Introduction to the Cars Movies

by Lewis Robinson

The Cars movies are productions of Pixar, known for such imaginative and well-beloved computer-animated films as Toy Story, which was distributed by the Walt Disney Company. The original Cars was released a little over 10 years following "Toy Story" and just a few months after Pixar officially became a subsidiary of Disney. 

Opinion on the Cars movie franchise is mixed. It has many fans, young and old, especially among families who enjoy automobiles as a hobby. However, critics have often been mixed in their feelings about the franchise, with some praising it effusively and others dismissing it. Here is an introduction to the world of Cars and its relationship to the real world. 

Basic Premise

The Cars movies are set in a world that looks very much like the real one, at least at first. Cars are everywhere, auto racing is popular, and major highways have replaced more leisurely routes. However, the world of Cars is different in that automobiles are living creatures rather than unthinking machines. There do not appear to be any human beings in the world of Cars at all. 

Thus, the tow truck, Mater, does not need to rely on GPS with truck routing when he goes to help a car in distress. Though a bit dim-witted, he has the agency and capability of thought to travel with intention to wherever he needs or wants to go. Because cars are alive in this universe, he is something akin to a paramedic who goes to the aid of cars in trouble and brings them back to the mechanic's shop, which is the equivalent of a hospital. Yet the mechanic who works on the damaged vehicle is also a car. 

This raises a lot of interesting yet frustrating questions about the world of Cars. Do the cars build the roads themselves? Are cars in this world constructed, or are they organic beings? Were there humans in this world at one time, or is this a parallel universe in which they have never existed? The movies don't encourage you to think about these questions too much, encouraging you instead to just sit back and enjoy the ride. 

Movies' Plots

There are currently three movies in the Cars series. The first and third are very similar to one another in that they focus on racing car Lightning McQueen and his struggles to balance his professional dreams with relationships with others without getting caught up in trivialities, such as fame and endorsement deals.

The second movie, on the other hand, has a vastly different plot. It focuses on McQueen's tow truck pal, Mater, who gets mistaken for a secret agent on a trip to Europe and has to carry out the other vehicle's mission. 

According to executives at Pixar prior to the release of Cars 2, the completely different plot was a very conscious decision on the part of filmmakers. Pixar has always prided itself on the originality of its films, even when making sequels. Unfortunately, there were legal questions about how original the story was, with a British screenwriter filing a copyright lawsuit claiming that the story was based on a work he had submitted to filmmakers in the early 1990s. The suit was eventually dismissed. 

Critical Reception

Some critics were generous with their praise of the original Cars in 2006. Among them was the venerated Roger Ebert, known and respected for his thoughtful and fair reviews. Ebert marveled that a cartoon car could resemble a famous actor, in this case Paul Newman, without losing any of its automotive characteristics and gave the movie his trademark thumbs-up. Ebert was similarly impressed by Cars 2 in 2012 but unfortunately passed away before the release of Cars 3 in 2017. 

Not all the critics shared Ebert's enthusiasm, however. The New York Times of Cars called it bland and ingratiating. 

Part of the negative feeling towards Cars is a general weariness with Pixar sequels after its early feature films were so original in their stories and characters. Some have speculated that Pixar was pressured to make sequels upon becoming a Disney subsidiary. Pixar executives have dismissed the claims. Over the last decade, Pixar has released a mix of sequels and original movies.