Believe it or not it’s been 11 years since the story of a
hot shot young racing car named Lightning McQueen first enchanted young viewers
with his story of learning there is more to life than just being the top car.
That story talked about learning what it was to have deep rooted friends and
family. Here we are all those years later and the third movie in the series is
out on disc. What makes it special is that time has passed in the story as
well.
McQueen (Owen Wilson) is still the hot shot race car he
always was, still living in his adopted town of Radiator Springs and still
friends with those he considers family there. But times have changed and he’s
gotten older. A new breed of race car is on the tracks now, in particular an up
and comer named Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer). The new cars are faster, train
differently and are soon leaving McQueen in their dust. In an attempt to push
past them he crashes.
Months pass and McQueen isn’t sure he wants to return to the
track. It takes his friend Sally (Bonnie Hunt) to convince him this is what he
truly wants. He heads back to Rust-ESE to get back in shape only to find his
old friends Luigi and Guido have sold the business to tycoon Sterling (Nathan
Fillion). Sterling has it in mind to market McQueen for all he can, endorsing
nearly every possibility out there. To insure that he returns to the winner’s
circle he’s employing the latest in technology and a trainer by the name of Cruz
Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo).
McQueen does his best with the new system but this isn’t his
style of training. After a crash on the simulator he realizes he needs to get
back to his roots and heads for the beaches of Florida. Accompanying him is
some old friends as well as Cruz. When they begin he spends more time teaching
Cruz more than he getting himself ready. Unable to break the speed set by
Jackson Storm he begins to give up hope until he thinks of one more
possibility.
He goes to where it all began, where his mentor Doc was
taught. There he finds Doc’s mentor Smokey (Chris Cooper) still alive along
with several of Doc’s old friends. They’ve been expecting him and training in
their fashion begins. But will it be enough for him to get back what he once
had?
SPOILER ALERT! And here is where the entire film takes a different
turn. When the big race comes in the fourth quarter of the film, McQueen bows
out and allows Cruz to take his place. And this is what the real story of CARS
3 is all about, the passing of the torch from the older generation to the
younger, giving the new comer the chance to bask in the same glory they once
enjoyed.
Watching this I was reminded of the ROCKY films. The time
had come for Stallone as Rocky to take off the gloves and start helping pass
the torch, which he did. This film is doing the same thing and in doing so sets
itself up for more movies down the line. Rather than deal with the question of
an aging car still winning races against all comers we have a new hot rod in
mind. Now it’s up to her to take that torch and carry it across the finish
line…or not.
I’ve read a number of reviews that have bad mouthed this
film and almost all had the same complaint: it wasn’t the same movie they’d
seen before. It made me wonder why they didn’t see the positives in this film,
the fact that it extended the life of the series with this new development. It
also provides a great lesson for young people to learn and draws in older
viewers as well who understand what it’s like to go through what McQueen does.
The animation by Pixar remains top of the line. I’ve seen
other movies doing this sort of CGI animation and while good they don’t
compare. The story moves along at a steady pace and never involves moments
where you wish it would move along faster. It’s a compelling story that needs
to be told.
It’s great that the voice over actors have returned time and
time again to do the voices and keep continuity in doing so. New actors in new
roles do an amazing job as well. Now if they will all continue to do so in the
future.
CARS 3 is not the first film but one unto itself. It may
involve the same characters but there is a slightly different story going on
here. Push play and know that going in and you’ll be delighted to see the old
crew, the new crew and the new story unfold. For me it was a delight and a movie
I know I’ll pop back in every once in a while. Come to think of it this would
make a great movie marathon with the first 2 for my younger nieces and nephews.
Time to go out and pick up some microwave popcorn and have them over.
Click here to order.
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