A mild departure from the norm...
Usually about this time I’ll either be going on about carbon,
blathering endlessly about brakes or glass, or making some
wise-crack jibes at the failures of one automotive attempt or
another. In a departure from this, I would like to offer you my
very first movie review, and it’s not even of a new-release
film. So by now all of you have seen the neon/art deco Disney
animation ‘Cars’, a clever production featuring voice-overs by
Owen Wilson, John Ratzenberger, and Paul Newman, among others.
The gist of the film is that a headstrong rookie racer finds
himself detained in a town far off the beaten path, where he
learns humility and the value of friendship. From his character
development, he’s able to achieve a great moral victory at the
final race of the season, sacrificing the championship to come
to the aide of a fellow racer. I’ve had a few looks at this
film, admiring (quite naturally) the beautiful curves and
enjoying the clever wit and innuendo. Great fun for the kid in
all of us. There are aspects that are simply outstanding, such
as the promotion of good sportsmanship and the meaning of
winning. But I also have a few observations, a couple ‘what ifs’
that I would like to suggest.
Imagine for a moment, instead of hearing that identifiable
American drawl from each of the main characters, that every car
had a Canadian accent, with voice-overs done by prominent
Canadian personalities. This was done with the feature film ‘Ice
Age’ for other languages, but the concept hasn’t yet been
extended to Canada. Here are my choices for ‘Cars’: The Doc
(judge and crew chief) could be performed by Peter Mansbridge,
of CBC news fame. Stern, serious, and ever so respectful- how
could anybody not accept his advice? Sally, the 2002 Porsche and
town attorney, could be even sexier if played by Nelly Furtado.
And Lightning McQueen, the protagonist of this little film,
would be so sarcastic, arrogant, and whiney if played by none
other than Rick Mercer. Ha! A cast of Canadian personalities
would be a real hoot. You might have your own choices for these
and the rest of the colourful troop, but you certainly get the
idea.
However, this wouldn’t really work, would it? Featured within
the film is Route 66, one of the greatest of American motoring
legends. One of its icons, James Dean, isn’t known for speaking
with a Newfie accent. The dulcet tones of Natalie McMaster
wouldn’t quite fit as the owner of Flo’s V8 Café. But don’t
ditch the Canadian voices, just add more Canadian Content! We
have our own Cascar race series (July 15 and 16 in Vernon), so
why not? Instead of Route 66, maybe ‘The Crowsnest’, complete
with images of ghost mining towns, alpine views, desert
grasslands, waterfalls, prairie and the best driving roads in
the country. Some of the towns found along this highway, such as
Hedley, wouldn’t differ too much from the fictional ‘Radiator
Springs’. Corner Gas, move on over…
Click for Map
We have our own heritage of motoring (this year was the 50th
annual Knox Mountain Hillclimb) but we simply haven’t learned
yet to enjoy or treasure it. My recommendation to you: see the
film, get inspired to travel some of our back roads, and beg,
borrow, or rent a car worthy of driving them. Enjoy all the
scenery, personality, and character that there is to see from
behind the wheel of a car. This summer, drive the Okanagan, the
Boundary Country, the Similkameen, the Nicola Valley, the
Chilcotin, the Cariboo, and everywhere in between.
Got any comments or ideas about this article?
Send them to
markus@okanaganracing.com.
