Cars (2006)

Let's wrap up the Pixar films by taking a look with their second trilogy, beginning with Cars.

The Movie:

Cars is the 7th movie from Pixar.  If Pixar hadn't been purchased by Disney, it would have been their last movie together.  As it is, it was the first film released following that merger, though it was already in production.  Cars was partially inspired by the Pixar animators' love of cars and a trip director John Lasseter took with his family down Route 66 following working on A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2.  It was also the final film for co-director Joe Ranft, who died in a car accident a year before the movie's release.  Cars is dedicated to Joe Ranft.  Cars was met with generally positive reviews, though it was not as well-received as the previous Pixar movies.  However, Cars was a box-office success, being the third highest grossing film in the US in 2006 and the sixth highest world-wide.  It was nominated for two Oscars (Animated Film, Song) and won the first-ever Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature.

Cars tells the story of Lightning McQueen, a hot shot race car who is a rookie on the Piston Cup circuit.  In the final race of the season, McQueen finishes in a three-way tie with 7-time champion Strip "The King" Weathers and Chick Hicks, and the three are set to have a tie breaking race the following week across the country in Los Angeles.  Wanting to get there first to woo a potential new sponsor, McQueen has his semi-truck Mack try to push through all-night.  However, due to Mack's drowsiness (and the interference of a few other cars), McQueen is accidentally left on the highway.  Following what he thinks is Mack, McQueen winds up in the town of Radiator Springs, a once vibrant Route 66 town that is now dying after being bypassed by the interstate.  A hurried and panicked McQueen manages to tear up the town's road, and in order to leave, he must first fix the road.  As he is doing so, he gets to know the citizens of the town, including Mater the tow truck, Sally, and Doc Hudson, who all try to show him that sometimes in life you need to slow down.

I know that for some people, this movie, and the franchise, are at the bottom of their list of Pixar films.  Others, especially kids, love it, which is why it sells so much merchandise.  For me, it is definitely the weakest of the early Pixar films, but that doesn't make it a bad movie.  It's hard to dislike something that you can tell has so much passion and heart behind it and that is full of so many shout-outs and references that you know the creators did their research and love the subject.  And ultimately, the film has a good message.  For me, however, I get caught trying to understand the logic of how this movie's universe works, and it doesn't really make sense.  I know that's one of those things you are just supposed to ignore, but it's hard to do so.  Also, at the beginning Lightning McQueen is such an unlikable character.  I know that's supposed to make his change of heart even more meaningful, but it really makes it hard to root for him for the entire first part of the movie.  Also, I know the movie is trying to drive home the point that sometimes you need to take time to slow down and enjoy life, but that results in the narrative pacing slowing down in the middle of the movie, and for me it's a bit too slow at times.

Cars has a lot more songs than most Pixar films.  There's an interesting mix of songs written for the movie, covers of older songs, and actual preexisting recordings.  "Our Town," written by Randy Newman and performed by James Taylor, is meant to be the film's signature tune, and it is used very nicely in the movie.  This is the song that got the Oscar nomination.  But the track that stands out the most to me is the Rascal Flatts cover of Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway," but maybe it's because that song got so much airplay at the time as well.  It's also nice to hear the classic "Route 66," and this movie uses two versions, Chuck Berry's during the movie and John Mayer's during the credits.  Randy Newman's score also has some nice moments, in particular during the scene of Lightning and Sally taking a long drive.

Presence in the Parks:

In the parks, the current place to get your fill of the Cars franchise is at Disney California Adventure.  This is where Cars Land is located.  The entire land is themed around Radiator Springs and features three rides - Radiator Springs Racers, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters, which replaced Luigi's Flying Tires.

Currently, there is a lack of Cars at WDW.  You used to be able to meet Lightning McQueen in the Backlot of Hollywood Studios, and towards the end of it's run, Lightning was added to the Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show at Hollywood Studios.  This show ran from 2005 to 2016, and was built on land that was originally the Residential Street area of the Studio Backlot Tour.  It was actually based on a shows from Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris.

Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show, MGM Studios, March 2007

Lights! Motors! Action! Extreme Stunt Show, Hollywood Studios, May 2015

Disney has announced a new show called Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy scheduled to open in early 2019 at Hollywood Studios.  This show will be located near the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster.

And of course, I should mention that Lightning has a card in the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.