Pixar’s Cars On the Road – On A Road To Potential

Vroom vroom! Fans of Pixar Animation Studios were introduced to the world of anthropomorphic cars in 2006 [4]. However, the Cars franchise has been considered one of Pixar’s weaker creations by some [26]. Not many fans were satisfied with the outcome of Cars 2 back in 2011 [1] [5] [26] [28], resulting in the creative team ensuring that Cars 3 would be the best way to respond to the criticism six years later [6]. Speaking of some negative reception, Lightyear has ultimately been a disappointment to many, despite its few good qualities, such as some pleasant representation of two mothers with one son [29] [31]. On a lighter note, Turning Red and Baymax! have proven themselves to be highly recommendable on Disney+ [3] [17]. Furthermore, a new animated series titled “Cars on the Road” will park on the streaming service next month, leading to some potential to excel the cred of great animated films on Disney+ in 2022 [8] [9] [20] [22] [30] [38]. How about a short road trip through this analysis after watching the summer spotlight shine on great Xbox Series X|S games for the season and celebrating the birth of George Jetson from The Jetsons [15] [42]? I sure hope there will not be any Koopa shells behind us [18] [19].

I have nothing against my fellow Disney devotees being disappointed in Lightyear in terms of writing but come on [31]! A romantic lesbian scene needs to be so much more than just a kiss to be deemed inappropriate for children. Hell, check out the raunchy intimacy scene in the Season Two premiere of Helluva Boss [16] [39] [40]! [29]

Aside from how I hope for more LGBTQ+ representation and tolerance towards it in the near future of entertainment [16] [17] [29] [39] [40], I am quite surprised to see a new addition to the Cars franchise in the early 2020s. [22] [30]

The premise of the series is Lighting McQueen and Mater heading off on a road trip to the wedding of Mater’s sister and her spouse [8] [9] [20] [22] [30] [38]. It sure is nice of the loveable tow truck to think of a relative who has not been introduced in the franchise before. Due to how long the journey will be, they will discover new places along the way. An example of a new experience is Mater trying out some new rocket boosters to possibly try and catch up with his best buddy’s speed [9] [20] [38]. Others include the duo trying to avoid deadly obstacles at a stunt park and fleeing from a gang of stunt cars. Every new experience will be separated into nine episodes, which would make each portion of petrol moderate and ensure that every new discovery will stand out on its own terms without any of them clashing rather tackily. I believe that this premise could not only provide some new exploration for Mr. McQueen himself but perhaps a lot more for his best friend to make up for the flaws of Cars 2 once again, despite how I honestly found the idea of the sequel being centred on Mater becoming a spy rather refreshing as a big step in his personal development [1] [5] [26]. 

And yes, this is not the first time the Cars franchise will be expanded with an animated series [23] [27]. I do not doubt that there will be some comparisons to Cars Toons, quite like how there will be some comparisons once our Pokémon trainers enter the Paldea region in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet [25] [32] [33]. [20] [38]

A spin-off is sure to feature some new elements for the sake of its individuality whilst still being faithfully familiar as a new part of a franchise. There appear to be: 

• A league of clown cars performing at Circus Velocitas [9] [20] [38]
• A mechanical dinosaur [9] [20] [38]
• A gang of trucks surrounding Mater for possibly a mishap of his [9] [20] [38]
• A gang of intimidating punk rock-styled cars who might be stunt cars [9] [20] [38]
• Some ghosts of deceased cars [9] [20] [38]
• A tiny car with insect wings like the ones in the first Cars film irritating Mater’s eyes [9] [20] [38]
• A charging army of solar-powered cars and weapons, including tasers [9] [20] [38]

As well as some possible wittiness with the clown cars at the circus that could lead to some vibes from the circus in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted [14], there appears to be a sense of danger in association with the stunt cars [9] [20] [38]. As previously stated, since there will be nine episodes of the forthcoming series, each of them ought to feature one type of new vehicle shown in the trailer to ensure that the adventure will run smoothly in chronological terms and avoid the tones of each setting merging quite unfittingly. After all, the new characters are all present on the poster [8] [22] [30].

