Twenty years after the initial release of the movie “Cars” (2006), many theaters are featuring the film once again. In these last 20 years, the popularity of the “Cars” trilogy is still reflected in teenage movie nights, but why?
The film is a fun movie about racing, which can get a lot of kids interested in cars at a young age and continue to develop it into a NASCAR or Formula 1 obsession later in life.
“Cars” was the seventh ever Pixar production to be released, following “Toy Story” (1995), “Finding Nemo” (2003), and “The Incredibles” (2004).
From societal issues to the very real way that cars interact with each other, there are so many aspects of the “Cars” world that give it an immersive feeling. There are parts of this movie that relate more to the real world than others, but the impact that the movie has overall is what resonates with the audience more. The way that Lightning McQueen’s character evolves through the events of the movie, from how he changes his view on the other cars in Radiator Springs, to how he wants to work with Doc once he realizes who he is, stuck with me more than the ideas he had. By the end of the film, the arrogant car who wanted nothing more than to win helped The King finish his last race rather than take first place in the Piston Cup.
I have watched this movie probably once a month since I was 17, and I feel like this truly is a comfort movie for me. I love how I can just turn it on and be immersed in the racing world.
Listening to the voice of an actual NASCAR racer my dad and I grew up watching, Richard Petty, as The King in all the movies, makes me feel like there was actual thought that was put into the casting. And I love how the film incorporates current racing legends into the movies, like Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the second installation through voices of the F1 cars.
I thoroughly enjoy how easy it is to watch the films and be in a world where nothing matters except making it to California to race in circles, which major car in the oil industry is behind cars exploding, and whether or not McQueen is too old to race.
The trilogy gives me the same experience, to an extent, of watching my comfort show, because I know what’s going to happen and I don’t need to pay an overt amount of attention to it. But listening and looking over still makes it fun and I can just study with the sounds of racing in the background.
The only thing that I dislike about “Cars” is how old it makes me feel, since this movie is only a year older than me. Since when did Gen Z get old? I remember watching this with my dad when I was little and that’s how I got into racing and cars in the first place.
Besides the fact I am getting older, I just feel like this trilogy has aged well and there is so much that can be done and is right about it. Yes, it covers some actual societal issues, but it also talks about how the characters can change and evolve over the course of the movie.
