Disney Countdown

Let's finish up the Pixar films with the final movie of the Cars trilogy, Cars 3. The Movie: Cars 3 is the 17th movie from Pixar.  It received much more positive reviews than the previous Cars 2, with a reception more in line with the original Cars.  However, it did not do as well at the box-office, having a smaller opening weekend and overall gross than the previous film.  Nonetheless, most fans felt it was a return to form for the franchise. In the beginning of Cars 3, Lightning McQueen and his fellow racers are surprised when a younger, next-generation rookie by the name of Jackson Storm takes the checkered flag in a race.  Soon, all of the old guard is replaced by the next-generation racers, with only Lightning remaining.  Trying to push himself as much as he can, Lightning suffers a terrible accident.  After hiding out back in Radiator Springs for the off-season, Sally and Mater (and the memories of Doc Hudson) convince Lightning to jump back ...

I guess it has to be done.  Let's take a look at Cars 2. The Movie: Cars 2 is the 12th movie from Pixar, and the final film directed by John Lasseter before he moved exclusively to producing.  (Lasseter has recently stepped away from Disney and Pixar.)  With this movie, Cars became only the 2nd Pixar movie to have a sequel, after Toy Story, which had already had two sequels.  Cars 2 came after a string of successful Pixar films, including four straight winners of the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3), with the last two having received Best Picture nominations.  Given all this, Cars 2 was seen as a big let down.  Some fans felt that there were several other Pixar movies more deserving of a sequel.  Some people viewed it as a cash grab by Disney, since Cars merchandise was among their biggest sellers, but that was more likely just another reason Disney was ok with the movie.  In reality, Cars was the pet p...

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 F...