Pixarhas earned its place as the powerhouse studio in the field of animation, and as such it has seen a lot of success, but one specific trilogy is the studio’s wildest movie franchise for various reasons. Pixar began its reign in animation in 1995 withToy Story, the first entirely computer-animated feature film, which marked the beginning of years of high-quality animated movies.Toy Storycontinues to be Pixar’s biggest and most successful franchise, but it has also built other, smaller franchises.
Pixar began with a story about talking toys with feelings, and since then, it has explored other fun and unlikely scenarios, such as talking bugs, a world of monsters, rats who are exceptional chefs, and more. At the time of writing, andleavingToy Storyaside, Pixar has five franchises, some bigger than others:Monsters, Inc.,Finding Nemo,The Incredibles,Cars, andInside Out. While they all explore different scenarios with lots of fantasy, the strangest one is, by far,Cars, and it also happens to be Pixar’s wildest franchise to date.
The Cars Trilogy Is Pixar’s Most Inconsistent Movie Franchise
Cars Failed To Have A Consistent Tone
In 2006, Pixar asked “what if cars were sentient?” and so it gave usCars. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft,Carsis set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic vehicles.Cars’ focus is Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), a young but arrogant race car who becomes stranded in a forgotten town on his way to the most important race of his life. There he’s forced to reevaluate his priorities and learns valuable lessons about love and friendship.Carsgot positive reviews and was a commercial success, spawning a franchise.
Carswas innovative back then and was ultimately a fun watch, but the same can’t be said for the sequel.
Carswas praised for its imaginative world but not so much for its story – surely, it’s not the most complex plot, but it didn’t have to be (it’s talking cars, after all).Carswas innovative back then and was ultimately a fun watch, but the same can’t be said for the sequel.The quality ofCars 2was a downgrade from the first movieand it feels like a direct-to-video movie rather than a theatrical one.Cars 2follows Lightning McQueen and Mater competing at the World Grand Prix, where Mater inadvertently gets involved in a dangerous espionage mission.
Cars 3tried to take a more serious approach by focusing on Lightning McQueen’s legacy.
While I appreciate the effort of adding more action toCars 2, its plot was completely absurdand lost the essence of the first movie. However, it performed well at the box office, and soCars 3happened.Cars 3tried to take a more serious approach by focusing on Lightning McQueen’s legacy as he, now a veteran race car, had to prove he was still competitive against a new generation of technologically advanced cars. Although it gave Lightning McQueen a fitting ending,the tone ofCars 3is so different from its predecessorsthat it only established the franchise as Pixar’s wildest and most inconsistent one.
Why The Cars Franchise’s Tone Changed So Much Between Movies
The Cars Franchise Feels Very Disconnected
Carsdidn’t need a sequel, but it’s widely known that if it performs well at the box office, it will most likely get a sequel. The problem I see is thatPixar never truly understood what its franchise of talking cars should be aboutat its core. On top of that, everyCarsmovie had a different team of writers, and it was evident (especially in the sequels) that there were too many ideas and styles involved in the making of those movies.
Cars 4: Will It Happen? Everything We Know
The franchise has been hugely successful for Pixar, but will Cars 4 ever happen? Here’s a rundown of all the updates on the possible animated sequel.
AlthoughCarswas ultimately a successful franchise when looking at its box office numbers (earning over $1.7 billion, though that’s counting the failedPlanesspin-off movies), it’s unlikely it will be dethroned as Pixar’s wildest and most inconsistent one – though that doesn’t mean that it isn’t entertaining, especially the first movie.
Cars
TheCarsfranchise is a highly successful animated series produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Set in a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic vehicles, the franchise began with the 2006 filmCars, which follows the story of Lightning McQueen, a race car who learns about friendship and humility in the small town of Radiator Springs. The series has since expanded to include two sequels, several spin-off films, short films, and a Disney+ series. Known for its vibrant animation, memorable characters, and themes of teamwork and perseverance, theCarsfranchise is also one of Disney’s most lucrative properties, especially in terms of merchandise sales.
