“CARS 3”: SHIFTING A CHARACTER’S GEARS IN THE ANIMATED WORLD OF RACING
Photo Credit: Disney Pixar
I didn’t go to Pixar’s Cars 3 expecting to see a story involving the challenges of breaking through the glass ceiling, dealing with race-ism (yes, car-related puns are hard to avoid with this movie) and the challenges of socio-economic divides. Yet these were all things the film very tactfully covered thanks to the introduction of Cruz Ramirez, voiced by comedian Cristela Alonzo, whose real life story helped inspire the character.
Cars 3 returns the franchise to the world of racing and the denizens of Radiator Springs. Lightning McQueen, still voiced by Owen Wilson, is being challenged by a new generation of racers. These millennial racers are led by flashy newcomer Jackson Storm, voiced by Armie Hammer. In an attempt to keep up, McQueen enlists the help of sponsor/business car Sterling, played by Nathan Fillion, who sets McQueen up with a state of the art training facility and trainer (Cruz).
Honestly, I have never particularly connected with Lightning McQueen. Seeing the abundance of children running around with Cars paraphernalia, I can objectively say I understand that people, and particularly children, connect with him. When Cruz showed up on screen, I suddenly had someone whose story resonated more with my own. McQueen is a natural talent who has always had people believe in him. Cruz has talent but hasn’t been given opportunity and support.
Honestly, I have never particularly connected with Lightning McQueen. Seeing the abundance of children running around with Cars paraphernalia, I can objectively say I understand that people, and particularly children, connect with him. When Cruz showed up on screen, I suddenly had someone whose story resonated more with my own. McQueen is a natural talent who has always had people believe in him. Cruz has talent but hasn’t been given opportunity and support.
One obvious difference between the two is that Cruz is a female car, but she didn’t always start out that way. The character was originally written to be male and evolved over the course of development. Director Brian Fee talked to me about how he has two daughters at home and wanted someone on the screen that they could look up to.
Once they decided to switch the gender of the character, they tried having Cristela read the original dialogue as it was written for the “boy Cruz” and found out it wasn’t working. Producer Kevin Reher mentioned that they found just leaving the dialogue as it was had Cruz coming off as subservient to McQueen.
I, for one, am grateful they took the time to turn female Cruz into her own character.
Cars 3 doesn’t beat you over the head when dealing with its themes. Anyone can relate to feeling unsupported or like opportunity is out of reach, and not only is it handled very adeptly, it adds an extra dimension to the story.
Whether you’re a huge Cars fan or not, it’s worth admiring the amount of thought and consideration the filmmakers at Pixar put into every one of their stories.
For more on how they brought the characters of Cars to life, check out my interviews from their biennial employee car show, Motorama.
Once they decided to switch the gender of the character, they tried having Cristela read the original dialogue as it was written for the “boy Cruz” and found out it wasn’t working. Producer Kevin Reher mentioned that they found just leaving the dialogue as it was had Cruz coming off as subservient to McQueen.
I, for one, am grateful they took the time to turn female Cruz into her own character.
Cars 3 doesn’t beat you over the head when dealing with its themes. Anyone can relate to feeling unsupported or like opportunity is out of reach, and not only is it handled very adeptly, it adds an extra dimension to the story.
Whether you’re a huge Cars fan or not, it’s worth admiring the amount of thought and consideration the filmmakers at Pixar put into every one of their stories.
For more on how they brought the characters of Cars to life, check out my interviews from their biennial employee car show, Motorama.
This article originally appeared on KFOG.com on June 19, 2017