Cars

Tobey's first movie obsession is Cars. The first feature length movie he actually saw was Finding Nemo but, while well-liked, Tobey didn't really catch on to it. He'd say "Nemo!" or "Dory!" pointing at a tropical aquarium, but he wouldn't really ask about it or mention it otherwise. And he never really asked to see it at home.

But Cars is a different story. After starting to watch it at Christopher's race car themed birthday party, the Moon's lent it to us to bring home. The next two weeks we saw it no less than 4 times in its entirety. We'd watch about 30-45 minutes each day and Tobey never failed to miss a day to ask to watch Cars. It would take us 3 days to watch through the movie once. It got to the point where I knew exactly where in the storyline was about 30-45 minutes and a good place to stop (after the courtroom scene and before Lightning and Sally visit the Wheel Well for the first time).

Admittedly, Tobey wasn't the only one obsessed with the movie. After Tom and I watched it (and yes, we did watch it once at night alone without Tobey), we fell in love with it too. We loved the story, the characters and the creativity the creators took to mirror the movie with the real history of Route 66. I don't think I made it through any of the 4-5 times that we watched it without tearing up at the end. I have to admit that when I plopped the kids in front of the movie, I'd sit down and watch with them too, if I didn't have something pressing to do. I know Cars "got into" me when we went to the historic Niles district of Fremont and the quiet street of old stores that none of us knew about reminded me of Radiator Springs. But as much as I loved the movie, I have never been so responsible about returning a borrowed item on time, before this daily habit of Cars would become an addiction.

So besides the multiple screenings, how do I know Tobey is "into" Cars more than Finding Nemo? Because he keeps talking about it. At random times, he will ask about the plot. Why did Chick bump the other cars off the track? Why does "Lightning the Queen" have to pull Bessie? Why is Mater rusty? Since I like the story and lessons in the movie, I don't usually mind answering his questions (that of course depends on the timing of these repeated questions). And, being cars, I consider it a little mechanical engineering lesson when he asks questions like, "How do they make race cars?" And of course, when Tobey is playing excitedly, we'll hear a "Kachow!" come out of him once in a while.

A couple of years ago, while vacationing with Tom's brother's family, Emily asked questions ad infinitum about Toy Story 2. Sometimes I could hear a little tiredness in Dennis' voice when he answered about Buzz and Woody for the 20th time. But sometimes I could hear the patience in his voice when he gets to reinforce an important lesson. Now I understand.