Cars 3! (here be spoilers)

earfulofmagic

cranking out magic and assembly line whimsy
Joined
May 16, 2017
Saw it tonight! still in post-movie bliss mode. :hippie:


One easter egg I noticed (pretty sure, at least) was a model of Cinderella's carriage on the shelves in Sterling's office.


As much as I love this franchise (Mater's Tall Tales, spin-off Planes and all), I don't really see further possible movies. If only they could bless us with a prequel focused on Doc's younger days. I teared up during all of the Doc remembrance scenes.


I also did not expect to tear up a bit at the pre-film short, Lou, but that happened. :sad:


Didja see it?! What did you think?
 
I liked the mentoring theme, and see prospects for a Cars 4 about Lightning continuing to mentor Cruz. It all reminds me of the "circle of life" concept.

I also like your idea about the prequel focused on Doc's younger days, even though they may need to find someone new to do the Doc voice.
 
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I liked the mentoring theme, and see prospects for a Cars 4 about Lightning continuing to mentor Cruz. It all reminds me of the "circle of life" concept.

I also like your idea about the prequel focused on Doc's younger days, even though they may need to find someone new to do the Doc voice.

Yes, for that reason I had assumed that was not on the table -- though I would love to see it because Doc is my favorite character! I just looked it up and Corey Burton does Doc's voice outside of any Paul Newman archives... so maybe somebody at Pixar will suggest a short or something :) I loved the inclusion of Doc's mentor and the other racing legends in this movie. The "moonshine" scene was lovely.

I felt like there wasn't enough backstory for Cruz! I was waiting for a story or appearance from her parents/family, in part explaining why their advice for her was "dream small or don't dream at all" :rolleyes: maybe leaving that out was intentional for further movies. I won't complain if a Cars 4 comes out, though!
 
It looks like they recycled some older recorded audio. That did sound like Paul Newman. They also had audio recorded by Tom Magliozzi (Rusty Rust-eze), who died in 2014. I guess the one thing I wondered was why they didn't choose the perfect replacement for Fillmore. It wouldn't have been an exact voice match for George Carlin, but Tommy Chong would have been perfect if he did the same style performance that he did in Zootopia.

Also - I still don't get it about all these dissimilar cars racing. Nearly all world-class car racing attempts to make teams and vehicles conform to rules so that no team has an unfair advantage. Unless there's some sort of loophole, all competitors are equipped with similar cars. Even in NASCAR, they specify a basic body style for each manufacturer that's equivalent. A "high-tech" car like Jackson Storm wouldn't be allowed when other teams are running with less aerodynamic cars with less power and that use different materials.
 


It looks like they recycled some older recorded audio. That did sound like Paul Newman.
It was -- they used archived voice clips for this movie, but for video games etc. Corey Burton voices Doc.

Also - I still don't get it about all these dissimilar cars racing. Nearly all world-class car racing attempts to make teams and vehicles conform to rules so that no team has an unfair advantage. Unless there's some sort of loophole, all competitors are equipped with similar cars. Even in NASCAR, they specify a basic body style for each manufacturer that's equivalent. A "high-tech" car like Jackson Storm wouldn't be allowed when other teams are running with less aerodynamic cars with less power and that use different materials.
I know, but it's a kid's movie. Since the "humans" of this fictional world are machines (but human-ish machines!), the "changes" in the sport are supposed to be more analogous to a new generation of rookie ballplayers coming along to replace aging players. That's how I have read it since the first film, when they reveal Doc's comeback never really happened because rookie racers literally replaced him. Not exactly a perfect analogy, but there are lots of things about this franchise that require serious suspension of disbelief. Although, I sometimes need to beat back thoughts like "if they can do total body repair, then why not upgrade parts and more for competitive advantage? Is that their version of doping?"

Tldr: I guess we are not supposed to think too much about the literal mechanical nature of cars, and assume the racing in Cars is more like their version of our baseball, track, etc. than the reality of NASCAR.

