Review of Cars 3 (2017) by Jacob B — 26 Jun 2017

When I saw the teaser trailer, I knew. I always knew this would be Pixar's first plain and simple Fresh film. Unless you include The Pixar Story since it didn't have enough Fresh reviews to be Certified.

I doubt any Cars film, and yes even those spin-offs with planes that were such obvious cash grabs even Pixar themselves refused to be involved in the film's production, will ever be critically acclaimed but this one improves over the second movie.

I also hated Mater in most of the scenes he were in which made me happy Lightning was the protagonist this time whilst also praising that the film didn't even dare acknowledge once about that spy crap from the last movie.

The story is mostly predictable but it's still a surprisingly entertaining treat. The animation is, just like anything with the word "Pixar" on it, amazing. Heck, the backgrounds sometimes look photorealistic.

The story takes a few unexpected turns resulting in a surprising amount of drama focusing on mature themes including rebellion, having to quit because of a new generation that's better than them old people and even sexism.

Not as direct as Zootopia but it still focuses on that last part. The race sequences are also engaging. Predictable because...Disney, but engaging. Seriously, that demolition derby was one of the best scenes in the entire movie.

If Cars 3 marks the conclusion of a trilogy, it's a well-executed, stunningly animated and unexpectedly effective way to mark the cinematic end of the franchise that serves as the black sheep of the Pixar family.