Cars Trio: Is Pixar Running Out of Gas?
Another disappointing sequel suggests the studio’s consistent excellence is now a thing of the past.
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“I determine when I’m done.”
This is Lightning McQueen’s rebuttal after he suffers a horrific crash that has many in the racing world speculating that he should retire. But it also sounds a bit like a declaration of intent from Cars Trio, a meticulously unnecessary installment in a Pixar franchise that has been running on fumes ever since its debut.
The very first Cars, released in 2006, may not have represented peak Pixar, but it was a better movie than it’s often given credit for being. In my admittedly small-sample-sized practice, it was a beloved with youthful ’uns (including my own two kids). And contrary to widespread opinion, it had a significant grownup element too: Underneath its uppity-race-car-learns-humility storyline was a thoughtful moral architecture regarding the tensions inbetween commerce and community.
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Cars two was a different story—literally. Abandoning the themes and modest locale of the very first movie for an utterly disconnected globe-trotting spy spoof, it remains a strong candidate for Pixar’s worst movie to date.
So why a Cars Trio? Well, ever since Disney acquired Pixar for $7.Four billion in 2006, the studio has shown vastly more interest in making sequels, an lighter task than creating and marketing original stories. It doesn’t hurt that the merchandise for the Cars franchise is more profitable even than that of Fucktoy Story (another three-movie series now scheduled for a fourth) among Pixar properties, with sales in excess of $Ten billion. And Cars Land is an anchor attraction at Disney California Escapade Park. Corporate synergy, as they say, is a aggressive mistress. (For any interested, I have a longer essay on Pixar’s decline post-Disney here.)
The good news is that Cars three is better than Cars Two. The bad news is that by Pixar standards it’s still not good, a lightweight and exceptionally familiar story about a written-off old boy making his Big Sports Comeback.
When the movie opens, McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is once again on top of the stock-car racing world, trading victories with contemporaries such as Cal Weathers and Bobby Swift. But then a next-generation vehicle, Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), shows up on the scene and leaves the older racers in his dust. He’s followed by more futuristic, “data-driven” cars, and before you know it McQueen’s contemporaries have all retired and he, in a vain effort to keep rhythm, has crashed himself almost beyond repair.
So McQueen goes back to Radiator Springs, licks his wounds, and recommits to the sport with the help of a fresh sponsor (a sorely underutilized Nathan Fillion) and a youthfull trainer, Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), prone to platitudes such as “it’s all about motivation,” and “ready to meet it, greet it, and defeat it.” Taking a page from Rocky IV, McQueen declines the latest high-tech training in order to get his wheels dirty at Fireball Beach, Thunder Hollow (a backwoods track that is not fairly what it emerges), and eventually the Thomasville Speedway, where McQueen’s late mentor, Doc Hudson (the late Paul Newman), had been champ many years before. There, he meets a fresh mentor, Smokey, who is voiced by Chris Cooper doing his very best crankily avuncular imitation of Newman. All this leads up to the Big Race at which—well, it’d hardly be fair of me to say. Suffice it to say that the plot is almost dogmatically unsurprising, from begin to finish.
Cars three is more connected to the original Cars in spirit than the 2nd installment was, however the old Radiator Springs crowd—even Larry the Cable Guy’s Mater—is once again shoved to the margins by newcomers. The visuals are superb, and the homilies on suggest unobjectionable: on the importance of perseverance, the value of mentorship, and so on. But make no mistake. This is essentially a solid kids’ movie, lacking the emotional resonance and narrative sophistication that once characterized almost every fresh Pixar release.
This shows up to be Pixar’s fresh business model and contract with the viewing public: a few second-tier sequels for every groundbreaking fresh film. A Cars two and Monster’s University followed by Inwards Out. A Finding Dory and Cars three followed by a buzz-heavy Coco (out this November). An Incredibles two and Fucktoy Story four followed by … well, we’ll see.
For another studio, this would be a flawlessly solid output. But this is Pixar, the studio that revolutionized animated storytelling and has long boasted of its ethos of excellence or bust. For now, the studio is clearly lowering its glances. To paraphrase its Cars protagonist, Pixar will determine when it’s done.