Same deal with Doc's death. Apparently a major critique (lol) of this movie is that it never explains why/how Doc died and introduces further complication because all of his old friends are still alive. Yet in reality we know why Doc "died" in the films. Some of these things we just need to look past, and let the world-building get a little fuzzy around the edges.
 
As far as the differences in the cars in the Piston Cup, it is kind of like the Nationwide/Xfinity whatever series it is now when they went to the next generation body/engine etc package. You have Camaros and Mustangs going against the Camry. Yes, they are meant to be and run equal, but it is a different visual.

All in all (pun intended), this rivaled the original film. However, this franchise is finished-this will be the last Cars flick.
 
I know, but it's a kid's movie. Since the "humans" of this fictional world are machines (but human-ish machines!), the "changes" in the sport are supposed to be more analogous to a new generation of rookie ballplayers coming along to replace aging players. That's how I have read it since the first film, when they reveal Doc's comeback never really happened because rookie racers literally replaced him. Not exactly a perfect analogy, but there are lots of things about this franchise that require serious suspension of disbelief. Although, I sometimes need to beat back thoughts like "if they can do total body repair, then why not upgrade parts and more for competitive advantage? Is that their version of doping?"

I know trying to bridge the gap between technology advancements and race cars as athletes isn't an easy thing to do, so they just sort of treat it like the latter.

Certainly if you're thinking of Doc Hudson as the equivalent of 1950s NASCAR, that was back when"stock car" really meant something. The Hudson Hornet was a superior car for racing.

As far as the Cars franchise goes, I guess they don't quite explain how cars are built, how they age, or why there are the occasional kid cars.
 


As far as the differences in the cars in the Piston Cup, it is kind of like the Nationwide/Xfinity whatever series it is now when they went to the next generation body/engine etc package. You have Camaros and Mustangs going against the Camry. Yes, they are meant to be and run equal, but it is a different visual.

I guess they did what they could to make for some visual separation between the cars. Still - if you looked at the original Cars movie, the race cars all basically had the same basic shape that looked like 2000s NASCAR, with the exception of Strip Weathers, Chick Hicks, and Lightning McQueen.

In the past there have been attempts to make dissimilar equipment legal by setting limits. The Dodge Superbird aero car that Strip Weathers was based on was eventually limited with respect to engine size to compensate for the aerodynamic advantage. The Indy 500 used to allow for a larger specialty pushrod engine based off of a production block. Most were using smaller, race-designed blocks because they were generally better, but Roger Penske got Illmor to make a secret version of a pushrod engine that got them considerably more power than anyone else, until the loophole was closed. The current state of NASCAR is such that all teams are basically following the same rules.

Jackson Storm has a more powerful engine and his body is made with considerably different materials. This is way different than any racing body would allow. When NASCAR changes body materials, all teams change it at the same time. I guess it helps to move the story, but it's just a little bit on the weird side. You can look at race car drivers well into their 50s who were competitive because they could just get into a new car that was set up like any other team's car.
 
As far as the Cars franchise goes, I guess they don't quite explain how cars are built, how they age, or why there are the occasional kid cars.

It's a G-rated movie, so they can't tell about the "bumpers and the chassis" (automotive version of "the birds and the bees").
 
It's a G-rated movie, so they can't tell about the "bumpers and the chassis" (automotive version of "the birds and the bees").

Sure. However, they acknowledge the existence of car parts and regular maintenance. They consume oil and tires. They can get modifications. They're obviously not made of organic matter. They're conscious machines.
 
Sure. However, they acknowledge the existence of car parts and regular maintenance. They consume oil and tires. They can get modifications. They're obviously not made of organic matter. They're conscious machines.
I suppose we're supposed to think of consuming oil/gas like we eat food and drink fluids. They have tires that can be replaced, just as we have shoes that can be replaced. They get modifications, just like humans can have plastic surgery, reconstructive surgery, organ replacement, etc. I haven't really given any thought to where little baby cars come from, but let's face it, this is a kids movie and it doesn't have to answer questions like that (and really shouldn't).

