The Cars franchise has always been one of the more fascinating facets of Pixar Animation’s prestigious filmography. And that’s because while the films have been highly successful at the box-office, along with amassing an impressive $10 billion in merchandise sales, they’re generally considered to be some of Pixar’s weakest efforts. The first Cars film, released in 2006, did do well with critics but not necessarily on the same level as some of Pixar’s most beloved films (e.g. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, etc.). Things only got worse with the 2011 sequel, Cars 2, as that film became the first Pixar film ever to receive primarily negative reviews from critics. Thus, Cars basically became Pixar’s ‘black sheep’ franchise and, if you ask me, was the catalyst for what I feel is the current internet mindset when it comes to the legendary animation company. That mindset is that if a Pixar film isn’t a ‘critically-acclaimed, 15/10 masterpiece’, then it isn’t worth a damn. This is the mindset that would ultimately affect films like Brave, Monsters University, and The Good Dinosaur. But I’ve never held Pixar to those standards, hence why I still love the first Cars film and will even argue that Cars 2 isn’t as bad as the internet puts it out to be. But now, here we are with Cars 3, which Pixar fans are either anticipating or dreading depending on their opinions of the franchise. It does promise, though, to return to the series’ original roots, and it certainly grabbed the attention of everyone when its first teaser showed main protagonist Lightning McQueen in a devastating crash. And while this ultimately may not be enough to convert those who aren’t fans of the series, Cars 3 is a worthy follow-up to the original Cars thanks to a solid and poignant story that gives a satisfying conclusion to its main protagonist’s overall arc.
Year in and year out, Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) has been one of the most successful racers in the league. However, that success is soon threatened by the arrival of hot-shot rookie Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) and a new line of racers who train using the most advanced technology on the planet to be the fastest on the race track. The growing dominance of these new ‘high-tech’ racers soon lead to many of Lightning’s old racing pals being forced into an early retirement, and it seems like Lightning’s future is doubtful as well after he suffers a devastating crash during the final race of the season. Not wanting to be forced out of the sport the same way that his mentor Doc Hudson (who, despite having passed away after the events of the first film, returns in this film via flashbacks and unused audio of his voice actor, the late Paul Newman) was back in his day, Lightning realizes that he must start training the same way that the new rookies are training if he has any chance of beating them. Luckily for him, the company that sponsors him, Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment, has just built a new training facility with all the upgrades courtesy of the company’s new owner, Mr. Sterling (Nathan Fillion). Now guided by enthusiastic trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), Lightning begins a journey of redemption as he attempts to adapt to the newest racing techniques to not only stand a chance against his new opponents, namely Storm, but to also save his career.
One of the key things that Cars 3 does is that, from a story perspective, it does return to the series’ roots after Cars 2 took an admittedly interesting but ultimately rather messy diversion into the world of ‘car espionage’ which, in turn, was based around a separate ‘world tour’ story. This time around, there aren’t two different plotlines that are struggling just to co-exist with one another to the point where the main plotline ends up becoming a ‘secondary’ one. Like the first film, this one’s all about racing again and this time it’s based around an effectively poignant story in which Lightning McQueen, who was the hot-shot rookie back in the first film, now finds himself being outdone by a new generation of racers. Thus, this film manages to make the entire trilogy of Cars films have a clear beginning, middle, and end. After all, it was during a crucial scene from the first film in which Lightning learned about how Doc used to be a famous racer until a devastating crash resulted in a premature end to his career. Now, Lightning finds himself in the same situation in racing’s modern landscape. Sure, like its predecessors, this film’s plot is a rather simplistic one for a Pixar film. However, I’d argue that the divide between generations in this film, and the ways in which the characters deal with it, does give Cars 3 a great amount of emotional depth. From the arcs that the main characters go through to the film’s effective use of the character of Doc Hudson despite Paul Newman’s passing in 2008, this film is steeped in poignancy. Granted, this may depend on whether you did like these characters in the previous films but it does work in the long run.
Of course, like any Pixar film, the animation is excellent. In fact, this may just be the best-looking Cars film yet in terms of lighting and some of the new ways in which it creates a world inhabited by cars. Like its predecessors, this film features great racing sequences that are set within fun and unique locales, like the one ‘race’ that Lightning and Cruz participate in that’s ultimately more of a demolition derby. Plus, as is also common with Pixar films, Cars 3 features an excellent ensemble cast to portray this franchise’s lovable cast of characters. And this time around, they thankfully aren’t all under-utilized like most of them admittedly were in Cars 2. Granted, the Radiator Springs crew are still just side characters at the end of the day, as the focus is more on Lightning and his trainer, but they are utilized better in this film, especially Mater. Fear not, folks, this isn’t like last time where he ended up becoming the main character whereas Lightning was relegated to what was basically a minor supporting role. Lightning is truly the main character in this film, and Owen Wilson does a great job once again in not only making Lightning a likable protagonist but also a sympathetic one in this instance given that his storyline in this is one of redemption. The big standout of the show, however, ends up being Cristela Alonzo as Cruz. Her infectious enthusiasm instantly makes her a likable character, and she’s also given a nice character arc in which we see that she can hang with Lightning and the other racers on the track. As for Lightning’s new rival, Jackson Storm, he’s a serviceable foe just like Lightning’s rivals from the previous two films. Though, at the same time, he does serve as a nice foil to Lightning in this film given that he acts the same way that Lightning did at the beginning of the first film (i.e. an egotistical show-off).
Now, if I were to be honest, if you weren’t a big fan of these Cars films, to begin with (and not just because of Cars 2; I’m talking about the entire series in general), there’s a good chance that this new film isn’t going to win you over. Like the two films that came before it, the plot is admittedly a simpler one compared to other Pixar films. And heck, this is only Pixar’s first 2017 release, so I have the feeling that this film will, unfortunately, be completely forgotten about by the internet once Coco gets released in November. However, I will always argue that these Cars films (yes, even Cars 2… it’s not THAT bad!) are much more than just ‘middle-of-the-road’, ‘below average’ Pixar films that are ‘just for kids’ and are only there to sell toys. Cars 3 manages to come full-circle on the story of Lightning McQueen on his journey to prove that he can still be as successful of a racer as he used to be in a sport that is continuously evolving at a faster rate than he is. And through a plot that does indeed have the emotionally poignant moments that you can always expect from a Pixar film, Cars 3 does succeed in this regard. No, this isn’t the best film that Pixar’s ever made, but it doesn’t have to be. As I’ve said time and time again, not every film that they make will be a masterpiece. It’s just that the unfortunate downside of all the success that they’ve had since 1995 is that the internet now expects a masterpiece from them with each new release. Thus, given this film’s measly 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (which, for the record, IS still a fresh rating!), I know that many out there will regard it as an ‘unnecessary’ continuation of Pixar’s so-called ‘weakest’ franchise. But, as a fan of this so-called ‘black sheep’ of Pixar franchises, I enjoyed its newest installment. And if you are a fan of these films, I think you’ll like this new one just fine.
Rating: 4/5
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