Director: Brian Fee Studio: Pixar Animation Genre(s): Drama/Comedy Rated: G |
Prior to the release of “Cars 3” people said there was no reason
for this movie to exist. The previous
film – “Cars 2” – was already a pointless affair that angered even fans of the
original movie, and remains the biggest black spot on Pixar’s otherwise stellar
report card. To go back to this a third
time felt even more like they were in it to sell toys. To be sure, there are many new characters to
be found and I’m sure your kids WILL want the action figures by the time the
movie is over! If nothing else though “Cars
3” exists, I suspect, because Pixar needed to forget “Cars 2” ever
happened. They felt compelled to end this series on a good note. I
have personally spent time with Pixar animators and directors, and I know how
seriously they take their work. I walked
the halls of the animation studio when “Cars 2” was about to be released, and
artwork and sculptures of the film stood right alongside the then in production
“Brave.” They were proud of their work,
and the aftermath of the release most likely shook them.
The negative reception reminded them that they were not
invincible. John Lasseter (who does not
return to direct this time around) was said to be most affected by the
reception, as he simply wanted to make a spy movie for the family, and in his eagerness,
he underestimated how much people liked the quiet nature of the first film (and
maybe overestimated how much people enjoyed Tow Mater). Instead of spy vehicles and international
espionage, “Cars 3” opens with Lightening McQueen (Owen Wilson) preparing for a
race. He is a successful veteran at this
point in time, having won the Piston Cup a few times, and now races while his
friends watch happily from the sideline.
Life has very much improved since he learned to have friends, but missing
is his old mentor Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), who died several years ago.
That loss is being felt now more than ever as new cars are
coming onto the race track. They have
better equipment, are shinier, and break world records in terms of speed with
relative ease. Now, McQueen is facing
the possibility that he is too old to race.
The rookies are coming in and the veterans are retiring. If this is the case, then what is the purpose
of life? Racing is what he does and he
loves to it. If he is too old to
continue…that would be truly depressing.
This, I want to add, is what “Cars 2” should have been about. There was always something thoughtful about
the way that “Cars” used a world of fast cars to tell a story of a life that
may very well be missed if you didn’t slow down and look at the flowers once in
awhile. “Cars 3” is about what happens when
all you can do is slow down. Would you
miss being able to participate in the race of life again? It feels like a natural progression to the
first film, and it’s a shame it took so long to get it.
It should also be noted that this movie goes on and seems to
pretend that “Cars 2” never happened in the first place. Again, I suspect the failure of that movie
hurt Pixar on an emotional level, and their goal here to make us care once more
for the characters they have created.
They have succeeded by making a simple, yet emotionally satisfying movie
that touches on very human emotions while providing a few laughs along the
way. I will admit that there are more ‘awws’
than ‘yucks’ to be found (and I suspect that will drive some kid’s
crazy [ho ho]), but it is still proof that Pixar are experts in what they
do. For whatever its worth, I find “Cars
3” to be the best installment in the franchise by a pretty long mile. It goes back to the starting line (last
one, I promise) of what made the first movie good, expands thematically on
those themes, and gives us new characters we come to love. So, Pixar, for whatever its worth, I accept
your apology for making “Cars 2.”
