Pixar has a winning streak like no other in the film industry. While other studios produce mass amounts of movies in an attempt to strike a nerve and in turn create a blockbuster, Pixar just creates blockbusters. So it should come as no surprise that Pixar’s new film Cars is already off to a fast start and before the end of this week (it’s second full week of release) will most likely become the second highest grossing animated film of the year. With all that said I was not exactly hoping mad to go see this film. While Pixar has had the Midas touch on all their previous films, I felt that the initial Cars trailer wasn’t exactly stellar. Some of that might have been because it was just cars on a racetrack and I am not a NASCAR fan. Not that I don’t appreciate the skill it takes to drive a car 180 MPH in a circle but I am just not a fan. In any case I went to the film with the expectations that this wasn’t going to be up to par with the rest of the Pixar library.

So imagine my surprise when not only does Cars hold up against the rest of the Pixar library it holds up against the rest of the movies this year, placing number two on my favorite films of the year list, right behind V For Vendetta. The film is about a racecar named Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), whom races on the Piston Cup circuit (kind the NEXTEL Cup of the Cars world). Lightning is young, brash and full of flash. He’s rather self-centered and dreams of bigger things and after tying for the championship he sees a chance for all his dreams to come true. After a mishap on the highway Lightning finds himself in the sleepy little town of Radiator Springs, which time has all but forgotten where he accidentally destroys the town’s main road. Lightning is sentenced to fix the damage done to the road and he must do it in time to get to his big race. The formula is tried and true but it still works and in the end the brash hot shot learns that winning isn’t everything but how you live your life is.

As always the animation is top notch and you can totally see why it took 17 hours per frame to render (30 frames per second = 510 hours of render time per second), as everything looks beautiful. Pixar has done a wonderful job of creating a world filled with cars, right on down to the little Volkswagen Beatles. Once again Pixar has infused the film with tons of pop culture references and adult humor that will fly over the heads of the children but leave their grown up counterparts chuckling in their seats and don’t leave when the credits are over as the film continues to roll with humorous little scenes, some involving a Cars take on past Pixar films. If you are in the mood for a little lighthearted entertainment then give Cars a shot. It’s grade A Pixar once again.