"Well dip me in axle grease and call me slick!"

We really don't buy into the toddler television and movie culture, in fact there are only a few things Aaron watches that are actually designed for his age range. He mostly prefers shows like Over-haulin' ("Hula Halling"), Giada at Home ("Baby Water" because Giada's little girl runs on the beach at the end of the show's opening), House Hunters ("House"), and 19 Kids and Counting ("Babies"). He likes to dance to commercial jingles and point out objects he recognizes: jet, car, hammer, egg, Mama's mixer, dogs, umbrella, Daddy red truck (firetrucks) etc. Most of the time the TV is on, he is busy doing other things and is only briefly hypnotized by periodic advertisements for those creepy little kid shows.

One movie however has stood his test of time and boredom. Disney-Pixar's Cars. It is about a hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family (IMDb). The movie is without any scandalous and negative material or propaganda and on top of that is rather entertaining, in my opinion. The only scene that could possibly be considered "scary" comes when a large bull-like combine tracker named Frank chases the two main characters for about ten seconds. I think it helps that the characters are vehicles and not humans, so the only repercussions we get is motor noises, nonstop, but that's the norm around here.

Only once has he watched the entire movie from start to finish at one time (attempt at potty training). We explain to Aaron that we are only going to watch one part and then turn it off. It used to upset him, but he's now grasped the idea. He generally asks for specific scenes: "Maner helicopter" (At the end of the movie, Mater rides in a helicopter) or "Tractor tipping" (well, the cow-like tractors get tipped). He'll watch so intently he forgets to blink. Then when an exciting part comes, he'll turn and look at us with big eyes and a giant smile to make sure we didn't miss the spectacle, even though we've seen it one hundred times before.

In honor of the once-every-other-day role that Cars plays in our boy's life right now, I figured a blog feature is long overdue. Here's a quick rundown of the characters, but you really should watch it yourself. :)

Lightning McQueen is the main character not necessarily one of Aaron's favorites, but the most visible. His name is too hard to pronounce. Tow-Mater... McQueen's side-kick of sorts and one of Aaron's favorites. He calls him "Maner." Mater fills the role of the rusty, old, red-neck... voiced by none-other-than Larry the Cable Guy.

Sarge... One of Aaron's favorite, for obvious reasons. Great Grandma Moore gave him a toy version of Sarge to add to his Jeep collection. He calls him "Green Jeep." Don't worry he is not as mean as he looks.

Red... another favorite, again for obvious reasons. Red, a highly emotional firetruck, has no speaking parts but plenty of drama and often cries. Aaron says, "Daddy red truck cry, waaa, waaa."

Guido... a little forklift of Italian origin. Forklifts play the role of pit crews. Aaron calls him "Pit stop," because that is one of the few English phrases that Guido can say. He has a certain charm about him and is one of my favorites. The tractors... they are "cows." At one point in the movie, Lightning and Mater go tractor tipping and that's one of Aaron's favorite scenes. They also stampede the town a couple of times. They chew their cud and wiggle their ears (rear view mirrors).

It is not that I'm obsessed so much as overly informed, and admittedly a bit dorky. Where most parents of toddlers spread their media attention over several shows and a bunch of movies, we are focused and loyal. It is a satire on stereotypes and happens to be entertaining for kids too. Hey, it's a heck of a lot better than Thomas the Train.