With Disney/Pixar’s Cars 3 racing into cinemas in Singapore on 31st August 2017, TAP brings you four fast facts that will get you excited to revisit this Pixar franchise.
Cars 3 promises to be the franchise’s most emotional film yet. We return to the original film’s beloved protagonist, Lightning McQueen only to find that he is quickly reaching the end of his glory days. Determined to stay on top of the sport he loves, he turns to a collection of old and new friends to help him compete against a new generation of super-fast racers.
Cars’ fans knew that they were in for an emotional ride with the newest film when the teaser trailer was launched last year featuring the heart-stopping moment when Lightning McQueen loses control and goes airborne.
Fans can expect the same sort of heart-warming and relatable moments as the earlier films from McQueen and his friends as he struggles to see if he still fits in a world where he was once loved for his ability to dominate the competition.
The Cars racetracks take inspiration from real life
Artists for the film visited five different areas of the US to get a better idea of the history of stock-car racing. Besides touring facilities including the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Daytona Superspeedway and Daytona Beach, the artists also got the chances to experience riding with professional racecar drivers during their visit to the Sonoma Speedway. Ultimately, these visits were the inspiration behind the eight racetracks seen in the film.
Cars was nearly a completely different movie
When the film was first developed by Pixar animator Jorgen Klubein, it was called Little Yellow Car. He was inspired by a real-life story from the 1980s in Denmark when some ambitious engineers had the idea to make a car that ran on electricity. The car worked well in the city but it was mocked for being ugly and never went into production.
Although Pixar ultimately decided the story wasn’t strong enough for a film, the director’s kept the small-town setting of Klubein’s original idea.
In Cars 3, we meet Cruz Ramirez, a young racing trainer who helps McQueen after his accident! Cruz has long been an admirer of McQueen and jumps at the chance to help the veteran racer make an attempt to return to his former glory.
Pixar leads the animation technology race
With the first Cars film, Pixar used a technique called ray tracing which affects how light looks when it is either passed through or reflected off of something. This was key to the racing scenes in the film when we see the lights of the track and spectators reflected off the cars. However, the use of this technology meant that some scenes in the film took up to a week to render!
In Cars 3, we meet Jackson Storm, an arrogant custom-built racecar who has proven that he can hit top speeds that other racecars can only dream of hitting. He is at the forefront of the next generation of racers that seem set to take over the race circuit.
Cars is a merchandising monolith
With its lovable characters, and very collectible merchandise – any mummies and daddies with kids who love Cars may not be too surprised to hear that the film is a merchandising giant. To this day, Cars has taken in $10 billion in global merchandise sales- second only to the Star Wars franchise!
In the eleven years since Cars was released, many little kids have decorated their rooms with Lightning McQueen and we can only imagine that even more mums and dads will be buying soft toys and other merchandise with the introduction of Cruz Ramirez, McQueen’s feisty and fast trainer.
Ultimately, Cars 3 promises to bring another fun, fast-paced film where mummies, daddies and their little ones can enjoy quality family time as they follow Lightning McQueen’s journey as he learns that no matter the outcome, the most important thing in the world are your friends and family who support you. Besides friendship, the film also revisits the themes of mentorship and how the sport of racing has changed over time.
Cars 3 takes us back to the Cars world and reminds us why Lightning McQueen fell in love with racing to begin with! Join McQueen and his friends in cinemas across Singapore on 31st August, 2017.
Find out more about Cars 3 and race as either McQueen or Cruz in the Cars Demolition Derby at the official website.