Cars 3 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Cars 3 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 27, 2017

Neither Cars (as great as it may be) nor its sequel can be said to be the very best Pixar has ever put out. WALL•E remains the unequivocal top dog, but the Cars franchise (which also spawned Planes) is certainly one of the company's most recognizable brands, still holding strong as a super-popular series, particularly with little boys who cannot get enough of Lightning McQueen and his various four-wheeled friends. Cars 3 does more to nudge the franchise towards its sunset than it does to revitalize interest in it; the story deals with an aging Lightning McQueen who must come to terms with his place in life and on the track, making it less an on-track Action/Comedy and more a reflective film about the ever-moving hands of time.

Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is still zooming through the pack and winning a number of races. But the status quo and his position as the top car in the circuit is put into jeopardy when a young upstart car, Jackson Storm (voiced by Armie Hammer), wins a race that prompts a discussion of McQueen's future in the sport. Jackson is one of several up-and-coming talents, more technologically advanced and built to be more efficient on the track. The competition proves too much for McQueen to overcome. When he pushes himself past his limit to try and win a race, he crashes and has no choice to but to rehab back in Radiator Springs. Few in the press have any faith left in the once-great car, but he's taken in by a new team owner, Sterling (voiced by Nathan Fillion), who gives the red racer a makeover and opens up his high-tech training facility to get old #95 back into his winning ways. McQueen is paired with a training car named Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo) who longs to race but suffers from mental hangups on the track. But can all the fancy training in the world prepare McQueen to defeat a car that's younger and more advanced, or will he have to come to terms with where he is in life and on the track and prepare himself for the inevitable?

Cars 3 sees the franchise turn down the logical and inevitable road, following an aging hero who isn't ready to call it quits but who is clearly being passed by younger and better cars. His best days on the track may be behind him, and he's forced to accept, no matter how hard he pushes himself, no matter how much he wants to keep on racing and keep on winning, that he's just not the car he once was. In Cars 3, Lightning McQueen is running on fumes and racing and training almost entirely on heart. The question is whether that's enough for him to remain competitive and a regular in the winner's circle. In a way, the movie is more for adults than it is for kids. The younger viewers will certainly love it for its speed and flash and wonderfully realized and robust animation, but the themes will most assuredly speak more to the adults in the audience who may be falling out of, or are already beyond, their prime. The film does its best to make a sobering fact-of-life reality a fun and infectious family film, and to its credit it doesn't betray its story or the unstoppable ticking clock with a bogus end. In fact, the film ends on a very positive note, certainly not one that would have worked in either Cars or Cars 2 but one that is here a fitting tribute to the characters and the themes in this film and in the greater franchise. Kudos to the filmmakers for being true to truth, even in a movie like this. That's what makes Pixar so special.

The film is otherwise Cars through-and-through. It's colorful, it's fast, it's familiar. The film is certainly one of generations, intermixing the new with the old (and often with car personalities to match) that respects the past and looks to the future, and it's in how the characters view the world -- respecting their elders, accepting their place -- that separates hero from villain. The film's middle stretch, while thematically important in making that distinction and as Lightning McQueen attempts to figure out who he is and where he fits in this new era of racing, does slow down a bit. Serious big race action only bookends the film, and much of the rest of the movie is comprised of, instead, serious soul-searching and comic bits of training mischief that see Lightning attempting to get back in the groove and Cruz trying to get into any groove. The laughs don't come as regularly, either, but again it's a tone that's respectful and reflective of the core story that takes Cars down the only road it could really go and remain honest to its established world.

Cars 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Cars 3's 2160p/HDR-enhanced UHD presentation delivers a definitive viewing experience for Pixar's latest. The image boasts increased stability over the blu-ray, reducing or even eliminating the very minor noise and aliasing irritants that were more visible on the otherwise A-grade Blu-ray. Here, improved textural efficiency is clear. Even as the film was reportedly finished at 2K (as well as with Dolby Vision color, which is not included here), the movie enjoys a noticeable uptick in environment and character clarity. Lightning's fancy new paint job presents the finer metallic texturing with remarkable clarity even at distance. Environments are much more firm and well defined, sharper with a natural, tangible level of texture, even given the movie's clean, glossy, digitally animated structure. Rubber, concrete, sand, the rough and raw terrain textures and antique building façades around Radiator Springs all deliver dazzling clarity. The HDR-enchanced color palette is the presentation's real strength. Not only is color depth improved, so too is nuance and vibrancy. Lightning's new paint job sparkles with amazing precision, eye-popping punch, and incredibly bold saturation. Ditto Cruz's predominantly yellow color, older baby blue cars, Mater's rusty brown color, and so on. This is certainly one of the more dynamic and enjoyable examples of HDR yet. In fact, this is one of the top UHD titles to date.

