20 Years Later, Pixar's "Cars" Still Goes the Extra Mile

It seems odd to call myself a Cars fan. I didn't set out to be one. For a long time I would have said I was not one. I could list a dozen or more Pixar movies that I like better than any of the Cars films. And yet there's just something about the franchise that has clearly made it popular with a lot of people, and I have to count myself among them. So when it was revealed that Cars would be getting re-released in theaters for its 20th anniversary, I felt like this was one movie I needed to revisit in theaters, as I had never seen it there before.

I'm fairly certain I skipped Cars in theaters when it came out in 2006. I certainly don't remember seeing it there. What I do remember is seeing The Incredibles in theaters a year before, and seeing the original Cars teaser trailer, and I remember being disappointed. The Incredibles was the first Pixar film to use human main characters. Considering how Andy had looked in the original Toy Story, this was an incredible step forward for Pixar in my mind. Seeing anthropomorphic vehicles as the main characters of the follow-up film felt like a step backward.

At some point, I saw Cars, and while I certainly enjoyed it, I don't remember feeling like it was something I would revisit. And yet, I have. Maybe it was walking the streets of Radiator Springs at Disney California Adventure that changed things for me. Maybe it was seeing Cars 3, which is a Pixar film I would consider underrated. Whatever it was, I've seen the original Cars several times over the last two decades.

And I did so again this weekend. Having not seen Cars in theaters, I decided to change that. I also decided to bring a couple of guests. My two daughters (nine and four) joined me at the theater for Cars' 20th anniversary. I sprang for the 3D screening because I tend to do that when I have the chance. I'm glad I did, because some of the best parts of Cars look even better in 3D. Radiator Springs is one of the most important characters in the film, and it looks great. When Lightning and Sally look over the vast expanse of the Ornament Valley, the view is even more breathtaking in three dimensions.

The story certainly holds up. If anything, the idea that the rest of the world is moving too fast and leaving some wonderful parts of the country behind is only more resonant today than it was 20 years ago. I've considered one day planning a trip down Route 66, all because of Cars. This time, as we were leaving the theater, my nine-year-old daughter expressed interest in seeing the places that inspired the film.

Cars is credited with renewing interest in 'The Mother Road," and a recent Pixar YouTube series reveals just how little of Route 66 has changed since the original Pixar research trips that defined the film. The biggest change is the adoption of Cars characters and images. Between this re-release and future generations watching Cars on Disney+, hopefully it will continue to inspire fans to visit the real Route 66.

But ultimately, Cars is a character story, and the fact that it has such great characters is part of what makes the movie resonate. The talking vehicles of Cars are arguably the least human of all the characters Pixar has given us, even 20 years later, and yet their world is simultaneously the most like ours. That contradiction should make Cars less accessible, except that hasn't been the case.

Watching Cars 20 years later is a bit upsetting. We've lost so many great talents from the film in the last two decades. Katherine Helmond, George Carlin, and of course, Paul Newman are all gone. And that's before we even talk about Joe Ranft, the co-director of the film, who passed away before the movie was ever released.

Doc Hudson was one of Paul Newman's final roles, and it's a fitting one considering the actor's personal history with racing. As a big Paul Newman fan for my entire life, it was so nice to hear his voice again.

And yet, maybe the losses are part of why Cars still feels so relevant after two decades. When the movie stops to lament everything that Radiator Springs has lost over the years, it's impossible to think about the characters who are also gone.

Cars is generally seen as a merchandising juggernaut first and a film franchise second. It's been suggested that the franchise's sequels are as much, if not more, due to sales than movie magic. But watching Cars in theaters for the first time, it reminded me that this movie actually is that good.

As I was leaving the theater with my daughters, I caught sight of another family in the parking lot. Two adults and one child, all with Lightning McQueen T-shirts on. I clearly wasn't the only one in town who decided that a trip down Route 66 was something that was needed.

Cars is in theaters now.