I remember someone on Twitter saying that the reason Pixar made another Cars movie was so that they could afford to make ‘better movies.’ Now, while I think there’s some truth to that, I want to emphasize that I absolutely love Pixar. Even when it’s lower tier Pixar, which this film is. And in my opinion, Cars 3 is still a good film.

First of all, I just want to point out how this film really functions as a direct sequel to the first film. In the entirety of the film, nobody ever mentions any of the events of Cars 2. I almost feel that this film is the true sequel to Cars, or maybe it’s closer to an apology from Pixar, trying to make up for that film. And I want to stress, Cars 2 is not a horrible film. It’s just a mediocre kids movie. Which for Pixar, is practically unheard of.

Even though Pixar’s films are typically associated with being kids films, they often have a very mature theme to them. Ironically, this movie, in spite of its ‘G’ rating, has an incredibly mature underscoring. It’s ultimately a film about retirement, about knowing when you’re too old. It’s certainly not a bad lesson, but is it really a lesson that kids need to be learning?

For the most part, the movie does a good job with getting its moral across, apart from the ending, which felt like a bit of a cop out. But seeing how this is a kids movie, it makes sense that they weren’t able to go all the way with the lesson they were trying to say. (But then again, Zootopia did it so much better…)

Some people are saying that this is Pixar’s worst film. I think that’s going a bit too far. A lot of people just don’t like this franchise. I still consider the first Cars to be a good movie. You just can’t think too much about the logistics of this world. (…How do they reproduce, anyway?)

Like you would expect from Pixar, this film has phenomenal animation, as well as a great score and great sound design. I also feel that the voice cast did an amazing job, with the standout being Christela Alonzo.  While it’s far from Pixar’s best effort, Cars 3 is a well made film that will hopefully keep the kiddies entertained. If you liked the first Cars and you want to see more of the characters and the world, this certainly won’t disappoint.

*** out of ****