Cars 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Cars 3 zooms onto Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack that delivers a pleasing, engaged listen, but not one that makes any kind of regular, noteworthy use of the overhead channels. It's fairly similar to the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack included on the Blu-ray. This one is certainly a bit more full, with the top end adding a modest complimentary layer that slightly enhances music, offers a bit more fullness at race events, but doesn't deliver the sort of clear-cut sound elements one might expect, even in scenes that would seem to call for it, such as gently falling rain at the 54-minute mark or when one car flips over another on the race track at the film's climax. Still, the small increase in spacial awareness is welcome. Track essentials are just fine, including musical clarity and width, ambiance, revving action and low end depth on the race track, and dialogue. Everything is in good working order. But unlike the UHD video, which offers a strong step forward over the Blu-ray, this UHD-exlclusive Atmos soundtrack isn't a leap forward, more like a lateral move with maybe half a step up. Note that this disc defaults to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track rather than the Atmos track, so be sure to switch over before starting the movie.

Cars 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Cars 3 contains extras across two Blu-ray discs: the disc housing the film in 1080p and a second bonus disc. No extras are included on the UHD disc. A Disney digital copy code is included with purchase.

Disc One:

• Lou (1080p, DTS-HD MA 7.1, 6:43): A short film about grade school recess and lost-and-found items coming to life.
• Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool (1080p, 2:48): A funny commercial aimed at cars looking to get their groove back.
• Ready for the Race (1080p, 5:40): Real-life human race car driver William Byron discusses his passion for racing and life as a professional driver.
• Cruz Ramirez: The Yellow Car That Could (1080p, 7:46): A closer look at designing and voicing the film's key new character.
• Audio Commentary: Director Brian Fee, Producer Kevin Reher, Co-Producer Andrea Warren, and Creative Director Jay Ward discuss their work on the franchise, character design, story and themes and how they are broadly and intimately depicted in the film, diversity in the voice cast, general technical construction, and plenty more.

Disc Two:

• Behind the Scenes (1080p): A five-part feature.
• Generations: The Story of Cars 3 (11:20): A discussion of the challenges of making a sequel, this film's story and themes, narrative progression throughout the film, character details and evolution, and more. This is a quality insight into how the film's story was shaped throughout the filmmaking progress.
• Let's. Get. Crazy. (7:41): A closer look at the making the Thunder Hollow race sequence and the characters who populate it.
• Cars to Die(cast) For (5:21): A fun look at the toys of Cars 3.
• Legendary (11:22): The filmmakers study the origins of car racing to help them make a better movie. It explores how racing history is depicted in the film.
• World's Fastest Billboard (5:30): A discussion of logos and make-believe brands in the film: fictionalized products that are placed throughout the film and how they all relate to the franchise's car-centric world.
• Fly Throughs (1080p): A look through some of the film's key digital environments. Included are Thomasville (1:10), Florida International Speedway (0:37), and Rust-Eze Racing Center (0:56).
• My First Car (1080p): Cast and crew discuss their first cars: A Green Car on the Red Carpet with Kerry Washington (1:53), Old Blue (1:21), and Still in the Family (2:16).
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 26:17 total runtime): The Boogie Woogie, Lug Nuts, Jars of Dirt, The Bolt, and More Than New Paint. With optional director introduction.
• Trailers (1080p): Crash -- North America Teaser (0:56), Icon -- North America Trailer (2:33), Theatrical Payoff -- Japan Trailer (2:02), All New -- International Teaser (0:31), and Rivalry -- Global Trailer (2:10).
• Promos (1080p): Cars D'oeuvres (4:27) offers character moments against a black background while Car Reveals briefly shows off a trio of characters -- Lightning McQueen (0:39), Cruz Ramirez (0:41), and Jackson Storm (0:39) -- in close-up.

Cars 3 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cars 3 may very well be the final film in the franchise. Cars 2 was not as well received as the original, and neither was this one. Add that the story centers around an aging Lightning McQueen who, rather than again work his way up the ranks and dominate on the track, must deal with the realities of age and retirement that are inching ever closer, and the film is certainly nudging the character towards the end of his race, at least as a franchise centerpiece. There's plenty of room to build on what Cars 3 has to offer, but it's a safe bet that any possible direct sequel will look and feel a bit different. Still, this is a very good film about time and aging gracefully. Disney's UHD release of Cars 3 delivers reference video and a quality Atmos soundtrack along with a healthy array of bonus content spread across two discs. Highly recommended.