the real gem is the Cine-Explore feature. The Blu-ray comes packaged in a jewel case with a cardboard slipcase.
Parting Thoughts:
I should never have doubted Disney-Pixar. They have a perfect track record of hits going all the way back to the first "Toy Story," and even when some of their movies had a weak plot line, as in "Finding Nemo," they had gorgeous graphics to make up for it. In "Cars" Pixar has come up with a strong story, beautiful images, intriguing themes, and endearing characters. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]21769[/release]