Cars review

It's probably inevitable that a company with a track record as successful and profitable as Pixar's will have the occasional blip. Cars represents that blip: it's not a total misfire, but it does pale when compared to the likes of the Toy Story films or The Incredibles. It's just not as funny, is far too long and is, it has to be said, quite dull for a lot of its running time. The one thing that hasn't changed however is the look: at least here those responsible have ensured that's it's as dynamic as anything the company has produced.

One major issue facing the audience is whether or not they can actually accept the idea of cars as lovable and fun-loving creatures, and it's likely that a fair share of them will not. Unlike toys, superheroes, fish, monsters or bugs, there is something about these machines that makes them much less cuddly and friendly than the likes of Woody, Frozone, Sully or Marlin.

This is one of the chief problems facing Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), whose journey from Nascar superhero to the wilds of the American desert and particularly the left-behind town of Radiator Springs is meant, presumably, to amuse and teach younger kids a thing or two. There's certainly an attempt at the latter, with a basic lesson in corporate greed versus homely values being the film's message.

However, on the humour front, there are times when the script is as flat and dry as the desert that surrounds Radiator Springs, and over the course of 121 minutes, these laughter-free patches really stand out. In America, opening weekend reports indicated families were leaving the theatres before the end with restless children, and the cumulative box office of $150m to date is well below expectations (Cars had a vast number of corporate tie-ins, which raises the point of there being some sort of irony in its message and its marketing).

Pixar boss John Lasseter directs, apparently from a pet project he had harboured for years. Far be it from me to suggest that nobody had the temerity to tell him to edit his own work, but that's really what he should have done. There is some comfort to be had in a brilliant accompanying short called One Man Band, whose brevity, characterization and humour only highlight the failures of the main event itself, which splutters to a finish rather than blazing across the line.

Paul Hurley