Cars

The latest from Pixar is pretty enough, and it passes the time OK, but it’s the weakest of their productions to date (Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, etc.). Race car Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson), on the way to the biggest race of his life, takes a wrong turn and winds up in Radiator Springs, a broken-down town inhabited by a motley crew of talking autos. Paul Newman plays an old judge car, Bonnie Hunt plays a hot Porsche, and Larry the Cable Guy lends his grating voice to a tow truck. The movie is cute, but it definitely drags in the middle. The race sequences are exciting, and the animation is beautiful, especially when the cars go for drives over various landscapes. But the movie lacks the emotional pop of prior Pixar works. Your kids might actually take a snooze during it, but they’ll still want the toys.