Cars & Downtown Fresno

Tonight, I got to babysit my housemates' kids. We decided to watch Disney/Pixar's Cars as we ate dinner. If you know us at all, you know we've watched Cars a lot. Our house is littered with Cars cars everywhere when they're not in their appropriate basket. Squinkies are in the form of cars from the movie, and references in day to day life are often from the movie.

I have to say, Cars, has hit a soft spot for me too. One: it has a great soundtrack. Two: It has an actual story (minimal romance). Three: It speaks of revitalization.

Credit to dvdizzy.com

In the courtroom scene (see above screen shot), Lighning McQueen is the accused of causing a lot of chaos and destruction to the town. He has destroyed the road of Route 66, which he'd have to repair. The town has seen sprawl, after Interstate 40 went in, which undermined the historic Route 66 and caused hardship for the folks who have their livelihood in the town of Radiator Springs. After a lot of frustration and persuasion, Sally talks her way to getting Lightning McQueen to fix the road because, "We are a town worth fixing!" (I always choke up at this part.)

The great part of this movie, is that as the road gets fixed by Lightning, the rest of the town realizes how 'worth it' they really are. They begin to fix up their shops, and work together to encourage their efforts to make Radiator Springs a beautiful place to work and play. What began with one person advocating for the town that was on the wayside, turned into a community movement.

The best part is, that Lightning McQueen, who initially believed the town was "Hickbilly Hell" learns more about the town (while on a drive with Sally) and what makes it great. He also does his part in repairing the town, and each individual in Radiator Springs. He comes to love the place he hated. So much so, that he sets up residence there too.

Yes, this is a movie targeted for children. However, it speaks to the heart of revitalization and what it looks like to believe a town is 'worth it'. My hope is that there are a few advocating for our town of Downtown Fresno, that we will grow into a community that supports and betters our town because "We [too] are a town worth fixing!"

*In case I need to make it absolutely clear: if you haven't seen this, go watch!