Mike's New Car

Voices of: Billy Crystal, John Goodman
Directed by: Pete Docter, Roger Gould
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Animation, Short, Comedy
Length: 4 minutes
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Mike (Billy Crystal) shows Sully his new car.

Review:

Tim: I've always scratched my head a bit at why people like the Monsters, Inc. movies so much. I didn't think either was very good. I wondered if perhaps the characters were better suited for short films, perhaps they just wore out their welcome during a feature-length film. Based on Mike's New Car, I don't believe that to be the case. This short movie is disposable and added very little to these characters or the franchise.

The story is that Mike is showing Sully his new car, but he doesn't understand all the controls and hijinks ensue. It's fine, it's not especially clever, but it only lasts four minutes. I have to say, I'm a bit shocked this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. There's just no real substance here. The "comedy" comes from the characters getting caught up in craziness from the car. There's nothing below the surface level here. It doesn't give us any additional insight into Mike or Sully, or their relationship. There's really no message or takeaway. It's four minutes of lightness that has zero stickiness to it. You watch it and it's over. I'm saying this both from my perspective and that of my five year-old son. He wasn't a big fan of the film. He did laugh a lot towards the end when the car is going completely crazy, but this isn't a film he wanted to see again.

The animation and the color scheme is solid. The visuals are definitely good, as you would expect from Pixar. However, Mike's New Car doesn't have much to say. Style only short films can work if the style is exceptional, but that wasn't the case here. This might not be a bad short, but there's little to get excited about.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A



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