05/26/06 Cars

Cars (2006), directed by John Lasseter

watched w/ Leslie, Sarah & Rebecca; theater (Lowe's Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC); World Premiere Event

Can I just say that this was the coolest movie premiere viewing that I have ever seen. And furthermore, can I just brag a bit about this being the largest movie world premiere ever too?! Yes, supposedly we were part of about 30,000 of my closest friends taking in this momentous occasion in rainy Charlotte in the grandstands of a race track. Yes, that cunning Dinsey/Pixar and their creative marketing ploys...but I was like a big kid at the event. Although the weather played a bit of havoc, the night was packed full of entertainment (and that was even before the great film)! Let's see...there were fireworks, 82nd Airborne marching band & Army Honor Guard drill team, Larry The Cable Guy stand-up & M.C.'ing the event, exhibition NASCAR race w/ Darrell Waltrip, musical acts including Chuck Berry (yeah, he's still alive & kicking), F-16 jet fly-overs, charity check presentation of $1 million dollars, and a full-out Hollywood red carpet intro w/ all the movie's stars. OK, so I'm not too big into name dropping, but here goes...some of the attendees were aforementioned Cable Guy & Waltrip, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, John Ratzenberger (Cliff from "Cheers", and Pixar good-luck charm), Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub (TV's "Monk"), Katherine Helmond (grandma from "Who's The Boss"), Bonnie Hunt, Owen Wilson, and Mr. Paul Newman! Yeah, it was sweet. Only notable no-shows were George Carlin & Michael Keaton. And get this, even U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta was there (sure, he gets a lot of Hollywood premieres thrown his way...I venture to say I've been to as many now as him). Let's see...oh yeah, and there was the movie. It was a great movie adventure for young and old, as all Pixar movies have been in the past. They keep up the solid streak here, as it follows the life of one race car Lightning McQueen (Wilson), who's a cocky rookie about to vie for the national title cup. One lonely night he's accidentally dumped into small town Radiator Springs, where his boyish (or is that car-ish?) antics end him up in community service repaving the road. What he finds in this no-place-on-the-map is a bunch of friends, valuable life-lessons from retired race car Doc Hudson (Newman), and a chance to bring life back into the town he now calls home. It's your average moral lesson told in race car formula. Overall, the event was awesome! And to think, a Hollywood premiere in little ol' North Cackalacka! I sense a moral tale coming on.

5 out of 5 stars