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A review (or rather, a letter) by Jeffrey Overstreet

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Director – John Lasseter; co-director – Brad Lewis; writer – Ben Queen; based on a story by John Lasseter and Brad Lewis; directors of photography – Sharon Calahan (lighting) and Jeremy Lasky (camera); music – Michael Giacchino; production design – Harley Jessup; producer – Denise Ream. Starring – Larry the Cable Guy (Mater), Owen Wilson (Lightning McQueen), Michael Caine (Finn McMissile), Emily Mortimer (Holley Shiftwell), Eddie Izzard (Miles Axlerod), John Turturro (Francesco Bernoulli), Brent Musburger (himself), Joe Mantegna (Grem), Thomas Kretschmann (Professor Z), Peter Jacobson (Acer), Bonnie Hunt (Sally), Darrell Waltrip (Darrell Cartrip), Franco Nero (Uncle Topolino), David Hobbs (David Hobbscap), Tony Shalhoub (Luigi), Jeff Garlin (Otis), Michel Michelis (Tomber), Jason Isaacs (Siddeley/Leland Turbo), Cheech Marin (Ramone) and John Ratzenberger (Mack). Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Studios. 1 hour 47 minutes. Rated G.

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Dear people of Pixar,

I’ve seen the trailer for Brave.

It gave me chills. It looks like an enchanting movie. I cannot wait to see it. I’m going to go ahead let my hopes soar, like Carl Fredricksen’s balloon-raised house, right up into the stratosphere. You’ve earned my respect and admiration time and time again, with one standard-setting movie after another.

But that’s not why I’m writing to you.

I’m sorry to say my letter is prompted by less exciting circumstances. In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever filed… well, let’s not call it a complaint. Let’s just say I’m a little bit sad today.  I’ve just seen Cars 2, and for the first time since 1988, I’ve been disappointed by one of your movies.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not just a raving fanboy blinded by love. I’ve had my quibbles with some of your past productions. A Bug’s Life felt a little too familiar in the plot department, and for all of the wonders of Monsters Inc., I found one-eyed Mike to be an annoying chatterbox. Still, the strengths in those films far outweighed the weaknesses, and I’ve heartily recommended them.

But today, I need to voice some serious dismay. And I think you can take it. I believe you’re better than George Lucas. That is to say, I hope you’ll hear these words of concern from a big fan, and not just cover your ears and go running to your “Yes Men” who tell you that everything you do is always flawless. (Remember how Return of the Jedi, for all of its strengths, looked like it had been revised to maximize merchandising possibilities? Remember how the prequels became a world of action figures instead of compelling characters?) You’re better than George, right?

So let’s talk about this new Cars movie.

I like Cars a lot. It remains a pleasure to revisit these characters, their personalities, their highways and shortcuts, their stories.

As I endeavored to keep pace with Cars 2… and fell farther and farther behind… I found myself thinking about that first film a lot.

Cars has open spaces. Cars 2 doesn’t.

Cars has visual beauty. Cars 2 overcrowds the screen with details.

Cars moves at the pace of human storytelling. Cars 2 starts loud, and the noise never lets up. Nor does the relentless pace. Whatever clever lines are spoken along the way aren’t allowed to resonate. As Cars reminded us, you can’t appreciate many intricate details or really appreciate the character of a place when you’re doing 70 on the freeway.

Cars dazzled my eyes and warmed my heart. Cars 2 exhausted my eyes and spent so much time hammering at my funny bone with dull, blunt punch-lines that it inspired resistance instead of welcome.

Cars has a very lovable character in Doc Hudson (voiced by Paul Newman), and a hero who earned my respect in Lightning McQueen (voiced so winningly by Owen Wilson). Cars 2 mistakenly assumes that Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) is really funny and enjoyable, and promotes him to Main Character. He was okay as comic relief, but I really don’t think you’ve made him  a strong enough character to serve as the core of a movie, especially one as busy and demanding as this one. Sure, it’s cool to have Michael Caine involved this time, and his character – Finn McMissile – is a blast. But that only makes it more aggravating when he’s pushed aside to give Mater the spotlight.

But here is the most significant and surprising problem I have with Cars 2.

Cars dared to suggest, through the story of Lightning McQueen and how he grew up, that we all have things to learn, ways to improve, and maybe we don’t always know what’s best for ourselves. Cars 2, on the other hand, gives an irresponsible and aggravating character a free pass to go on disrupting things. It dares to suggest that we’re all just fine, thank you very much, and that we should be content to remain ignorant and annoying because Who We Are is more important than Who We Might Become.

I disagree.

Americans are bombarded with affirmations everywhere they turn. Your own movie, The Incredibles, suggested that we should stop congratulating people for their mediocrity, challenge each other to excel, and recognize excellence when we see it. Do the Mater-like goofballs in our lives deserve mockery and scorn? Of course not. But they do deserve to be lovingly encouraged toward improving their behavior, increasing their intelligence, and bettering themselves – just the way McQueen was coaxed toward improvement – rather than being allowed to perpetuate their ignorance and shortcomings in the name of tolerance.

I heartily affirm the review of my good friend and my favorite film critic, Steven Greydanus, who writes,

It’s a mark of the film’s falsity that Lightning, not Mater, is ultimately adjudicated to be in the wrong, while Mater is affirmed “just the way he is.” … “If he is your friend,” someone asks Lightning in what’s meant to pass as a wise, penetrating line, “why do you ask him to be someone he is not?” Um, because making a spectacle of yourself isn’t always acceptable behavior? Later, a contrite Lightning tells Mater, “If anyone has a problem with who you are, they’re the one with the problem.” So when Mater cost him the race, Lightning was the one with the problem?

