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The Cars Franchise & What We Want From Cars 3
Lightning McQueen is back
Pixar has a talent for giving life to inanimate objects, such as toys, robots and animals. One of their more successful franchises, Cars, is getting another chapter in its already-loved story.
Everything we loved about Cars 1 and 2
There might have been some hesitation when Cars was first announced, but Pixar and Disney blew us away with the sweet story of Lightning McQueen and the residents of Radiator Springs. It had so many cute elements that we couldn’t help but fall in love with the movie.
The characters
Lightning himself wasn’t our favorite at the start, but even he had worked his way into our hearts by the end. There was also Doc Hudson, the stiff but loving mentor, Sally Carrera, who got Lightning to slow down and Mater, who is arguably the real star of the series. Then we met Holley Shiftwell and Finn McMissile in Cars 2.
The realness
The story may have been a literal interpretation of speed, but the lesson was clear: We all have to slow down once in a while.
The audience
Cars may still be regarded as a “guy thing,” but the franchise appeals to boys and girls of—let’s be honest—all ages. It’s one of the things that make the films as popular as they are. Disney and Pixar made a stereotypical boy-movie and turned it into something that anyone could find joy in.
Everything we want for Cars 3
The characters
We know from the trailer that Lightning isn’t racing like he used to and that his glory days may be far behind him already. We’re hoping that the time has had their effect on all the other beloved characters as well. It’s been over a decade since the first Cars movie and we’ve grown up since then, too. We’d love to see a more mature side of everyone, maybe even including Mater.
Of course, we also have our eyes on the new characters, most particularly Cruz Ramirez. She’s the young female trainer of Lightning, who once thought she could never be a racer like her new trainee.
The realness
At the same time, we hope that the film will still have the same pull and the same level of authenticity as it did previously. We know that the story will center on the possibility that Lightning’s career is declining, but we don’t know much beyond that. Hopefully, the same old charm still holds.
The audience
Of course, we hope that the new generation will fall in love with the franchise in the same way that we did way back when. It would be great to see little girls and boys walking out of the cinema with the same awe in their eyes, with their parents excitedly talking about the film, too.
And some extra flare
While we want all the great things from the first two films to successfully transfer to Cars 3, we do want some new features as well. The same equation, with just a little more factors added into it. Maybe this will come in the form of more romance between Lightning and Sally, or maybe a love story for Mater. Maybe it will stem from a more female-centric take via the story of Cruz instead.
Cars 3 is scheduled for release later this year. Don’t miss out on your chance to catch Lightning get into all sorts of new trouble when it premieres in July.