Fittingly, the episode that introduces the ghosts could be watched this Halloween. Most importantly, the final episode that introduces Mater’s sister ought to consist of a satisfying conclusion. [20] [38]

Oh, how I cannot resist clowning around during a new trailer analysis. [20] [38]

Aside from some new places consisting of new vehicles and different tones, there might as well be some new supporting characters with different proposes [9] [20] [38]. A black car is seen kicking some rear bumper like a secret agent in an action film, somehow reminding me of Finn McMissile from Cars 2 [5]. There is also a new monster truck character who can disguise herself to blend in an earthy environment [9] [20] [38]. I believe she can provide some form of female empowerment to a specific degree in the episode she gets introduced in, considering some of my fellow English animation admirers have rejoiced over England winning the final of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 [2]. Surely, Mater’s sister will also be a tow truck with a Southern accent [9] [20] [38], but what differences will her character consist of compared to her brother? It would be nice to see Holley Shiftwell, Mater’s love interest from Cars 2 return, despite the film’s negative reception resulting in it being considered theoretically non-canon [1] [5] [26]. From old friends at Radiator Springs to a monster truck along the way to a wedding, there are a lot of characters who show that they do not all the franchise “Cars” for nothing [4] [5] [6]. 

What a stunner this new character is once her disguise is washed away! [20] [38]

And not to mention that there must be some possible antagonists, including this monster truck to start up some conflict. [20] [38]

Lastly, the visuals of Cars on the road shown in the trailer are top-notch, especially with the noticeable upgrades from Cars 3 [6] [9] [20] [38]. As uncanny the concept of talking anthropomorphic vehicles, most notably cars is, it is still quite imaginative and works well with lively 3D animation and realistic-looking settings with a variety of textures. The life-like racing was what made the three Cars films notably appealing with masterful visuals combined with crisp sound effects [4] [5] [6]. As shown in the trailer for Cars on the Road, the ghostly auras of the spirits from portraits and the disco-like vibes of Mater being surrounded by the gang of trucks are expansions of the technical capabilities sloshed into the animation [9] [20] [38]. Additionally, there is a moment of Mater entering what could be a hallucination that gives him a glowing aura, leading to some creative potential. Despite how it is essential to keep the quality of the animation in check, what is more important is how effective would some new character development be. Aside from that, how about some new parodies of other Pixar franchises in the Cars universe [4] [24], such as a spoof of Luca called “Lucar” and a spoof of Turning Red called “Steering Red” [3] [21]? 

Even though the Cars franchise is considered not as iconic and memorable as the Toy Story franchise and so on [28] [34] [35] [36], the visuals of the Cars films are still exceptional [4] [5] [6]. Well, they are Pixar films as well. [20] [38]

As previously mentioned, Cars on the Road is to park on Disney+ this September [8] [9] [20] [22] [30] [38]. I see quite a lot of potential in this forthcoming series for how it will provide some new premises and potentially some new minor developments for Lightning McQueen and Mater. At the moment, it seems to be a wiser decision to make it a new series on Disney+ rather than just going ahead with Cars 4. But who knows? With enough thought put into it, Cars 4 might briefly catch up to Toy Story 4’s standards of glorifying an unexpected fourth film. As for Cars on the Road, will it be strongly considered canon, unlike the previous Cars Toons and the crossover between Uncle Grandpa and Steven Universe? Will the road trip to a wedding be a thrill ride or will our fellow critics feel car sick with flashbacks of Cars 2? As for other Disney-related franchises, I am still rooting for Deadpool to be welcomed warmly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe someday, considering how his two box-office hits can be watched on Disney+ [41]. I am pretty much aware of how happens to certain voice actors a month after they have watched them [10] [11]. And the crowd goes wild!

Ka-Chow [4]! [20] [38]

Oh. And one more thing about the “controversy” surrounding Lightyear that resulted in being unfairly banned in some countries [31], there are far worse things that could happen, you know. Like Big Brother making a comeback on ITV2 and ITVX next year after its cancellation in 2018 [13]! Oh wait [12]. [29]

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