People of Pixar, you are, in my opinion, the most dependable American film studio. I don’t mean the best animation studio. I mean the best studio… period. Your imaginations are more ambitious and consistently exciting than any others I know.

Looking at your future plans, I see a lot of sequels coming. You proved with the Toy Story series that you can silence the nay-sayers. But even so, I’d encourage you to focus on original storytelling, and only release a sequel if you’re absolutely sure that the story is as strong or stronger than those that came before it. There are so many amazing characters that only your imaginations can fashion, so many enchanting places that only you can take us. The Toy Story trilogy is so perfect as a trilogy, that I’m troubled by the rumors that you’re working on a fourth in the series. Why mess with perfection?

Please pay close attention to the many who are surprised and disappointed by Cars 2. It’s not a bad movie. But until now, you’ve released nothing but extraordinary films. You filled the movie with good ideas, but I think you would do well to listen to those fans who are upset by this one; they have some very valid complaints. Consider this an important learning experience. Consider it “tough love” from the moviegoers who appreciate what you do better than anybody.

I love you guys and believe in you. Otherwise I wouldn’t write this. You’re the brightest bulb in blockbuster filmmaking, and I’d hate to see the glow from that bouncing desk lamp sputter and dim.

Tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear.

Be… BRAVE.

To infinity and beyond!

Jeffrey Overstreet

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Are you looking forward to Toy Story 3?

I learned a long time ago not to let the trailer for a Pixar movie influence my expectations: The films almost always surpass high expectations.

So I was surprised to read some grumbling about the latest trailer. Haven’t other people learned the same lesson?

Then came today: And the lucky folks who got to see Toy Story 3 at Showest are Tweeting up a storm. Here are some of the early reports: (more…)

An email from my dear friend Bryan Rust (CAUTION: “Mild” spoilers.) : (more…)

It was a tough decision. (more…)

Okay, I’m going to pick the poster-winner  on Wednesday. But these are the three considerations of Up that came in. I present them warts and all! (more…)

Review contest!

Send me your 600- to 1200-word review of Pixar’s Up.

My favorite entry wins an Up poster & publication here at Looking Closer. (I may publish more than one if I get some good ones.)

Email joverstreet at gmail.com.

Deadline: Monday at noon, Seattle time.

I’m happy to see Pixar’s new film opening on the kind of platform that the studio deserves. Up is opening the Cannes Film Festival with a presentation in Disney Digital 3-D on Wednesday May 13th, 2009. That marks the first time an animated film has opened the festival. Wish I could be there.

Writer/director Pete Docter was interviewed in Radix (thanks to the CT blog for the link) back when Monsters Inc. was released. Here’s an interesting excerpt:

Radix: How would you say that being a Christian affects how you do your work?

Docter: Years ago when I first spoke at church, I was kind of nervous about talking about Christianity and my work. It didn’t really connect. But more and more it seems to be connecting for me. I ask for God’s help, and it’s definitely affected what I’m doing. It’s helped me to calm down and focus. There were times when I got too stressed out with what I was doing, and now I just step back and say, “God, help me through this.” It really helps you keep a perspective on things, not only in work, but in relationships.

At first you hire people based purely on their talent, but what it ends up is that people who really go far are good people. They’re good people to work with, and I think God really helps in those relationships.

Radix: I know you do a lot of praying, and that’s a big part of the artistic part of what you guys do.

Docter: Yes. You could probably work on a live-action movie that takes maybe six months hating everybody else and you’d still have a film. But these animation projects take three or four years, and it’s really difficult to do without having a good relationship with the people you’re working with.

Radix: Do you ever see yourself making a more explicitly Christian movie?

Docter: Not at this point. I don’t know that that’s really me. I don’t feel so comfortable with that. Even if you have a moral to a story, if you actually come out and say it, it loses its power. Not that we’re trying to be sneaky or anything, but you have more ability to affect people if you’re not quite so blatant about it. Does that make sense?

Radix: That seems right in line with what Jesus’ parables were too. He tended not to come right out and explain, “This is what I was trying to say.”

Docter: To me art is about expressing something that can’t be said in literal terms. You can say it in words, but it’s always just beyond the reach of actual words, and you’re doing whatever you can to communicate a sense of something that is beyond you.

That’s refreshing to hear, as I read through reviews of Cyndere’s Midnight where a couple of Christian book critics are scowling at me for “burying” my faith and refusing to make my themes clear. Personally, I like to let readers discover the themes by thinking for themselves. I like to tell a story and let the audience decide its implications about the world and faith. If I just tell them what it means, then I am presumptuously limiting what the story can convey, and I am depriving readers of the experience of coming to their own conclusions… and that’s the very act that makes a story “stick.” So I cheer once again for Pixar, whose films mean as much to me as any live-action films made for adults.

Jim Hill has an update on Brad Bird’s present and possible future.

First, a little video.

Here’s a stirring tribute to what President Barack Obama has proven: Even a child who enters the world against seemingly impossible odds can rise to become a leader and an inspiration to millions.

I hope his story and his legacy change the minds and hearts of millions around the world. I pray that that the lessons of his own story influence his decisions as governs. God bless President Barack Obama.

Let us all remember that he said this:

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. … It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate. … What is demanded then is a return to these truths.

I am grateful that, even in the midst of great turmoil, a woman gave birth to that precious human being that she conceived, and that she nurtured him and raised him, against all odds. His life had tremendous value and potential, and his right to live his life was respected. Thank God.

The Browser: News & links to raise your eyebrows & furrow your brow. New headlines may be added as the day goes on. Stay tuned.

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