There was a theory I once read about and the theory went like this… If a headline is written as a question, then the answer is usually no! So, Was there any need for Cars 3?
The Cars Story
Pixar is very much committed to great story telling. Being able to connect to the characters is an integral part to why they are the best at what they do. If it wasn’t for the ability to communicate the feeling and emotions of these vehicles, you might as well be watching Roary the Racing Car! There must be a reason why Cars sells more merchandise than Roary after all.
If we look back upon the history of Cars, the first instalment saw the over confident rookie racing car Lightening McQueen prepare for his race. The innocence of being able to believe so much in himself without a reality comparison is a quality we see in our own children. Is this something that we implant in them through out their younger years. Listening to the screeching violin and saying how wonderful it is. Or grading the tuneless singing as the next number One. Without the ability to compare our kids are invincible, until they hit the real world.
As he battles his way through the Piston Cup Championship, he positions himself into a three way tie for the last race of the season. En route to the next race a nightmare situation find Lightening impounded and sentences to community service by Previous Piston Cup winner Doc Hudson. This journey of self discover shows lightening that there is much more to racing than simply coming first.
Cars 2
Cars two was as much about racing as it was about a secret agent Spy movie. A surreal world of James Bond like gadgets and espionage took Lightning into a bizarre underworld. But As much as I liked this film, this has nothing much to do with Cars 3.
Cars 3
Finally back to the current day. Lightening McQueen is set to take on his next championship of the Piston Cup. Surely there is no reason for him not to win again… until rookie new comer Jackson Storm sails by effortlessly. A new generation of racing car has been developed with technology at its routes. The generation that Lightening car from was a hand built, hand crafted team of creators. Jackson Storm had more sensors and computers onboard that calculated wind resistance, drag, fuel economy and various other forces than a NASA Rocket.
It’s clear that McQueen needed to prepare harder and more efficiently than before. His Sponsor Rust-eze suggest he joins a training program under the guidance of a professional Trainer Cruz Ramirez. The training plan isn’t exactly what he was hoping for and soon decides to find a new training direction.
Thoughts about Cars 3
There are many elements of Cars 3 that mirrors Cars 1. Which is why I initially question if there was a need for this film. There is an overlapping element of the stories here and at first, I felt it was a repeat. In reality it is as much of a repeat of the story as it is to Toy Story 3. Without giving too much away we see Lightening McQueen handing over the gauntlet to the next generation. Just like Andy does with his toys in Toy Story 3. The same as the knowledge is passed on from Doc Hudson in Cars 1.
It sort of adds an element of closer to the Cars trilogy, which I personally feel is a good thing. There are only so many sequels that can be written. And there are so many film sequels that shouldn’t have been continued. The start of the next new franchise will be the next great thing from PIXAR.
My two girls sat next to me watching the screen in silence. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t think it was really their sort of film. They aren’t into cars or vehicles at all. Around 30 minutes into the film Abigail leans over and says “Dad? I didn’t think this was going to be good, but I’m actually quite enjoying it!”. We had crossed over a very thin line that was mainly a “boys film” with girls and they really enjoyed it. There are so many elements of the story that keep it pacy and kept us glued to the seat.
Being a Disney Pixar fan, you could say I was going to sing it’s praises regardless, but you’d be wrong. There are many films that I feel have fallen short. The animation is as beautiful as always, although where it used to be the main reason to see a Pixar movie, it is now a standard we are used to. The virtually real graphics don’t impress the next generation of kids as they have never experience the graphics we experienced with Tetris.
Overall the family enjoyed this installment of Cars, but I do hope it was the last. Pixar need to look into new concepts that need developing. We’ve seen planes, but lets hope it’s not trains or boats next.
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