Movie Review: Is Pixar Running Out of Gas With – Cars Trio? The Atlantic
Cars Trio: Is Pixar Running Out of Gas?
Another disappointing sequel suggests the studio’s consistent excellence is now a thing of the past.
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“I determine when I’m done.”
This is Lightning McQueen’s rebuttal after he suffers a horrific crash that has many in the racing world speculating that he should retire. But it also sounds a bit like a declaration of intent from Cars Trio, a scrupulously unnecessary installment in a Pixar franchise that has been running on fumes ever since its debut.
The very first Cars, released in 2006, may not have represented peak Pixar, but it was a better movie than it’s often given credit for being. In my admittedly small-sample-sized practice, it was a dearest with youthfull ’uns (including my own two kids). And contrary to widespread opinion, it had a significant grownup element too: Underneath its uppity-race-car-learns-humility storyline was a thoughtful moral architecture regarding the tensions inbetween commerce and community.
Related Story
Cars two was a different story—literally. Abandoning the themes and discreet locale of the very first movie for an utterly disconnected globe-trotting spy spoof, it remains a strong candidate for Pixar’s worst movie to date.
So why a Cars Trio? Well, ever since Disney acquired Pixar for $7.Four billion in 2006, the studio has shown vastly more interest in making sequels, an lighter task than creating and marketing original stories. It doesn’t hurt that the merchandise for the Cars franchise is more profitable even than that of Fucktoy Story (another three-movie series now scheduled for a fourth) among Pixar properties, with sales in excess of $Ten billion. And Cars Land is an anchor attraction at Disney California Escapade Park. Corporate synergy, as they say, is a brutal mistress. (For any interested, I have a longer essay on Pixar’s decline post-Disney here.)
The good news is that Cars three is better than Cars Two. The bad news is that by Pixar standards it’s still not good, a lightweight and exceptionally familiar story about a written-off old fellow making his Big Sports Comeback.
When the movie opens, McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is once again on top of the stock-car racing world, trading victories with contemporaries such as Cal Weathers and Bobby Swift. But then a next-generation vehicle, Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), shows up on the scene and leaves the older racers in his dust. He’s followed by more futuristic, “data-driven” cars, and before you know it McQueen’s contemporaries have all retired and he, in a vain effort to keep tempo, has crashed himself almost beyond repair.
So McQueen goes back to Radiator Springs, licks his wounds, and recommits to the sport with the help of a fresh sponsor (a sorely underutilized Nathan Fillion) and a youthful trainer, Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), prone to platitudes such as “it’s all about motivation,” and “ready to meet it, greet it, and defeat it.” Taking a page from Rocky IV, McQueen declines the latest high-tech training in order to get his wheels dirty at Fireball Beach, Thunder Hollow (a backwoods track that is not fairly what it emerges), and eventually the Thomasville Speedway, where McQueen’s late mentor, Doc Hudson (the late Paul Newman), had been champ many years before. There, he meets a fresh mentor, Smokey, who is voiced by Chris Cooper doing his very best crankily avuncular imitation of Newman. All this leads up to the Big Race at which—well, it’d hardly be fair of me to say. Suffice it to say that the plot is almost dogmatically unsurprising, from embark to finish.
Cars three is more connected to the original Cars in spirit than the 2nd installment was, tho’ the old Radiator Springs crowd—even Larry the Cable Guy’s Mater—is once again shoved to the margins by newcomers. The visuals are superb, and the homilies on suggest unobjectionable: on the importance of perseverance, the value of mentorship, and so on. But make no mistake. This is essentially a solid kids’ movie, lacking the emotional resonance and narrative sophistication that once characterized almost every fresh Pixar release.
This shows up to be Pixar’s fresh business model and contract with the viewing public: a few second-tier sequels for every groundbreaking fresh film. A Cars two and Monster’s University followed by Inwards Out. A Finding Dory and Cars three followed by a buzz-heavy Coco (out this November). An Incredibles two and Fucktoy Story four followed by … well, we’ll see.
For another studio, this would be a flawlessly solid output. But this is Pixar, the studio that revolutionized animated storytelling and has long boasted of its ethos of excellence or bust. For now, the studio is clearly lowering its glances. To paraphrase its Cars protagonist, Pixar will determine when it’s done.
