Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Cars 3 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.

New vs. Old.

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cars 3 features a typically excellent Disney/Pixar/animated 1080p Blu-ray presentation. The movie's highlight is unquestionably its wide spectrum colors. Cars of every hue imaginable and of varying quality of paint -- including flat, metallic, glossy and much more in between -- are a showcase for high definition color saturation. Reds, yellows, purples, and everything in between explode off the screen with fabulous punch and vitality. The image is clear and finely detailed. The Blu-ray reveals incredible texturing on sandy beaches, concrete raceways, even the smooth, glossy interior of the state of the art training center. Car scuffs on older vehicles, Mater's rusted body, rubber tire textures, everything one can imagine is presented here with impressive attention to detail. Blacks are excellent as well. Very fine noise and trace aliasing are both visible at times, but this is otherwise a top-flight Blu-ray transfer. Fans will be very pleased.

Cars 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney continues to follow the Sony example with the Cars 3 Blu-ray release, eschewing the existing Atmos track available on the UHD and instead including a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack (and to Disney's credit, Sony generally only offers a 5.1 track). Of course, the 7.1 track is just fine. It's dynamic and intense, offering plenty of verve and precision movement on the race track. Cars traverse the track with pinpoint control, zipping and zooming through various speakers with seamless movement and stage envelopment. The diversity of engine sounds please and the different whooshes are very impressive, as is the general din of the racetrack, including distinct and reverberating PA announcements, that altogether create a seamless listening experience. The track additionally has positive reverberation and spacing available in the fancy training center where computer jargon and other elements present with positive diffusion around the stage. Music enjoys superior clarity and spacing, including balanced stage wrap and weighty low end support. Light atmospherics fill in various locales, including a beachside training session partway through the film. Basic dialogue is well defined and prioritized with firm front-center placement.

Cars 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Cars 3 contains extras across two Blu-ray discs: the disc housing the film and a second bonus disc. A DVD copy of the film and a Disney digital copy code are 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 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 Blu-ray release of Cars 3 delivers high-octane video and audio along with a healthy array of bonus content spread across two discs. Highly recommended.