I loved this movie, and There's
an extra coat of hot wax on Pixar's vibrant, NASCAR-influenced
comedy about a world populated entirely by cars. Lightning
McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the slick rookie taking the
Piston Cup series by storm when the last race of the season (the
film's high-octane opening) ends in a three-way tie. On the way
to the tie-breaker race in California, Lightning loses his way
off Route 66 in the Southwest desert and is taught to stop and
smell the roses by the forgotten citizens of Radiator Springs.
It's odd to have such a slim story from the whizzes of Pixar,
and the film pales a bit from their other films (though can that
be a fair comparison?). Nonetheless, Cars is another
gleaming ride with Pixar founder John Lasseter, who's directing
for the first time since Toy Story 2. There's the usual
spectrum of excellent characters teamed with appropriate voice
talent, loads of smooth humor for kids and parents alike,
knockout visuals, and a colorful array of sidekicks, including a
scene-stealing baby blue forklift named Guido. Lightning's
plight is changed with the help of former big-city lawyer Sally
Carrera (Pixar veteran Bonnie Hunt), the town's patriarch Doc
Hudson (Paul Newman), and kooky tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable
Guy). The Incredibles was the first Pixar film to break
the 100-minute barrier, but had enough story not to suffer;
Cars, at 116 minutes (including some must-see end credit
footage), is not as fortunate, plus it never pierces the heart.
Trivia fans should have bonanza with the frame-by-frame DVD
function; the movie is stuffed with in-jokes, some appearing
only for an instant. Ages 5 and up. --Doug Thomas
DVD features
With the slimmest extras package for a Pixar film debuting on
DVD, Cars still shines for home viewing. As with earlier
digital-to-digital transfers, the film sounds and looks
stunning. There is only one behind-the-scenes feature, a
16-minute cursory but entertaining glance at director John
Lasseter's influences (his dad was a car-parts manager),
including some of the real-life inspiration for the film such as
Michael Wallis's influential book on Route 66 (he also voiced
the sheriff). There's a new cartoon for the DVD, "Mater and
Ghost Light," which is smile-inducing at best. Four deleted
scenes (in storybook format with voices) also show a darker tone
the movie may have taken at one point. Best is the adorable
short "One Man Band" that showed theatrically with the film, and
the film's credit sequence can be seen full screen without the
credits (and find the Easter egg for an extended version). Not a
tricked-out DVD, but still worth a spin. --Doug Thomas
This is a clean awesome movie and I really enjoyed it with the
family!
Our
Usborne Book section, is very popular. Many people
feel that Usborne Books are the best learning books for kids on the
market! Click the link to Usborne Books to take advantage of
this month's specials, and to register to win $50 in FREE BOOKS!
Also remember
that Learnkids provides you with online courses that will help your
child develop their Math, English, Science, Reading, Writing, and
Spelling skills. Our links section includes some of our
favorite sites including websites with experiments for kids,
games, videos, worksheets, online courses and more.
Knowledge Adventure (makers of the
Math Blaster and Jumpstart education
software) has joined with Lithgow Palooza
Company on the high quality book creation
software Books by You, for Windows and
Macintosh.
The software creates clever chapter
books as Academy Award winner actor John Lithgow
guides users through the creation process, which
includes word fill-ins similar to "Choose Your
Adventure" type series and giving characters
colorful names. Choose from these four titles —
Alien and the Cheese, The Wailing Alien, The
Mystery of the Monkey Palace and The Case of the
Missing Monkey.
Lithgow articulates himself well providing
plenty of helpful hints on context, character
and plot development. Users can learn a lot of
language skills throughout the creatively visual
process.
If you want a personal Christmas gift this
year, then this software has all the goods.
Users can include personal information, insert
their own pictures, write an author biography
and make a special dedication. Besides the book
itself, users can promote the book with a
customizable poster and/or press release.
The editing process can be a bit challenging,
mostly because you can’t see a blinking cursor –
it’s just easier to highlight the text and then
change it. Once finished in the initial process,
users can go back and edit words and other
special vocabulary words (all in colored text).
Once the masterpiece is finished, it’s time
to immortalize the work. Besides archived files
in a “Books by You” folder, users can save their
book as a PDF for sending by e-mail.
Got a good printer? This unique software
allows you to print-your-own-book right at home
or order a professionally bound copy start at
$9.99 each (soft back). Hardback
print-your-own-book copies are also available.
Prices are subject to change. Registration and a
credit card are required. Registration includes
the usual customer support/product news plus
additional educational articles and exclusive
learning tips.
The software is suggested for ages eight and
over, but would still be ideal for a regular
toddler bedtime story made by the parents
(imagine the discovery after years and years of
night time readings…neato!).
For younger audiences, the templated stories
are somewhat limited and quite lengthy for
younger ages, but the graphic options and
animated interludes can keep their attention
pretty well.
The software also allows for different users,
so guests and friends can join the fun at home.
The limitless learning and high replay value
during the process is definitely worth the
$19.99 suggested retailed price. Great for
educators and writers. Hopefully there will be
more book titles on different subjects in the
future.
