Cars

I don't recall any violence of concern in this movie, but kids' movies did get away with quite a lot back then. People were not as sensitive in 2006 as they are today regarding the sexual content and language. Although it was rated G in 2006, it would NEVER get the same rating today. There are three things in the movie that would scale this movie up to a PG rating: (1) The adult humor of two Mazda Miata characters flashing their "headlights," which imply female breasts. (2) One car calls a minivan "sexy." Kids younger than 11-13 should not repeat that word. (3) The derogatory term and the mild swear word, "h*llb*lly" and "hell," respectively, both are used in the very same sentence at the very same time by the main character. The movie is high quality for ages 5 and up, but the content is more geared towards an 8+ audience. It would be PG today.

My brother was obsessed with this when he was 6 going on 7. He made me watch it and I actually fell in love even though I was 18! Funnily enough he moved on from the phase rather quickly but I didn't. I think marketing it to toddlers is RIDICULOUS, but it's really great for kids around his age and also for teenagers. If they can get past their embarrassment at "liking a kids movie." In some ways I think older people will enjoy it more. I say this because I love analysing books and movies and picking apart what they mean. My brother not only doesn't care for all that but finds it incredibly annoying when I do it. Also, it's not for hpyer-sensitive kids. The action can be a little much, and as someone who was super sensitive to a lot of things (but visual media in particular) as a young girl in the marketed age range, the intense action would've made me extremely uncomfortable. However, plenty of kids (like my brother) really loved it, so I feel like cases such as mine are more the exception than the norm. And I loved it at 18. Lightning McQueen was our favourite character. I loved how complex he is. I think my brother mostly just thought he was "cool," but I know he picked up on and appreciated his character arc as well. I've heard him being described as a bad role model- but no, I disagree. He starts out pretty unlikable, but learns a lot and we learn with him. It doesn't just suddenly happen at the end but is an ongoing process, and he teaches us a lot of great life lessons. Let me explain. "Great life lessons," there it is... no joke, I'm OBSESSED with positive messages, which is probably why I love this movie. It has such positive messaging in it. The overarching message of the movie is that friendship and being a loving, compassionate person is what truly makes a successful life. At the start of the film, it's clear to me that Lightning isn't very happy. His actions aren't the actions of a secure, confident car. He's clearly lonely and insecure, which gives him a competitive streak and a need for validation. Why else do you think he insists on being a "one man show," is embarrassed by Rust-Eze and acts as if getting Dinoco as a sponsor is a life or death situation? And hasn't anyone noticed how nervous he sounds when he says "focus," right at the beginning of the movie? He constantly feels the need to "prove himself" to everyone, always thinking he has to win and be the best all the time, thinking that will make him feel loved and accepted. That praise will fill the void inside. It doesn't though, of course. Life doesn't work like that. But that's what it's like being a perfectionist and an overachiever. So he ends up in Radiator Springs (which, by the way, is the MOST wholesome place ever), and as he little by little lets his guard down to the people there, he realises that he is a lot happier. He learns about Doc's crash, and he realises that the general attitude of the racing industry is toxic. He finds friendship and love, starts to treat people with kindness rather than just using them as stepping stones, and THIS, not praise and fame, is what fills the void inside. He becomes a lot more secure and confident, to the point where he sacrifices winning the Piston Cup to save the King. This, and the fact that he turns down the Dinoco sponsorship afterwards, are the best indicators of his character development. I've watched all 3 movies (not the 4th one which I only just found out about and can't imagine being necessary anyway) and all of them feature him battling his arrogant and competitive tendencies and emerging victorious. In a way, his racing is a metaphor for his internal conflict- the race or competition within his mind. It can be hard for him and he's certainly not perfect at it, but he definitely tries his best and pushes himself not only to be the best racer, but the best person he can be. This leads him to make a profound positive impact on the racing industry. This is such a positive message. Rather than striving to be better than everyone else, strive to be the very best YOU can be. Yep, when I said complex character I meant complex character. While some people might argue that all this stuff goes over kids heads and all they see is an arrogant car- wrong. They may not analyse it the way I just did, but they intuitively pick up on these things. My brother totally got it. He picked up on "the change," and it's obvious to him that Lightning doesn't start out as someone to aspire to. But his positive character arc IS someone to aspire to, and he knows that. I don't think he was aware of character development as a concept back then, but he certainly is now (2 years later). Because he's been raised on intelligent stories like this one. *** In regards to the consumerism, I might add that there is a LOT of Cars merch out there, and when my brother was obsessed, he used to insist to buy anything and everything he saw that happened to have Lightning McQueen's face on it. Lightning McQueen band-aids, even... I mean, come ON. That's kind of ridiculous.