CARS 3 REVIEWED
“Cars 3” is an amazingly mature film about retirement. It’s also a Pixar film. Pixar aimed a film about maturity and retirement to the 6 and under crowd. No matter how you cut it, it’s a better film than “Cars 2”. What’s even crazier is that they used archived audio to bring back Paul Newman for a segment. But, you might be asking yourself…does Lightning McQueen die? I don’t need to know, but the various kids you sired might want a heads-up on potential trauma.
Well, there’s no death in its absolute form. However, there are a lot of page turnings and wrapping up arcs. I’m also amazed by the fact that this film goes out of its way to ignore “Cars 2”. It’s like the first film happened and McQueen has been training and racing ever since. The ghost of Paul Newman leans heavy over the film, as McQueen looks up to the old racer as a means of leaving the life behind. The usual living cast of characters get trotted out to help make since of the changes.
But, there’s also a new generation of racers introduced to help usher in future films. Kerry Washington and Cristela Alonzo get some fun turns, but the real star addition was Armie Hammer. Hammer blends the classic McQueen attitude with new trappings to help keep this franchise moving forward. Let characters retire and have new ones step in. Death isn’t the end for racing or animation greats. Isn’t that the best lesson for kids? Your life doesn’t stop in the middle of the race, you just shift gears.
FILM STATS
- 1 hr and 49 mins
- G
- Disney