Movie Review: Is Pixar Running Out of Gas With – Cars Trio? The Atlantic
Cars Three: Is Pixar Running Out of Gas?
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“I determine when I’m done.”
This is Lightning McQueen’s rebuttal after he suffers a horrific crash that has many in the racing world speculating that he should retire. But it also sounds a bit like a declaration of intent from Cars Trio, a scrupulously unnecessary installment in a Pixar franchise that has been running on fumes ever since its debut.
The very first Cars, released in 2006, may not have represented peak Pixar, but it was a better movie than it’s often given credit for being. In my admittedly small-sample-sized practice, it was a dearest with youthfull ’uns (including my own two kids). And contrary to widespread opinion, it had a significant grownup element too: Underneath its uppity-race-car-learns-humility storyline was a thoughtful moral architecture regarding the tensions inbetween commerce and community.
Related Story
Cars two was a different story—literally. Abandoning the themes and modest locale of the very first movie for an utterly disconnected globe-trotting spy spoof, it remains a strong candidate for Pixar’s worst movie to date.
So why a Cars Trio? Well, ever since Disney acquired Pixar for $7.Four billion in 2006, the studio has shown vastly more interest in making sequels, an lighter task than creating and marketing original stories. It doesn’t hurt that the merchandise for the Cars franchise is more profitable even than that of Fucktoy Story (another three-movie series now scheduled for a fourth) among Pixar properties, with sales in excess of $Ten billion. And Cars Land is an anchor attraction at Disney California Escapade Park. Corporate synergy, as they say, is a violent mistress. (For any interested, I have a longer essay on Pixar’s decline post-Disney here.)
The good news is that Cars three is better than Cars Two. The bad news is that by Pixar standards it’s still not good, a lightweight and exceptionally familiar story about a written-off old dude making his Big Sports Comeback.
When the movie opens, McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is once again on top of the stock-car racing world, trading victories with contemporaries such as Cal Weathers and Bobby Swift. But then a next-generation vehicle, Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer), shows up on the scene and leaves the older racers in his dust. He’s followed by more futuristic, “data-driven” cars, and before you know it McQueen’s contemporaries have all retired and he, in a vain effort to keep tempo, has crashed himself almost beyond repair.
So McQueen goes back to Radiator Springs, licks his wounds, and recommits to the sport with the help of a fresh sponsor (a sorely underutilized Nathan Fillion) and a youthful trainer, Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), prone to platitudes such as “it’s all about motivation,” and “ready to meet it, greet it, and defeat it.” Taking a page from Rocky IV, McQueen declines the latest high-tech training in order to get his wheels dirty at Fireball Beach, Thunder Hollow (a backwoods track that is not fairly what it emerges), and ultimately the Thomasville Speedway, where McQueen’s late mentor, Doc Hudson (the late Paul Newman), had been champ many years before. There, he meets a fresh mentor, Smokey, who is voiced by Chris Cooper doing his very best crankily avuncular imitation of Newman. All this leads up to the Big Race at which—well, it’d hardly be fair of me to say. Suffice it to say that the plot is almost dogmatically unsurprising, from embark to finish.
Cars three is more connected to the original Cars in spirit than the 2nd installment was, tho’ the old Radiator Springs crowd—even Larry the Cable Guy’s Mater—is once again shoved to the margins by newcomers. The visuals are superb, and the homilies on suggest unobjectionable: on the importance of perseverance, the value of mentorship, and so on. But make no mistake. This is essentially a solid kids’ movie, lacking the emotional resonance and narrative sophistication that once characterized almost every fresh Pixar release.
This shows up to be Pixar’s fresh business model and contract with the viewing public: a few second-tier sequels for every groundbreaking fresh film. A Cars two and Monster’s University followed by Inwards Out. A Finding Dory and Cars three followed by a buzz-heavy Coco (out this November). An Incredibles two and Fucktoy Story four followed by … well, we’ll see.
For another studio, this would be a ideally solid output. But this is Pixar, the studio that revolutionized animated storytelling and has long boasted of its ethos of excellence or bust. For now, the studio is clearly lowering its glances. To paraphrase its Cars protagonist, Pixar will determine when it’s done.