Cars 3

I think I have a new favorite movie: Cars 3.  

The original Cars has been my favorite movie for a long time.  Cars 2 was good too, even though I know a lot of people didn’t like it.  Cars 2 was definitely out there - but I liked the themes of solidifying friendship between Mater and Lightning, even though they are so different, and again showing just how great a racer Lightning is.  

I liked the original Cars because of the character arc of Lightning McQueen.  I love stories where the characters change, and grow, and that is definitely the theme in Cars.  He starts out the movie as a rookie who has had phenomenal success - he is self-centered and arrogant, he lacks a crew chief and says he doesn’t need one, and he doesn’t really have any close friends, either.  All of that changes when he becomes stranded in a tiny town on Route 66.  While there, he meets the zany but big-hearted Mater, the lawyer Sallie who moved there to get away from the city and live at a slower pace, and the bitter old racer, Doc Hudson.  Through his interactions with them Lightening is taken down a notch, learns about real friendships, enjoys taking life at a slower pace, and re-evaluates his priorities.  At the end of the movie, his friends come out to see him in his Piston Cup race and Doc takes on the role of crew chief, guiding him through the race.  At the end of the movie McQueen has a chance to put everything he has learned into practice, and he does, prompting Doc Hudson to tell him “You’ve got a lot of stuff, kid.”  

But Cars 3 - wow.

At the beginning of Cars 2 it is hinted that Doc Hudson has died; but this isn’t dwelt on very much.  It comes out more in Cars 3, when Lightning McQueen is beginning to struggle against a new generation of racers.  After an accident on the track prompts him to take some time off, Lightning decides to get some training so he can learn some new techniques to use against these racers.  After various attempts to find something that works, Lightning is discouraged because he doesn’t seem to be getting everywhere.  A conversation with Mater prompts him to seek out Smoky, Doc Hudson’s old crew chief and trainer.  He travels to a small town in North Carolina where he encounters not only Smoky, but a number of the old racers Doc used to know.  They all share stories about Doc Hudson, prompting Lightning to say “I wish I had known him like that.”

“Like what?”  Smoky asks.

“So happy,” Lightning says.  “He was so happy when he was racing, I wish I could have seen that.”

At which point Smoky takes Lightning to his home/office and shows him various letters and news clippings Doc sent him over the years.  “Doc loved racing, sure,” he tells Lightning, “and when he had to quit, it broke his heart… but I have never seen him so happy as when he was working with you and training you.  Racing wasn’t the best part of his life - you were.”

I’m not joking, I legit cried during this scene.  

I won’t spoil the rest of the movie for you, save to say it shows Lightning following in Doc’s footsteps, becoming a mentor and then at the end of the movie showing up painted in Doc’s colors as a tribute to Doc Hudson.  

In almost every one of the stories I write there is a very strong mentor figure.  Family relationships are often dysfunctional, but there is always a strong mentoring relationship.  The mentors who have poured into my life have changed me in ways I will never forget, and it is just something I am really passionate about and that touches me on a very deep level.  So when I saw this scene in Cars 3… I loved it so, so much.  

I was watching some of the deleted scenes and commentary recently and saw some of the original ideas the producers had for Cars 3.  They were originally going to make Cruz Ramirez a young rookie training at the Rust-Eze center, and have Lightning see a younger version of himself in her - thus their relationship develops.  But they thought that would be following the storyline of Cars 1 too closely.  I don’t think so.  I liked what they did, but I think I would have liked this a little better.  And they also mentioned that one idea the producers had was for Lightening McQueen to debut his new colors at the Piston Cup, where he goes on to beat Jackson Storm.  I do wish they had done that - I feel like that would have been so satisfying.  The one thing I feel like we were cheated out of was watching Lightning beat Jackson Storm, so I think that would have been a great ending, although I understand it may have seemed over-the-top.  On the other hand, this is probably the last film in the franchise, so why not go all out?  At any rate, I am glad I at least know they thought of it, and I think it does hint at the fact that Lightning does beat Jackson Storm.  

Cars 3 is a great, great movie, and right now I am not entirely sure whether Cars 1 or Cars 3 is my favorite movie of all time.  I do know I am bummed I can’t find a Cars t-shirt in adult sizes...