June 20, 2006

Car Talk

Sleepy Beth has a nice, favorable review of the new Pixar movie Cars. I haven't seen it yet, but being the parent of three young kids I hardly think I'm going to be able to avoid doing so.

I've only heard good things about Cars so far. I suppose this is evidence that Pixar's embrace by the Disney Empire has not proven fatal to the company's collective creative genious. Let's hope it stays that way.

And sooper-sekret note to Beth: The name you're thinking of is the great John Ratzenberger. If you want to really scramble your brain, go back and rent A Bridge Too Far and watch Lt. Cliffy helping Robert Redford ferry soldiers across the river at Nijmegen under German fire:

Eyah, Major Cook, there....It's a well-known fact that the German machine guns have a field of fire roughly equal to one half of the square of Goering's trouser-seat, multiplied to the power of 413, April 13 being the traditional date assigned to the defeat of the Roman general Varus in 9 A.D. by the Germanic tribes under Herman. Eyah, given that....I think we can get across the river, no problemo.
Posted by Robert at June 20, 2006 10:38 AM | TrackBack
Comments

I've seen A Bridge Too Far...but it was long ago and I didn't place that it was the same guy. I'll have to give it another look. While I'm at it, having now perused his rather impressive Filmography...I'm going to have to give The Empire Strikes Back yet another watching because I never realized he was in that, either.

I've got my fingers crossed that Pixar manages to maintain its excellence while still being owned by Disney. If Cars is an indication, they'll do just fine.

Posted by: beth at June 20, 2006 12:12 PM

A Bridge Too Far and Empire Strikes Back? Forget Kevin Bacon, we need a six degrees of John Ratzenberger.

Posted by: rbj at June 20, 2006 12:32 PM

Hey, he also had bit parts in Firefox, Reds and Gandhi - think of the wealth of stardom there!

Yeah, "Six Degrees of Cliffy" would be a good game.

Posted by: Robbo the LB at June 20, 2006 01:35 PM

If you're stuck going, good luck. Pete from A Perfectly Cromulent Blog was much less impressed.
Money quote

Unfortunately, any joy we feel at having Newman on board is dashed by the introduction of “Mater,” the town tow truck, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. Whether you like this movie or start contemplating mass murder about 45 minutes in will depend largely on how much of Larry’s shtick you can stomach

Comments wouldn't accept the direct link, sorry.

Posted by: owlish at June 20, 2006 02:30 PM

Ratzenberger is in every Pixar movie....

Posted by: Zendo Deb at June 20, 2006 04:33 PM