Oklahoma premiere of “Cars”

I attended the Oklahoma premiere of "Cars" on Saturday in Oklahoma City. It was a fundraiser for the Oklahoma Library Association's Endowment fund, and it was a big success. The massive big screen at Harkins Theatres in Bricktown was sold out.

Simply put, "Cars" was magnificent. I'm not going to provide you too many details, because much of the joy will come from discovering the film's many pleasures for yourself. And Red Fork Hippie Chick, who accompanied me to the premiere, wrote a better, spoiler-free review than I ever could.

Michael Wallis, a Route 66 consultant for Pixar who also portrayed the Sheriff in the film, said before the screening: "There are scenes in here that'll make you cry like a baby. There are other scenes that'll make you laugh until you cry."

I will, however, expound on some things that struck me about the film.

— The screenplay and dialogue, if it were seen on paper, would seem remarkably bare-bones. I think this is on purpose; "Cars" is so visually stunning that a complicated screenplay would put viewers into sensory overload. That's not to say that "Cars" is dumb or unsophisticated … hardly. But there is a certain economy to the storyline, and that's not a bad thing.

— The film is a love letter to Route 66, but it's also a mash note to the olden days of NASCAR. In recent years, I've heard grumbling from longtime fans about how NASCAR has become boring and antiseptic in recent years because of corporations and play-it-safe drivers. "Cars" recalls an era in which drivers and their sponsors held honor and sportsmanship in high esteem as well as winning. "Cars" will leave many a NASCAR fan over 40 very nostalgic.

— One of the film's many effective moments is a tribute to neon lighting. Neon has gotten a bum rap for many years. A lot of folks deride it as "tacky" or archaic. "Cars" shows the beauty and grace of neon lighting, and I hope this will spur a greater use of this wonderful medium on Route 66 and elsewhere.

Without further ado, here are a few photos I took at the premiere and reception afterword.

Michael Wallis (center) autographs complementary movie posters for Cars fans after the screening.

Dawn Welch (right), owner of the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla., and the inspiration for Sally the Porsche, signs autographs after the premiere.

A reception at the governor's mansion after the premiere included a display of classic cars similar to those seen in the film.

The Red Fork Hippie Chick poses with a cutout of the movie's Cozy Cone Motel, which was patterned on a combination of the Wigwam Motels in Holbrook, Ariz., and San Bernardino, Calif., and the Blue Swallow Motel (which boasts of "100 percent refrigerated air") in Tucumcari, N.M.