Where else would we see "Cars" but at ...

... the drive-in. That's right, kids! It was back to the big screen outdoors for your trusty blogger. Turns out My True Love has a thing for going parking. Just too bad there's no Inspiration Point around here.

We actually tried the drive-in a couple of weeks ago, but I guessed wrong on how late we could arrive and still get in. Who knew this holdover from the '50s could still draw big crowds? When we gave it another shot Saturday, the good news was that we got in. The bad news was we had to wait more that two hours for "Cars" to begin.

They say it's because they start the first movie after sunset, but as we baked in the car -- can't run the A/C with the engine off -- we were convinced it was to make people keep buying crap at the concession stand. (I shouldn't complain. They had corn dogs.) In any case, since "Cars" didn't start until 9:30 and took about two hours -- too long for a toon -- we skipped out on the second feature, "Nacho Libre." I understand we aren't missing much, although I'm peeved we didn't get full value for our $8/car entry fee.

Still, "Cars" was probably worth it. I don't make a point to see all the gee-whiz animated movies that come out these days; I still haven't seen the two "Toy Story" movies, which is a shame. Of course, having a kid almost certainly will change that, so I guess seeing "Cars" is a nice tune-up. (Pa dum dum.)

Our story -- in which all of the characters are talking cars and trucks -- has a hotshot rookie race-car driver heading to California after a he, his rival and a racing legend finished in a tie in the "Piston Cup" race. Alas, our hero, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), gets hung up in a dusty desert town, where he's forced to pave a road he messed up while trying to get back to the interstate.

Wouldn't you know it? Lightning comes across a host of oddball characters (a la the fishtank in "Finding Nemo") in this town, from a grizzled old Hudson Hornet (Paul Newman) to an out-of-place Porsche (Bonnie Hunt). Will this brash hotshot manage to win over these small-town folks, yet still get to his big race on time? Is Walt Disney's head still tucked behind the DiGiorno pizzas and that pint of Ben and Jerry's?

While not groundbreaking in plot, "Cars" does have some cool animation. Yeah, what a shocker when it comes to Pixar. Wilson, Newman and Hunt also are engaging enough, and we get all sorts of fun stunt casting with Richard Petty as the racing legend and the "Car Talk" guys as race-team owners. We also get the requisite bad puns with Darrell Cartrip (Waltrip), Bob Cutlass (Costas) and Jay Limo (Leno). (Apparently Camaro O'Brien was unavailable.)

It's all good fun, although it was a little disappointing to see the Italian tire shop owner played by Tony Shalhoub and the Latino low rider played by Cheech Marin. C'mon, guys ... you can do better than the easy ethnice role, even if it is talking cars. And while having Paul Dooley play a military jeep and George Carlin play a WV van was funny, the inclusion of Larry the Cable Guy in the proceedings is a tad unfortunate.

Like I said, a cute little movie, and the puns and other references are enough to keep adults interested. But I can't say this is any better than "Monsters Inc." or "Finding Nemo," and it pales compared to "The Incredibles." Of course, if Lightning's grille had looked like Owen Wilson's real nose, that would have changed everything.