I'm with the ones that think that the next generation of racers is more like the rookie athletes that come up and replace the ageing players. The cars themselves are the athletes, so as they get older, they age just like their "human" counterparts do.
 
I'm with the ones that think that the next generation of racers is more like the rookie athletes that come up and replace the ageing players. The cars themselves are the athletes, so as they get older, they age just like their "human" counterparts do.
They're still machines, and I've always understood the basics of any competition involving equipment or machines including limitations. In a bicycle race there are requirements for the equipment. The oddest thing I've heard of were claims that a small motor had been placed inside the bicycle to give an added boost.

The idea that the competitors themselves have physical state of the art advantages is a little different than simple replacement by younger athletes. You can look at specific cases where there was controversy over an athlete having an unfair advantage. Heck - South Africa had a couple of these athletes. There was Caster Semenya, who was likely intersex but was allowed to compete as a woman. And of course Oscar Pistorius had artificial limbs that were determined to have a mechanical advantage compared to natural limbs, along with weight savings.
 
I suppose that's the difference...you want to apply real world rules, requirements, and situations in a make believe world. Perhaps there is nothing that prohibits the younger cars with new tech from racing in the world of Cars and in that world it is not seen as an unfair advantage, but rather a natural evolution of car athletes.
 
I just saw it. I will preface this with the fact that I had never seen Cars or Cars 2 before this past week. Something about the Cars 3 trailers really got me interested. The movie felt like a Rocky film, in a good way. I could tell from the beginning what Lightning needed to do, and so his time with Cruz annoyed me a little. Finding Smokey was great. I love Lightning's final paint job! I thought it was a great send-off.

Also, Lou. Wow. Just spectacular. Absolute tug at the heartstrings and a wonderful short film.
 
I suppose that's the difference...you want to apply real world rules, requirements, and situations in a make believe world. Perhaps there is nothing that prohibits the younger cars with new tech from racing in the world of Cars and in that world it is not seen as an unfair advantage, but rather a natural evolution of car athletes.

Yeah. But my kid loves anything to do with the Cars series, including the various shorts so I've seen it all. They've definitely demonstrated that cars can be modified for higher performance, like Mater turned into an import-style tuner car in Tokyo Mater or the Delinquent Road Hazards. Lightning McQueen got a wing spoiler to replace his deck lid spoiler in Cars 2. Various releases from Disney/Pixar state that Jackson Storm is made with different materials like formed steel and carbon fiber. NASCAR allowed bolt-on advantages like a carbon-fiber hood, and every team took advantage of it. If one car is allowed to use a more aerodynamic spoiler, then any car theoretically should.

I've got Cars on video, and they had an interesting "deleted" (proposed) scene that was only made as preliminary sketches. The idea what that when Lightning was placed in the impound lot, they actually took out his engine (i.e. his "brain") and transplanted it into a steam roller to serve out his community service. Then Mater's engine was transplanted into Lightning's body, and he started doing donuts. I guess they thought better of it, because it would have freaked out kids watching the movie.

 
I just saw it. I will preface this with the fact that I had never seen Cars or Cars 2 before this past week. Something about the Cars 3 trailers really got me interested. The movie felt like a Rocky film, in a good way. I could tell from the beginning what Lightning needed to do, and so his time with Cruz annoyed me a little. Finding Smokey was great. I love Lightning's final paint job! I thought it was a great send-off.

Also, Lou. Wow. Just spectacular. Absolute tug at the heartstrings and a wonderful short film.

I need a spin-off, short, or something showing Smokey and crew in their heyday.

