Review: “Cars” DVD

One of the perks of running a news site is that you get review copies of books, music, etc., before their official release dates.

That includes the DVD of the Disney-Pixar summer movie, “Cars,” which I received a week before it hits the streets Nov. 7. “Cars” already has provided much publicity for Route 66, and the DVD release will spark more interest in the Mother Road this winter and years to come.

But except for the excellent film itself, the “Cars” DVD is somewhat of a disappointment. It’s a one-disc package that skimps on extras that many other DVDs offer. There is no audio commentary. The documentary that explains “Cars” inspirations is just 16 minutes. In all, the extra features total an hour, if that.

However, I’ve been told by people close to the production that a two-disc edition of “Cars” will be likely released by summer 2007. It is hoped that a much more expansive documentary of Michael Wallis leading Pixar’s road trip to research Route 66 will be included. Audio commentary by “Cars” director John Lasseter and co-stars also would be nice. And there were plenty of other making-of shows from television that could be included.
But this is the “Cars” DVD we have now, and I’ll go over its features one by one:

The movie. By now, most of you are familiar with the basic story of a self-centered rookie racecar, Lightning McQueen, who gets stuck in the Route 66 desert town of Radiator Springs and finds there’s more to life than winning trophies and getting endorsement deals. This was the fourth time I had seen “Cars,” and it still amazes me how detailed it is. I guarantee that electronic stores are gonna use this DVD as a demo to help sell their big-screen HDTVs.

Also, “Cars” is Pixar’s most subtle film. The most memorable scenes are the quiet ones, such as “Our Town” and the “McQueen is Found” sequences. And it’s quite an achievement to see how these cars use their eyes and body language to convey emotion, despite obvious obstacles. Ironically, for a film that’s about a bunch of characters made of metal, nuts and bolts, “Cars” contains a lot of heart.

“One Man Band.” This is the humorous short film that was shown before “Cars” when it was on the big screen. Nothing new here on DVD, except for the folks who never saw “Cars” in the first place.

Previews. Plugs for future Disney-Pixar movies, including the summer 2007 film “Ratatouille,” are included. These also were shown during “Cars” summer screenings.

“Mater and the Ghost Light.” This new seven-minute short stars the Radiator Springs gang, including our favorite tow truck. In essence, Mater gets his comeuppance after pranking the residents. It’s funny, if not spectacular. It reminded me of my tiny hometown, in which the townsfolk pulled pranks on each other out of affection and boredom, not malice. Wallis, who plays the Sheriff of Radiator Springs, plays a vital role with his storytelling skills and unique voice. Listen closely for a reference to “Songdog Diary,” a book co-written by Wallis.

Deleted scenes. There are four of them, and they total a little over 10 minutes. Please note that these are not full-blown scenes from the movie retrieved from the cutting-room floor. These are rough storyboard sketches and are lightly animated.

One is the “Top Down Truck Stop,” in which McQueen is briefly abandoned by Mack the truck. Another is “Motorama Girls,” which explains how Ramone and Flo fell in love years ago. The third is “Lost,” an extension of a scene in which wayward McQueen gets off the interstate and unwittingly finds himself on Route 66. In this, McQueen makes a wrong turn and finds himself in a ravine filled with dead cars. These scenes are vaguely interesting, but were wisely axed to keep the story moving.

The most creative (and bizarre) deleted scene is “Community Service,” a sequence in which McQueen finds that his engine has been taken out of his body and placed into a steamroller to help repair Radiator Springs’ roads. Meanwhile, Mater’s engine has been placed into Lightning McQueen’s body. This segment is fascinating, but it’s also so weird and jarring that it’s easy to see why it didn’t make the final cut.

Alas, the much-rumored deleted scene of the Sheriff singing “Hot Rod Lincoln” on “car-aoke night” apparently never made it into production.

“Inspiration for Cars.” This 16-minute documentary probably will bring the most pleasure to Route 66 fans, outside of the film itself. In it, Lasseter explains the film’s genesis from a 1999 family road trip (with video footage from it) and the research Pixar conducted on NASCAR tracks and Route 66. In the latter, you’ll see footage from Pixar’s Route 66 trip of Wallis, Angel Delgadillo, Dawn Welch of the Rock Cafe, Harley and Annabelle Russell of the Sandhills Curiosity Shop, Mike Callens of Teepee Curios, the Big Texan Steak Ranch, Dean Walker, the Arcadia Round Barn and others I may have missed.

“Inspiration to Cars” is informative and entertaining enough, but it makes you wish for more. I hear there’s enough footage from Pixar’s Route 66 trip for a one- to two-hour featurette by itself. Maybe in the next DVD …

Epilogue. This is the footage in “Cars” you see when the final credits are rolling, except they’re without the final credits. I was wondering why Disney-Pixar did this, but it became apparent while watching the full movie on TV. The final scenes are squashed into a smaller box as the final credits roll. On smaller TVs, these scenes might be hard to see. So Disney-Pixar supplied a separate, full-screen epilogue as a courtesy.

Conclusion: “Cars” is a fine movie, and “Mater and the Ghost Light” and “Inspiration for Cars” are worthwhile. So I still recommend buying the DVD. But I’d keep some money set aside for that special-edition that’s rumored to come out this summer. After that, give the first-edition “Cars” DVD to Goodwill, a library or a limited-income person so that others may enjoy it and catch Route 66 fever.

Movie: A
Extras: C+