"It will grip car guys, car gals and their car kids, too"

Auto racing afficionado Paul Newman is the voice of Doc Hudson (above), "a 1951 Hudson Hornet, a seemingly quiet country doctor who runs the local 'medical clinic' (mechanic shop) in Radiator Springs. Though he's a car of few words, Doc is respected and admired by the townsfolk for the way he looks out for their health and tends to their aches and pains. Doc ends up teaching McQueen lessons he can apply both on and off the track," say the specs at the official site of Disney.Pixar's "Cars," premiering tonight at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. What's Doc's secret? The official website doesn't say, but USA Today tells all: "Doc turns out to be a former racing champion and eventually mentors young hotshot 'Lightning McQueen,' voiced by Owen Wilson."

"It will grip car guys, car gals and their car kids, too, and make them smile," writes Autoweek's [not yet available online -- we borrowed Tuck's snail copy] Dutch Mandel re Disney.Pixar director John Lasseter's new animated feature film "Cars." Opening in a theater near you June 9, it world premieres tonight at Lowe's Motor Speedway "in one of the most unique and elaborate movie events of all time" according to Disney Chair Dick Cook. Of course he would say that, but for once, reality appears to be living up to the hype. From the official Speedway web site:

Paul Newman, Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip, and others from the voice cast of the film will be joined by a host of stars from the racing world and 30,000 guests that are expected to attend the "CARS" World Premiere, taking place at the same location as that weekend's famous Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race. The screening of the film represents the first multi-screen digital cinema premiere ever.

Humpy Wheeler, the president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, provides the voice of Tex, a 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.

USA Today has more interesting tidbits:

Newman says he never owned a Hudson, although he will ride in a replica of the car at Friday's premiere. His tastes off the track are more environmentally friendly -- he owns both a hybrid car and a hybrid SUV, sharing his love for all causes environmental with his longtime friend Robert Redford.

Yes, and probably a gas-guzzling Lear Jet. No matter. Nobody's perfect.

Online, in toystores or in your local supermarket, the "Cars" tie-ins crossed the starting line weeks ago. We nearly impulse-bought a "Smack & Yak Plush Figure Sally" (above) during a weak moment at the supermarket yesterday. You squeeze or shake her, and she says cute, suggestive things. She's the "beautiful 2002 Porsche 911 from California who grew tired of life in the fast lane and made a new start in the small town of Radiator Springs" and wins the heart and mind of "Cars" hero "Lightning McQueen." We're no car nut, but even we got the sweet reference to that other legendary actor/racer, Steve McQueen. [Correction: Tuck informs us via the Autoweek article that the name refers to Glenn McQueen, a member of the Pixar team who died during production.] We used to think McQueen the actor was the cutest thing that ever came down the pike back in his pre-big-screen days as the star of "Wanted, Dead or Alive." We still think the President was right to say that way back when about Osama. His kowtowing to the Press Corps yesterday, asserting that such "cowboy talk" may have been a "mistake" misinterpreted by the enemy, made our toes curl.

As a triumph of American merchandising genius, "Cars" is already running victory laps -- among a zillion other tie-ins large and small, here's one of our all-time faves, again from the movie's official site:

Disney.Pixar's 'CARS Road Trip '06," presented by [the nation's number one auto insurer] State Farm . . . will cross the country with stops in over 40 cities . . . The cars will ride in style via a special truck inspired by the character Mack, which will be provided by Mack Trucks, Inc.

The business of America is business, of course, but as the President often reminds us, we're a nation of believers in something greater than ourselves. We do not live by bread -- or gasoline, in the case of our fellow automobile/Americans -- alone, and Mandel of Autoweek predicts a win for the good guys in the culture wars as well:

Do not be surprised, either, if with time we find "Cars" has had a profound social impact on those children as they grow up.

That thought occurred to us, too, as we were boning up on the storyline and characters at the official site and remembering the simple and powerful "message" of another Disney.Pixar animated feature, "The Incredibles," that "family-oriented superhero adventure" that that won our hearts and minds last year. Instead of Hollywood's usual exercise of trying to indoctrinate us with their tired and discredited utopian visions, movies like this convince us by letting human nature speak for itself.

Update:  The world premiere at Speedway was a smash, reports CBS News:

Before the premiere, the movie's stars -- including Paul Newman, Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt and NASCAR great Richard Petty -- walked the red carpet outside the speedway. Fans craned for views, cheering at each celebrity, but the biggest ovation went to NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has a small role in the film.

[Director] Lasseter, a self-professed car geek and son of a parts manager at a Chevy dealership, has said the film is a love letter to vehicles of all cylinder configurations and to Route 66, the famous road that runs from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Petty said Lasseter gets NASCAR right in a way that Hollywood never has.

"He does a good job of just filling in, and if you are a racing fan and you know NASCAR history then you can really relate to the movie," he said. "If you're not a racing fan, you can just relate because there's a good story there."

As Henry Ford said, "Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars."

Comments

[Keith Demko]

Man, am I looking forward to this one .. from everything you posted, it sounds like it should be hilarious .. thanks

[Laura Lee Donoho]

My grandson is two and a half years old and crazy about cars. He has been ever since he could sit up. We can't wait to take him to see the movie but wish it would open this weekend instead of June 9th.

Our son was hoping to go see it with Aidan but has to leave for training at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin this Wednesday.

[Disney Cars Toys]

Great Movie - even 3 years after. With 4 shorts (Mater tall tales) and a sequel scheduled for release in 2011 - things look bright.
If you want to read some more news and catch up - check out my blog http://www.disneycarstoys.net - i'm trying to update every week.