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After seeing this film last night, this is the review I would write.  Completely imersive in the storyline.  What I found most fascinating, however, was the running time of 116 minutes.  Almost two full hours of animated film.  What is the longest animated film (that had any success)?  That it would keep me and the rest of the audience captivated shows the true power of Pixar storytelling.

I saw Cars with my girlfriend yesterday.

The thing I love best about the film is the endless use of coloring and the background designs. Pixar has been demolishing uninformed speculations that computer animation is inferior, particularly to hand-drawn animation. In the next 10 years, we'll be seeing a lot more computer-animated films following examples from this craftsmanship.

The movie does push the 2-hour mark, but that's another good thing. Most animated films are between 75-90 minutes long, and for many, the story feels rather short, and it feels like much more could've been done with it. Pixar, however, is exploring ALL possibilities with their films. Don't be surprised if somewhere down the road, someone decides to risk a THREE-hour animated adventure. If given all the possibilities, I'd certainly pay to see it.

The film is in no way a step back for Pixar. We've seen cartoons about toys and bugs made before A Bugs Life. There's been stories about aquatic lifeforms long before Finding Nemo. And a few of you may still remember a certain Nicktoon that came before Monster's Inc.

Concerning the ending dedication to Joe Ranft, and his major involvement in Cars: My guess is at some time, John Lasseter would've either given Joe Ranft a solo story, or promoted him to (executive) producer. We'll just have to see how Pixar will continue without him.

I certainly agree that Mater is arguably one of the funniest Pixar characters ever.  Without him, the movie would have been seriously hurt.  I've really liked the last four Pixar movies.  To me, they each have had strong points.
A Bug's Life:  Great Characters and music
Finding Nemo:  One great tear-jerking movie
Incredibles:  Wonderful story
Cars:  Great humor

Well done Pixar.  So glad your with Disney to stay.

Did not share your high opinion of the film -  I'm afraid this may be the first real disappointment that Pixar has. Read my thoughts at http://web.mac.com/josephdickerson/iWeb/Dickerson%20Family/Blog%20of%20Much%20Holding/7C16399E-B056-4DDD-BA85-5AE54669F890.html