talemyn

Saw Cars at the world premiere last night. Fun event although I doubt it was much like the average world premiere.

- 30,000 seats (although estimates say that there were closer to 40,000 there)
- At Lowes Motor Speedway (Concord, NC) at Turn #2 projected digitally onto 4 105' x 86' screens (I think those were the numbers)
- 12-lap exhibition race with Darrell Waltrip as one of the drivers
- REALLY good fireworks display after the show
- Performances by Brad Paisley and Chuck Berry
- MC'd by Larry the Cable Guy
- Voice talent from the movie on hand:
    * Paul Dooley
    * Katherine Helmond
    * Bonnie Hunt
    * Jenifer Lewis
    * Cheech Marin
    * Paul Newman
    * Richard Petty
    * John Ratzenberger
    * Tony Shalhoub
    * Larry The Cable Guy
    * Michael Wallis
    * Darrell Waltrip
    * Owen Wilson

A few technical glitches, but overall, very fun evening . . . despite an occasional patch of rain and the high number of families there (although, the kids were actually better behave than their parents in most cases).

As to the movie . . . very enjoyable. More than anything, it was technically stunning, There were scenes in there (particularly some of the nature scenes) in which the backgrounds could easily have been actual camera footage. It was amazing. The story was solid and with a good message for kids. The comedy was a good balance of adult oriented and kid oriented, and was for the most part, actually funny.

Overall, I enjoyed the film quite a bit and I wasn't expecting that (the trailers didn't get my hopes up). The only question that I still have in my mind is how much a knowledge of cars and/or racing will play into how much adults will enjoy it (there are lots of little racing nods in it), but I think it's easily a homerun for just about any kid.

talemyn

Oh yeah . . . any other NC DT'rs there?

mljones99

I had tickets to the premeire but had to work. That storm that came through knocked our power out (University City) at work. I was wondering how things were at the track with the weather.

talemyn

There was some rain early (before I got there) that apperantly delayed the red carpet events by about an hour and caused them to have to blow dry the track for the exhibition race. After that, it was mostly isolated sprinkling. They handed out rain slickers to everyone, but after I got there (between 6:30 and 7:00) it was never so bad that I ever actually bothered putting mine on.

TomOpus

Thanks for the report.... you lucky bastard

Unlike some people, I always have faith in Pixar.

marty888

Two thumbs up from Ebert & Roeper .... looks like another Pixar gem.

Drexl

I wonder what Richard Petty thought of the female-voiced cars.

Joe Molotov

Did anyone doubt it?


Oh wait, some people did.

Flay

How does it rate against the other Pixar movies?

mljones99

Well damn, I could have gone. They closed the store down at 7pm... oh well.

Supermallet

Larry The Cable Guy? He's not in the movie, is he?

PopPit

Unfortunately, he is.

Supermallet

Well, guess I will never be seeing that movie now.

GeorgeP

Call me stupid, but I had no idea that Paul Dooley and Katherine Helmond were still alive, much less working.

Supermallet

To me, Katherine Helmond will always be the mother in Brazil.

cerial442

Agreed 100%.

LordofWar

Larry the cable guy is the reason im gona see it. He is funny as hell. Most of you people from the north will disagree because ya'll listen to the stuck up rich comedians.

bhk

Larry the Cable Guy is the stand up comedian that has the highest box office draw in the US(not just the south,the entire US).
I'll go see it with the entire family.

Sonny Corinthos

Here's Larry

clemente

Pretty sure Larry the Cable Guy isn't poor.

NitroJMS

Or even white trash, he grew up in Miami Beach, attended private schooling, and is a total fraud.

talemyn

My tickets were free, too.



That's a tough call, because I don't generally agree with other peoples Pixar rankings, but the only ones that I definitely wouldn't put it above are the Toy Story movies.



I've never been a big fan of Larry the Cable Guy, but I have to give him credit . . . he actually adds a lot to the film.

talemyn

Aw, man . . . you had plenty of time too . . . the movie didn't end up actually starting until a little before 10.

Brent L

Are you people serious about not seeing an entire film, a Pixar film no less, just because Larry "The Cable Guy" does a voice in the flick?

I hate the guy, and I live in South Carolina, but there's no way in hell I'd skip this one just because he does some voiceover work in it. I'll even suck it up and say that Larry's voice is perfect for the character that he portrays in this flick. I hate his standup, but if I had this sort of character that I had to cast, I'd be looking right at Larry also.

Jackskeleton

and considering the source material and subject matter of this film being about a racing car, it seems like a perfect fit.

I don't like Larry the Cable guy all that much but that's not going to stop me from watching the film.