Ladies and Gentlemen, whether you like it or not, the Pixar Playlist
And we’re back for one, probably final lap with the Cars series. It’s
said that major franchise sequels are needed to pay for their more original
projects but with Cars it’s always been less about the films and more about the
sweet, sweet merchandise.
The end result is that Cars 3 was in production since Cars 2 came out,
but evidently the feedback from the last film shaped their decision to do a
story more akin to the original Cars. The team did their research on
professional athletes and their stories.
In the animation end, the team was helped by some new rendering technology that allowed them to preview their animation. The film underperformed, earning $385m on a $175m budget, at best it broke even and managed a mere 69% with audiences and critics on Rotten Tomatoes. But Cars films have never been Box Office darling, their money is in the merch Where do I stand here? Well, let’s take a look
Lightning McQueen has become a racing pro, helped by some friendly
competition but as the years pass, he begins to get outshone by the younger
breed, who are using more sophisticated designs, engines and training to get
the edge. Many of his fellow racers drop out or are replaced as a result.
Lightning’s attempts to beat them by pure speed result in him crashing.
Lightning’s sponsor Rusteze isn’t so willing to drop him, and the two
owners have sold the company to a guy who can secure them the modern training
they think he needs. The new owner, Sterling plans to merchandise the f*ck out
of Lightning but is worried that any further losses would damage his brand and
warns him to drop out. Lightning agrees to continue and they wager the result
of his next race on whether he retires.
He’s helped by a trainer named Cruz Ramirez, she has certainly
interesting insights into motivation and training and is certainly capable of a
race-track simulator but it’s contrasted by a complete lack of race-car
experience, which becomes a problem when it becomes clear that the simulated
approach will not work for Lightning.
The first Cars film had a pretty basic narrative, the second had a
convoluted and dumb narrative that was very much pandering to kids. This film
is actually pretty mature all things considered. Whilst I wouldn’t call it
complex, it’s themes would resonate more with an older audience. That comes
with its downsides too, as having your face constantly reminded that he’s
getting old and outclassed [like with Indiana Jones] might actually have
negatively affected merchandise.
The big theme here is sports injuries and yes, this is the first
narrative to primarily focus on the racing side. Yes, the original did have
Sports themes too, but it was largely just the story of a ego-maniac needing to
be taken down a peg. Anyway, Lightning’s big character arc is dismissing the
role of a trainer as lesser.
He respects and idolises Doc Hudson, reprised in this film by unused
audio from the first, integrated a billion times better than Rise of Skywalker
[they did the same with Tom Magzolli as Rusty Rust-eze]. But he always felt
that he was a guy who loved racing and was crushed by not being able to do it.
The writers here have done their homework, consulting athletes and
psychologists about this exact kind of scenario, and it shows with Lightning’s
character.
It’s a nice twist that he finds out that Doc was enjoying himself more
than he had in years training Lightning, it’s sad that Paul Newman died so
couldn’t record any new footage. The end offers a nice compromise of Lightning
both racing and training, that’s good for merch even if it feels weird as a cap
off to his character arc.
Cruz serves as being the opposite end of the spectrum. She idolises
McQueen but never had the self-confidence to actually race and is looked down
upon by some. She’s inexperienced by talented and Lightning, despite a rough
start, sees her potential and helps her along. It’s a very unusual and
interesting dynamic and they play off each other quite well.
This, once again comes with a downside. Most of the Radiator Springs cast
have very little to do in this. I’ll grant that I’m not exactly clamouring to
see more of Mater after Cars 2, but I was hoping to see a bit more of Sally
Carrera and explore their dynamic.
The new animation bits allow for some very impressive set-pieces such as
the demolition derby. Apparently that scene would not have been possible
without the rendering tech. The animation itself is of the level of quality
you’d expect from a Pixar film but there is one thing nagging at me. The first
and, to a lesser extent, the second film gave a you a real sense of speed as
you’re watching the races. Now it may be a personal thing but I got no such
sensation with this film, despite its many racing set-pieces.
Cars 3 offers a more interesting take on the Cars franchise with more
mature and well-researched themes and ideas. The new characters are interesting
but some of the older ones feel under-utilised as a result. The animation is of
high quality but the sensation of speed is lost, which is a shame as there are
so many racing set-pieces here.
#1 Inside Out
#2 The Incredibles
#3 Up
#4 Finding Nemo
#5 Finding Dory
#6 Toy Story 3
#7 WALL-E
#8 Toy Story 2
#9 The Good Dinosaur
#10 Brave
#11 Toy Story
#12 Cars 3
#13 Monsters Inc
#14 Ratatouille
#15 Cars
#16 Monsters University
#17 Cars 2
#18 A Bug’s Life
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