Yeah. But my kid loves anything to do with the Cars series, including the various shorts so I've seen it all. They've definitely demonstrated that cars can be modified for higher performance, like Mater turned into an import-style tuner car in Tokyo Mater or the Delinquent Road Hazards. Lightning McQueen got a wing spoiler to replace his deck lid spoiler in Cars 2. Various releases from Disney/Pixar state that Jackson Storm is made with different materials like formed steel and carbon fiber. NASCAR allowed bolt-on advantages like a carbon-fiber hood, and every team took advantage of it. If one car is allowed to use a more aerodynamic spoiler, then any car theoretically should.

I've got Cars on video, and they had an interesting "deleted" (proposed) scene that was only made as preliminary sketches. The idea what that when Lightning was placed in the impound lot, they actually took out his engine (i.e. his "brain") and transplanted it into a steam roller to serve out his community service. Then Mater's engine was transplanted into Lightning's body, and he started doing donuts. I guess they thought better of it, because it would have freaked out kids watching the movie.

Okay, like I said -- this entire franchise requires serious suspension of disbelief. Let the "rules" of the world relax and get fuzzy around the edges. Otherwise, what, Lightning gets an upgrade and... keeps winning, stays competitive? In part, this movie was about aging and acceptance of that process. If the film has to forgo literal mechanics of automobiles to achieve that storyline and keep the metaphor going, I'm more than okay with it.

It's a good thing they scrapped that proposed scene, because that would freak me out too.
Unfortunately I saw an image once on the internet that was meant to be a joke. It said something like "how the Cars world works" and it showed this blobby creature drawn around Cars eyes, a car from Cars without its eyes, and then a picture of one of the characters. (As if the blobby creature was a snail without a home, basically, and the Cars characters are giant slug-like things just pushed into cars.) Fortunately, I have not found that image again, and I hope it will fade from my memory. But I thought of it a few times during the movie and felt kind of :scared::scared:
 
Well, maybe I'm showing how d I am, but as a kid I saw an episode of Wonder Woman where a rich, older man was near death and has his brain removed and preserved alive in a machine. Without his body to support, he develops powers such as telekinesis. However, his plan was to bring in a young Olympic class athlete on the premise that his training is being sponsored, but that his brain will be transplanted into his body. That's sort of what the proposed scene felt like.

It almost feels like there's some sort of cheating going on when all these new cars coming in. It's like incoming baseball players being allowed to use composite bats, or older hockey players only being allowed to use wooden sticks while newer guys can use carbon fiber. I know I'm thinking of this like a Star Trek geek might think of some detail that doesn't make sense. An open wheel race car would easily dust these on a track, which was kind of the premise of Cars 2, but they're not allowed.
 
Well, maybe I'm showing how d I am, but as a kid I saw an episode of Wonder Woman where a rich, older man was near death and has his brain removed and preserved alive in a machine. Without his body to support, he develops powers such as telekinesis. However, his plan was to bring in a young Olympic class athlete on the premise that his training is being sponsored, but that his brain will be transplanted into his body. That's sort of what the proposed scene felt like.

Yeah... that's a hard pass for me. Somebody at Pixar must've thought, too, "wow! this scene really reminds me of violating bodily autonomy! too creepy for kids." When I first read your description of the proposed scene I thought of Get Out. :scared:

OH NO. Against my better judgment I watched the clip. The part where he wakes up "feeling funny" and everyone's around him... no, no, way too Robocop.
 
OH NO. Against my better judgment I watched the clip. The part where he wakes up "feeling funny" and everyone's around him... no, no, way too Robocop.

Yeah - I was thinking Robocop 2. However, that was an R-rated movie and a lot of it was gruesome. The Wonder Woman episode I remember was on network TV in the 70s. There's a picture in the following. It's kind of gross, but more or less like a science museum model of a brain. Check the link at your own peril.

http://wonder-woman.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_312:_Gault's_Brain

My kid actually took a chunk out of a real human brain once. It was at a free science festival in San Francisco. A group of medical students from UC San Francisco brought it out and everyone touching it had to wear gloves. At 4 my kid wasn't particular scared.
 

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