Joseph Kleiman of Jim Hill Media, which has reported plenty of juicy inside info about Disney and Pixar in recent months, was at the “Cars” screening a few days ago in Las Vegas. Read the whole thing, but this part is worth excerpting:

“Cars,” in terms of character animation, art direction, and story is Pixar at its finest. The animation is absolutely incredible. When close up, backgrounds are realistic. At a distance, they take on the air of an old 1940s painted postcard of southwestern vistas. The characters (I.E. all cars and aircraft) look like the Micro Machines line of toy cars from the 1980s, but with fine detailing and texture. As for the story, the late Joe Ranft, to whom this film is dedicated, has been given on-screen credit as co-director with Lasseter, and the film shows why. Equal parts humor - there’s references to everything from the anti-establishment disobedience of the 1960s to newer pop culture standards like “The Fast and the Furious” - and tenderness, the packed house openly combined laughter with tears. During a very touching scene about how the interstate highway system decimated towns along Route 66, there was barely a dry eye in the house. You heard me right. Looking around, I could see grown men sobbing (though I’m a bit modest to admit to anything myself). The scene was reminiscent and on a par with the scene where Jessie is thrown away in “Toy Story 2.” (my emphasis)

…

This is such a multilayered film that ultimately I can only make one recommendation on the film: If you can only see one film this summer, go see “Cars.” If you can see two films, go see “Cars” twice.

As one exhibitor sitting next to me said: “Not only might this be the biggest film of the summer, but this is the best CARtoon ever.” I have to agree.

Wow.

By the way, Kleiman reports that former Walt Disney Studios boss and current DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg attended the screening. Sounds like new Disney boss Robert Iger has been mending fences.

It looks like Canmag.com has the scoop. Kudos to Pixar Animation Studios for putting what looks like all the film’s characters on one page. And please take note of the Route 66 shield on the lower right.

Pixar Animation Studios gave a screening of its Route 66-themed movie, “Cars,” to theater owners at a Las Vegas trade show Tuesday night. According to Reuters wire service, the theater owners were wowed.

“I thought it was a great movie,” said Kevin MacLeod, executive vice president of Empire Co Ltd’s Empire Theatres, a Nova Scotia-based chain with 380 screens. MacLeod said he believed the film would have the same broad appeal as Pixar’s biggest hit, “Finding Nemo.”

Theater owners have a vested interest in the success of the movie, since their business is selling movie tickets, but Sanders Morris Harris financial analyst David Miller was in the audience and called it “outstanding.”

“If there is any film you know is going to be a hit, it’s this one,” he said Wednesday.

Another attendee, who asked not to be named, described the film’s race-car-themed story line and folksy soundtrack, featuring songs by Sheryl Crow and Brad Paisley, as “the perfect antidote to (gay cowboy movie) ‘Brokeback Mountain”‘ for more conservative red-state audiences.

Mark Walukevich, vice president of international films for National Amusements, which operates 1,425 screens in the United States, Britain, Latin America and Russia, said “Cars” was “fantastic.”

“On a scale of one to 10, it was an 11,” he said. “The digital presentation was excellent, the soundtrack was great. I think internationally it will be a huge hit.”

“Cars” opens wide in theaters on June 9.