Our Thoughts On Disney Pixar Cars 3!

Hey All!

In case you didn’t know, Cars 3 is now only the second series of the Pixar films to complete a trilogy, the first being Toy Story. In closing out this trilogy, the film returns to the original filmā€™s themes of humility and the importance of legacies. Returning for Cars 3 is Owen Wilson as number 95 Lightning McQueen, his best pal Mater voiced by Larry the Cable Guy, and the crew from Radiator Springs including Sally (Bonnie Hunt), Fillmore (Lloyd Sherr), Sarge (Paul Dooley), Lizzie (Katherine Helmond), Ramon (Cheech Marin), Sheriff (Michael Wallis) and Flo (Jennifer Lewis).

Lighting McQueenā€™s pit crew has also returned with Pixar good luck charm John Ratzenberger as Mack, Tony Shalhoub as Luigi and Guido Quaroni as Guido. New cars include Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) as Jackson Storm, Cristela Alonzo (The Angry Birds Movie) as Cruz Ramirez, Kerry Washington (ABCā€™s Scandal) as race car analyst Natalie Certain, Lea DeLaria (Orange is the New Black) as monster school bus Miss Fritter, and Nathan Fillion (Castle) as Sterling. And in a really big surprise, legendary actor Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, Cars) had previously recorded dialogue from before his passing that was inserted into the Doc Hudson flashback scenes for this film.

Because this is the third film in the trilogy, it is fitting that a major theme of the film be legacy. Lightning McQueen has created a legacy with his many championships and the time has come to pass the torch. Most legends do not realize when their time has come and McQueen is one of them. Challenging Lightning McQueen and his fellow racers are a group of new race cars referred to as The Next Gens. The Next Gens are sleeker, equipped with the most advanced tech, and train to eliminate imperfections. Leading the Next Gens is Jackson Storm who, though lacking in respect, is easily faster than McQueen. While training to become faster, McQueen takes on Cruz Ramirez who eventually becomes his protĆ©gĆ©. Cruz Ramirez is a female car that has always been guided away from pursuing her dreams and ridiculed for even dreaming at all. As the film progresses it becomes more evident that McQueenā€™s hesitation to step out of the spotlight stems from his need for a complete legacy. As Doc Hudson was a mentor to McQueen, which was the happiest Doc ever was, McQueen so becomes mentor to Cruz and is able to pass the torch with pride.

While Cars 3 definitely continues the story of Lightning McQueen, it also begins the story of Cruz Ramirez. Most people will say that the Cars series is geared towards boys, but this third film offers something for both. The story of Cruz Ramirez is the part of the film I connected with most. Cruz is not only a female car, but she is a car that through all of her existence has been told that she was never going to be a racer. She was told that she could be whatever she wanted to be, as long as it wasnā€™t something extraordinary. This is something that all kids can relate to whether they are females that want to go into a male dominated career field, or even just someone who has low self-esteem due to no one believing in them. Her story of overcoming expectations through skill, training, and determination is what makes her story engaging and inspiring.

This year we are seeing many films where females are shown to be taking charge and persisting so to as accomplish things not previously thought possible. Cars 3 is a fine addition to these stories while also being the apparent closing of a chapter for a beloved series of films.

Disney/Pixarā€™s CARS 3Ā is now playing in theatres everywhere!

The movie really brings the girl power!

Visit the official CARS 3 website here for more info: http://movies.disney.com/cars-3

 

Jesse Delia

Comments