kevinpgoulet at 2013-08-19 13:48:05:

CARS. Two major turning point moments... for the very self-centered Hero, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). A.) When Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) realizes Lightning has discovered ‘Doc’ racing alone in the desert, Doc drives off in a furious cloud of dust to avoid talking about how fast he can still wheel it... and anything about his Racing past. Then, trying to track down Doc, McQueen wanders into Doc’s garage in town and finds not 1, not 2 but 3 'Piston Cup’ Championship trophies. There, Lightning also sees the framed newspaper article telling of the big wreck that ultimately ended Doc’s racing career prematurely. Doc surprises Lightning, snooping around inside Doc’s garage, explains how he was forgotten and written off by the Racing world while he was healing and then tells Lightning to get out. This conversation ‘reaches’ Lightning and gives him pause about his own arrogance, his future and things which should really be important to a Race Car of his calibur. Lightning begins to change, moving forward... a different Race Car from before. B.) Later, Lightning makes another big discovery when He goes for a drive with Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt) and discovers how She ended up in Radiator Springs and just why she remains in a place Lightning thinks of as a forgotten 1 traffic light dump of a town. Sally shows Lightning the beautiful countryside (Pixar... never better at making me want to visit an animated place) and explains what really happened to the community when the ‘Interstate’ came through and bypassed Radiator Springs. Here Lightning has a moment of reflection... matures even further as a Racer and more importantly as a ‘Car'. That same night, Lightning gives back to the residents of Radiator Springs by fixing all the Neon signs which have probably not been lit up for many years. The next night the town’s cars all cruise the the Boulevard like the old days. Though he doesn’t realize it yet, Lightning is becoming a part of the town. A little while later, Lighting also discovers true, self-less friendship and humility... with his new ‘best friend’ buddy, ‘Mater’ (Larry The Cable Guy). I think the Pixar folks (John Lasseter & Co.) execute the complexities of ‘story’ with near perfection time and time again. For me, Cars is another 'home run' example. They find a way to deliver the goods to an audience ranging from kids to adults -and don’t miss a beat in the process. It seems more and more clear to me that timeless animated films like 'Cars' are realized because of the bedrock of great writing, more so than anything else.